Over the weekend I had a bit of a surreal moment when Meg texted me to say she saw my photo from Monaco on the @katespadeny Instagram account. I knew it was happening at some point, but lost all track of time, and then my own Instagram started to explode a bit as the Fathom team took over the Kate Spade account, posting 6 of my images from my Monaco trip. It was funny to see my top picture get 15k likes – ha! hardly what my own account gets.

Let’s back up. It all started back in December when the gals at Fathom reached out to me to see if I’d be up for writing a Monaco guide. I’d never been but jokingly responded that I’d happily go if they wanted to send me. I never imagined in a million years that there would be a budget (it’s embarrassing how many requests I get from big brands to do free work), but this time there was. It was winter and I was aching to get out of Paris, so less than a week later I was on my way to Monaco for 4 days and 3 nights to do what I do best – explore for hours. I loved being there off season, and the city was so festive for Christmas (even though I barely needed to wear my trench coat). I actually was able to keep my expenses down in one of the most lavish places in the world (and took advantage of two Vayable tours to help get me oriented), but I’ll save all that for another post.

Fathom has created a series of guides for Kate Spade as handy PDF downloads (Kate Spade is behind all of the graphic design of the guides). Each is divided into two neighborhoods with a map, but Monaco is only one square mile, so there is definitely a bit of overlap in neighborhoods. (Disclaimer: I am well aware that Cap d’Ail – the Cape of Garlic – is technically in France, and not in Monaco, but it’s literally over the border, and I think the Kate Spade girl would LOVE the Philippe Starck designed restaurant there). Overall, I’m really proud of the guide, and happy that it’s not one of the typical guides a tourism board expects to see.

Overall I wrote a Monaco cheat sheet, 2 neighborhood guides: Fontvieille + La Condamine and Monte Carlo, and an ideal itinerary to help you explore a bit more of the Côte d’Azur.

For any upcoming trips, I recommend checking out the full list of Fathom x Kate Spade guides. They’re all “anonymously” written – including mine – by the team of collaborators, but the Fathom girls are my kind of travelers. . . For the record, I’ll gladly accept other paying gigs of this kind!

Images: Fathom x Kate Spade Monaco guide

Follow me on Instagram + Twitter! I teach MAPS, InDesign, and Designing Professional Documents on Skillshare, and give Paris tours through Vayable!