Monaco is easy to reduce to its casino and its supercars. The Principality the regulars know is quieter and more cultivated — a place of gardens, museums and rituals, all within a square kilometre or two.
The second-smallest country in the world packs an extraordinary amount into its terraced hillside, and the pleasure of knowing it well lies in moving past the obvious. Here is how to spend time in Monaco with a little more discernment. For where to stay, see our Monaco residences and Monaco concierge.
The old town and the rock
Monaco-Ville, the old town perched on its rock, is the Principality’s most atmospheric quarter — the Prince’s Palace and its changing of the guard, the cathedral where the Grimaldis lie, and a maze of narrow lanes that empty of day-trippers by evening. The Oceanographic Museum, clinging to the cliff face below, is among the finest in Europe; founded by Prince Albert I and once directed by Jacques Cousteau, it rewards a slow morning.
Gardens and quiet hours
For all its density, Monaco is surprisingly green. The Jardin Exotique with its succulents and cliffside cave, the serene Japanese Garden by the sea, and the Saint-Martin gardens along the rock offer the Principality at its calmest, with long views over the Mediterranean. They are the counterpoint to the harbour’s energy, and the best-kept of Monaco’s pleasures.
The Carré d’Or & the table
Around the Casino, the Carré d’Or is Monaco’s golden square — the great jewellers and fashion houses, the Hôtel de Paris and its legendary cellar, and the tables of Alain Ducasse’s Le Louis XV among the finest in France. This is where the Principality dresses up, and an evening here, properly arranged, is Monaco at its most polished.
The calendar
Monaco’s year is built around its events — opera and ballet at the Salle Garnier, the Rose Ball, the Monte-Carlo Masters tennis in April, the yacht show in September, and above all the Monaco Grand Prix in late May, when the streets become a circuit and the harbour a grandstand. Each is best experienced with hospitality arranged in advance — see our guides to watching the Grand Prix in style and chartering a yacht for it.
Arriving well, and where to stay
The Principality rewards a considered arrival — a residence in the Carré d’Or, a chauffeur, a table held, perhaps a yacht in Port Hercule, and the seven-minute helicopter transfer from Nice rather than the coastal traffic. For a calmer base nearby, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is twenty minutes away. See our Riviera overview to plan the wider stay.