Top Casinos to Visit When Travelling in Europe
Wherever you travel in either eastern of Western Europe you are not going to be far away from a casino, on a recent trip to Prague we noticed that there seemed to be a casino in just about every main street, in fact there are over 30 of them in the City. The most famous of these is the Ambassador Casino which is located next to the Ambassador Hotel overlooking Wenceslas Square in Prague's so-called new Town. Not that there is anything very new to it as much of it dates back to the fifteenth century. Pop in during the early evening and you can enjoy a kind of casino happy hour where you can play casino games for free, though don't get too excited as the chips you win can't be exchanged for money.
One of Europe's most famous casinos is the Casino of Monte Carlo. This casino dates back to 1848. Menton and Roquebrune were major towns in the Principality of Monaco, and an essential part of Monaco's economy. However in the mid eighteenth century they both declared independence and refused to pay taxes to the ruling royal family. So huge was the loss to the already stretched economy that special measures became necessary, and these included the construction of a casino. The first attempts resulted in failure. It failed to attract sufficient visitors and income, however following several relocations and management changes along with improvements to the transport infrastructure it was transformed to a highly successful attraction and an important money spinner. Constructed in the architectural style of the French Belle Époque, by any standards its architecture is impressive and internally it is immensely opulent. If you find yourself in Monaco, nice or Cannes, it is certainly worth going out of your way to visit it.
The oldest casino in Europe is the Casino Venice which dates back to the middle of the seventeenth century though when it first opened it was as a gambling club for the city's elite. Again, it is certainly worth a visit, one of the few casinos that you can arrive at in a gondola!
