Monaco
Plan your Monaco trip
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01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Monte-Carlo
Best for a once-in-a-while splurgeThe postcard version of Monaco — the Casino, the grand Belle Époque hotels, and the steepest, most expensive real estate in the country. You are paying for the address as much as the room.
A Belle Époque grand hotel near the Place du Casino
This is the Monaco of the imagination, a short walk from the gaming rooms and the Grand Prix hairpin, at a price to match.
€€€€La Condamine
Best for first-timers who want a central base without the casino-district markupThe harbourside ward where Monaco actually functions day to day — the market, the working port, and a noticeably more normal pace than Monte-Carlo a few streets uphill.
A mid-range hotel a few streets back from Port Hercule
Close enough to walk everywhere in the principality, and the market is on your doorstep for breakfast.
€€€Fontvieille
Best for a calmer stay with easy access to the rest of the principality by lift or busQuieter, more residential, and entirely built on reclaimed land — the marina, the stadium and the rose garden give it a calmer, less touristed feel than the harbour-and-casino core.
A modern hotel near the Fontvieille marina
A short free-bus or lift ride from Monaco-Ville and the Casino, with a noticeably quieter evening than either.
€€€Just across the border — Beausoleil & Cap-d'Ail
Best for value, and anyone unwilling to pay Monaco's own room ratesTechnically France, practically Monaco — these neighbouring towns sit directly against the border, in some streets literally across the road from it, and offer the same walkable access at a fraction of Monégasque prices.
A standard hotel in Beausoleil, uphill from the Casino
A ten-to-fifteen-minute walk or one bus stop into Monaco proper, at ordinary French Riviera prices rather than Monégasque ones.
€€Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
Casino de Monte-Carlo
Charles Garnier's 1879 Belle Époque gaming house, still the financial engine behind the whole principality's tax-free arrangement and one of the most…
Tip You can walk into the atrium and the public gaming rooms for a fee without playing a single hand — it's worth it purely to see the room, and a passport is required for…
Prince's Palace (Palais Princier)
The Grimaldi family's seat since the 13th century, perched on the Rock with sweeping views over the harbour, open to visitors for part of the year…
Tip Time your visit for 11:55am for the changing of the guard, which is free and happens in the square outside whether or not you pay for the palace interior.
Oceanographic Museum (Musée Océanographique)
Founded by Prince Albert I in 1910 and directed for three decades by Jacques Cousteau, a serious marine research institution built into the cliff…
Tip Go in the morning before cruise-ship groups arrive, and don't skip the rooftop terrace — the view over the Mediterranean from up there is as good as the exhibits.
Monaco Cathedral
A late-19th-century Romanesque-Byzantine cathedral on the Rock, final resting place of Monaco's princes and princesses, including Grace Kelly and…
Tip It's free to enter and a genuine working cathedral — keep voices down, and check for Sunday Mass times if you'd rather visit outside a service.
Jardin Exotique
A cliffside botanical garden laid out in the 1930s on near-vertical terrain, packed with cacti and succulents from Africa and the Americas that…
Tip The paths are steep and the footing can be uneven in places — wear real shoes, not sandals, and budget at least an hour.
Port Hercule
The principality's main harbour and the literal centre of the country geographically, lined with superyachts, cafés and the covered market, and…
Tip Walk the full length of the harbour promenade at golden hour — it's free, flat, and the single best stretch for seeing the yachts, the Rock and Monte-Carlo's skyline…
The Grand Prix circuit on foot
The actual public roads used for the Monaco Grand Prix — Sainte-Dévote, the climb past the Casino, the Fairmont hairpin, and the harbourfront tunnel…
Tip The Fairmont hairpin, the tightest corner in Formula 1, is the single most recognisable spot and easy to reach on foot from the Casino — look for the hotel awning the…
Larvotto Beach
Monaco's only real beach ward, a stretch of artificial but well-maintained sand on the eastern edge of the principality, with free public sections…
Tip The free public stretch at the eastern end is perfectly good and considerably less expensive than the beach-club loungers further west.
Day trips from Monaco
Nice
The Riviera's biggest city is 15–20 minutes away by train and makes an easy pairing in either direction — the old town, the Promenade des Anglais and…
Day tripÈze
A medieval hilltop village clinging to a crag above the coast, roughly 20 minutes from Monaco by bus, with narrow stone lanes and one of the best…
Day tripLa Turbie
A short bus or taxi ride up into the hills above Monaco to the Trophy of Augustus, a Roman monument from 6 BC, with the single best elevated view…
Day tripMenton
The last French town before the Italian border, 20 minutes east by train, known for its lemon festival, a milder microclimate than the rest of the…
Day tripEverything to do in Monaco
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around a country you can cross on foot
Monaco's entire territory is walkable, but it is also aggressively vertical — the Rock, Monte-Carlo, and the hillside above the harbour are connected by genuinely steep streets and staircases, which is why the state has installed dozens of free public lifts and escalators tucked into buildings and hillsides across the…
Flights
Compare fares into Monaco and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire from Monaco
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.