Port Hercule


The successful location of the principality of Monaco would have been impossible without the presence of a port where millionaires living in the country are anchoring their snow-white yachts. In Monaco, there are two ports, the main one is the port of Hercule, otherwise the port of Hercules.

The port of Hercules is located in a natural bay in the La Condamine district at the foot of two cliffs with prosaic names "Monte Carlo" and "Monaco". On the last cliff, in Monaco-Ville, the Grand Palace rises grandiose. This is almost the only deep-water port on the Cote d'Azur.

History of the port of Hercules

The port of Hercule existed already in the time of the Phoenicians, the ancient Greeks and the Romans, who were very active in trade, there were warships, hence the beginning of many Mediterranean conquests. But because of the vulnerability to the east winds, not all ships could enter the harbor, and sometimes the port underwent some destruction due to strong sea waves.

In the early twentieth century, two long berths were built in the port during the development of the Monte Carlo casino . Later, already in the 70s, Prince Rainier III organized a research company to find modern and reliable ways to protect the port from weather elements. As a result, a grandiose wave-breaking wall and a wave-breaker were constructed.

At the very foot of the Rock of Gibraltar, a huge concrete wall, 352 meters long and weighing 160,000 tons, grew up. The special importance of the unique project is that the wall is created semi-floating, in order to preserve the ecology of the region as much as possible. The breakwater has a length of 145 meters. This allowed to take in the port of Hercules cruise liners up to 300 meters in length. And, of course, the tourist flow in Monaco has increased dramatically.

Characteristics of the port of Hercule (Hercules)

After the grandiose reconstruction of the port, there was an update of the yacht club of Monaco, where a grand yacht show is held and near which an additional marina has appeared. Today the port can take on berthing from 20 to 35 yachts in the range of the length of the board from 35 to 60 meters and two yachts about a hundred meters in length. The very building of the yacht harbor Hercules was designed by the architect Sir Norman Foster, is very modern and technically equipped.

Today the total capacity of the port is 700 anchor places. Near the berths, the depth of the harbor is about 7 meters and sharply increases to 40 meters in the outer port, where cruise liners stop. Walking along the pier, you can admire the snow-white luxurious yachts, standing on the dock. Most of them belong to stars and celebrities of world size.

Large-scale internal work in the port was already under Albert II, who enthusiastically continued his father's business of turning the port of Hercule into one of the most modern and most practical in the Mediterranean.

Interesting Facts

In 1995, in the port of Monaco, they shot one of the series of the Golden Eye Bond. Here we shot a chase scene in which the elegant James Bond tries not to let the villain Ksenia Ontopp hijack the plane, but the local police interfere and Ksenia runs away.

How to get there?

You can reach the port by bus, coming out at the Monte Carlo stop, and also renting a car .