At the annual general meeting in December, the majority of the Monte-Carlo Metropole Shopping Centre‘s merchants made a decision to keep the centre open on Sundays between May and September.
From 3 May until 27 September, shops will be accessible seven days a week. Weekend shoppers will be pleased with the Metropole Shopping Centre’s new schedule. The news was announced in a statement released early this year by management. The shopping centre has experimented with opening in Sundays since 2006. (It was already possible to shop at the Metropole every Sunday during the summer months of July and August with the ‘Monaco Sunday Experience’ as well as in December.)
Monaco is now adapting to the new habits and trends of national and international customers. The new schedule will be especially convenient for visitors of the Principality who may be accustomed to shops being open on Sundays.
As Monaco is a place where Catholicism is the State religion, Sunday was traditionally observed as a day of rest. In a recent interview, the Archbishop of Monaco said that society must reach a compromise in regard to Sundays. He believes that those who work on Sunday must be respected and paid accordingly and that Sundays should not be trivialized. Making time to be with one’s friends and family should still be seen as an important priority to Monegasques.
Inaugurated in 1988, the Metropole Shopping centre’s design was conceived by architect Jean Pierre Tripod. Marble, extracted from the Carrara mines in Italy, gives the structure a modern Mediterranean character. Two chandeliers in Bohemian Crystal, manufactured by Faustig, dangle above the central square. The 80 shops and 5 restaurants at the Metropole offer a selection of fashion and accessories, gourmet food, fine jewelry, watchmaking, beauty care, decor, tableware and antiques. The Metropole is located at 17 avenue des Spélugues.
