Wedged between Port Hercule and the ramps that rise quickly to the Exotic Garden, the district of Condamine is the heart of the Principality, its most lively and commercial district and, with Monaco City, the most authentic. You walk there like in a village, with its low buildings, its market place, the magnificent Place d’Armes, and its inhabitants who greet when crossing each other … even if the tourists tend to outnumber them!
The Condamine is the heart of the animation of the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, hosting the start and finish line of the Grand Prix.
The neighbourhood takes its name from the Latin Condominium that designated the land near the castle of the Lord … a word still used in the United States. The most famous places of the district: the church Sainte-Dévote, Port Hercule, the Nautical Stadium, the Condamine Market, the Automobile Club of Monaco, the pedestrian street Princess Caroline.
A little history
The neighbourhood has obviously seen many changes since the 18th century, when it was just a huge garden around the family Villa De Millo, which can still be seen down the street Caroline, the last house on the right down to the port … The district was built mainly in the last quarter of the 19th century, with the arrival of the railway, when the richest Monegasques left the dark alleys of Monaco-Ville to seek construction more airy, brighter and with equipped with modern hygiene.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Place d’Armes was entirely refurbished in a style reminiscent of Turin and the towns of Piedmont, with its covered galleries and a central market. Gradually, taller buildings, such as Héraclès in the 50s, appeared in the north of the neighbourhood, towards the Sainte-Dévote church. The south of the district retains today its aspect of the 19th century.
The area is expanding more recently with the burial of the railway and the urbanization of the liberated lands at the beginning of the 21st century.
The Condamine in figures
The IMSEE provides us with interesting information to assess the dynamics of Monaco’s neighborhoods.
The district of Condamine covers an area of 295,843 m2 or 14.6% of the territory of the Principality. There are 279 buildings, with a combined construction area of 378,764m2, 12.6% of the surface area built in the Principality of Monaco. Its ratio of the surface built on the surface of the district, to 1.28, is lower than the average of Monaco (1.49), and well below the more dense districts of La Rousse (2.05), the Moneghetti (1,88), Monte Carlo (1,86) or Fontvielle (1,76). The neighbourhood is rather airy, like the Larvotto (1,17) or the Exotic Garden (1,25).
The housing area represents 57% of the built area, close to the Monegasque average (61%) or the neighbourhoods of Monte-Carlo (59%) or Monaco-Ville (55%). In contrast, the district of La Rousse is the most dedicated to housing (87% of housing area), that of Fontvielle being the busiest to other activities (40% of housing area).
At the Condamine, the buildings are rather small (1358 m2 built area per building), compared to the average Monegasque 2047m2 and Larvotto neighbourhoods (6381 m2) or Fontvieille (4389 m2).
In terms of real estate transactions, there were 45 sales in 2016 and 43 sales in 2017. Condamine is a neighbourhood that accounts for about 10% of transactions in the Principality. In 2017, the price per square meter is lower than the average for the Principality: € 37,459 for La Condamine, € 41,335 for the Principality as a whole.
Here is a neighborhood that offers interesting opportunities to immerse yourself in the life of Monaco and enjoy the many benefits of the Principality.
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