NEWSOK! Travel: Magical Monte Carlo!
June 16 2011, Published 10:42 a.m. ET
Leighton Meester, Selena Gomez and Katie Cassidy hit Monaco, Europe’s most glamorous country, to film Monte Carlo!
Nestled in the South of France and home to the glamorous Grimaldi royal family, the tiny country of Monaco gets a starring role in Selena Gomez’s new movie, Monte Carlo, opening on July 1. “It’s a fun movie about three girls who try to go on a vacation,” Selena told MTV recently about her new film, in which her character gets mistaken for a British heiress, landing the girls in a
whirlwind adventure in Monaco’s glitzy city of Monte Carlo.
Selena spent weeks perfecting her British accent and learning to play polo for the movie, which sees co-stars Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy zipping around Monaco’s famous Grand Prix circuit on scooters and hitting Monte Carlo’s private La Note Bleue beach (and Katie gets romanced by Cory Monteith)!
“It’s kind of like a fairy tale,” says Katie of the girls’ onscreen adventure, which didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling. During one early-morning shoot, the cast received a visit from Prince Albert II of Monaco, who gave the movie his own royal thumbs-up!
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1. MONACO GRAND PRIX: Celebs flock to the annual Monaco Grand Prix, one of the world’s most prestigious Formula 1 car races. Guests this year included newly engaged Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries and Nicole Scherzinger, who arrived with long-term boyfriend and Formula 1 race car driver, Lewis Hamilton.
2. MONACO IN THE MOVIES: Monte Carlo’s elegant grand Casino has made an appearance in two James Bond movies: GoldenEye and Never Say Never Again. But, unfortunately for the locals, only nonresidents are allowed to gamble there.
3. PRINCESS GRACE: Grace Kelly met her future husband, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, at the Cannes Film Festival, after she filmed To Catch A Thief with Cary Grant in Monaco in 1954. The Will and Kate of their day, their 1956 nups were watched by 30 million on TV.
4. THE NEXT ROYAL WEDDING: Princess Grace and Prince Rainier’s son, Prince Albert, is tying the knot with former Olympic swimmer for South Africa Charlene Wittstock this summer. The whole country will celebrate the two-day extravaganza July 1–2. Oh, and Will and Kate will be there, too!
5. FAMOUS RESIDENTS: With no income tax and the world’s highest life expectancy (90!), it’s no surprise Monaco’s attracted rich and famous residents, including Shirley Bassey, Ringo Starr and Sir Roger Moore.
