Short Trips Europe
🔍
Monaco · City break

Monte-Carlo City Guide

Yachts lie side by side in the harbour, the palace looks down from above, and the Mediterranean glitters all around. Monte-Carlo packs its glamour into the tightest of spaces, so nothing here is far. One ready-made day route from the stop takes you from the palace down to the water and up to the views.

🗺️ Open Monte-Carlo interactively with map & navigation

Our walking tour of Monaco

The route starts at the Place d'Armes bus stop, climbs up onto the Rock of Monaco and then follows the entire Grand Prix circuit. These are the highlights.

Monaco on foot with the Rock & the Grand Prix circuit

From Place d'Armes up onto the princely rock to the palace, cathedral and Oceanographic Museum, via the 'Frame' photo spot down to the harbour. Then the full Formula 1 circuit in race direction, with the start/finish straight, Sainte Dévote, up to the Monte-Carlo Casino, the hairpin, the tunnel and back along the harbour.

  1. Fürstenpalast (Palais Princier). The Grimaldi palace has crowned the sea since the 13th century and is still the prince's residence. On the forecourt, visitors gather daily for the changing of the Carabiniers' guard.
  2. Kathedrale von Monaco. In the white cathedral of La Turbie stone rest the princes of Monaco. Including Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), whose grave is always adorned with flowers.
  3. Ozeanografisches Museum & Aquarium. The monumental museum clings spectacularly to the cliff and houses one of the world's oldest aquariums, with sharks, corals and turtles. From the roof terrace the view stretches far across the Mediterranean.
  4. Fotospot 'Frame'. An oversized picture frame frames the Mediterranean and the coast like a painting. One of Monaco's loveliest and most popular photo spots.
  5. Start-Ziel-Gerade & Boxengasse. On the Quai Albert 1er, the start/finish straight and the pit lane run right alongside the yacht harbour. This is where the lights go out at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lined with luxury yachts, your walk along the circuit begins here, in race direction.
  6. Sainte Dévote (Kurve 1). The first corner at the foot of the hill sits right by the little Chapelle Sainte-Dévote, the shrine of Monaco's patron saint. From here the cars charge steeply up the Avenue d'Ostende towards the Casino. The circuit's notorious uphill stretch.
  7. Casino de Monte-Carlo (Place du Casino). Up on the hill the track loops around the legendary Casino square, with Charles Garnier's opulent Belle Époque casino, flanked by the Hôtel de Paris, the Café de Paris and the opera (Salle Garnier). Supercars park out front. The most glamorous point on the whole circuit.
  8. Fairmont-Haarnadel. Via the Mirabeau corners the track drops to the Fairmont Hairpin. By far the slowest and tightest corner in all of Formula 1, taken at walking pace around the Fairmont hotel. An emblem of the race and a popular viewpoint.
  9. Portier & Tunnel. At the seaside Portier corner the track plunges into the famous tunnel beneath the Fairmont and bursts back into daylight at the harbour at over 250 km/h. The fastest and most spectacular stretch of the lap, with a wide view over the Mediterranean. Right here, the beautiful brand-new Mareterra district has been built out into the sea (opened in late 2024). With villas, a waterfront promenade and green spaces. Just a few steps on towards Larvotto lies the Jardin Japonais with its koi pond, tea house and zen area. A calm photo oasis and a contrast to the glamour between the high-rises.
  10. Yacht Club de Monaco. At the harbour entrance, right by the circuit's Nouvelle Chicane (harbour chicane), stands the striking Yacht Club de Monaco. A glass building by Norman Foster and a hub of the international sailing and yachting world. The harbour chicane is the Grand Prix's prime overtaking spot, where the cars brake hard out of the tunnel.
  11. Schwimmbad-Komplex (Piscine). The fast esses around the Stade Nautique Rainier III open-air pool (an ice rink in winter) are among the most demanding sections. Here every centimetre to the barrier counts.
  12. La Rascasse. The final tight corner by the bar-restaurant of the same name leads via the Antony Noghès corner back onto the start/finish straight. Here the loop closes. Right by the water, the Brasserie de Monaco invites a stop.

Planning your visit

One day is enough, the whole country is smaller than many a city district. The round from Place d'Armes runs 5.5 kilometres and links the palace rock with the Oceanographic Museum, the casino and the full Grand Prix circuit. It goes up and down constantly, though public lifts take some of that off you. To see the palace from inside, come in the morning. Thirteen evening tips are ready, most of them around the harbour.

Going out & nightlife

Rooftop bars

Nightlife quarters

Food & restaurants

Bars & clubs

Stage & concerts

See all stops for Monte-Carlo in the app →

Practical information for Monte-Carlo

Public transport

Operator. CAM (Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco) is a state-owned company and the sole operator of local public transport. It runs its own city fare, independent of the ZOU regional fare of the French Alpes-Maritimes, which applies outside Monaco (for example on the airport bus). Alongside the bus lines, CAM also operates the Bateau-Bus (solar ferry in the harbor), Clic Bus (on-demand bus), and the MonaBike bike-share system.

Network. Six bus lines plus a network of public lifts and escalators through the rock.

Modes of transport. Bus · Ferry (Bateau-Bus, solar-electric) · On-demand bus (Clic Bus)

Operating hours. The daytime lines run on weekdays from around 6.40 am to 8.40 pm, slightly reduced on Saturdays, and on Sundays with wider intervals and a later start. Exact times differ by a few minutes from line to line, line 1 for example starts at 6.41 am on weekdays and ends at 8.38 pm. The exact times for each line are on CAM's respective line timetable page.

Night service. In addition to the daytime lines, two night lines run continuously on all seven days of the week. N1 runs as a loop line between Albert II and Place des Moulins via Fontvieille, Grimaldi Forum, Sporting, and Saint-Roman, first departure around 9.10 pm, last departure 0.58 am on normal days and 2.42 am on Fridays and Saturdays. N2 connects Monaco-Ville Le Rocher with the Jardin Exotique via 17 stops, first departure around 9.09 pm, last departure 0.45 am on normal days and 2.01 am on Fridays and Saturdays. This also covers the late trip home from the Casino or the nightlife districts without a taxi.

Buying tickets. Tickets are available in three ways. First, in the Monapass app, where a single ride, day ticket, and 10-ride ticket are cheapest. Second, on board from the driver against cash or card, where the single ride costs more and there's a 15-ride ticket. Third, with a contactless bank card directly at the card reader when boarding, with no prior purchase and an automatic daily cap. Physical chip cards can additionally be topped up in CAM's online boutique. Ticket machines at the stops themselves aren't listed as a purchase option on the CAM website.

App and payment. The official app is called Monapass and is used to buy and manage digital tickets. For pure real-time timetable information there's also the Monacobus app and a link to Citymapper. Anyone who doesn't want to use an app simply taps their contactless bank card on the reader when boarding, the system charges 1.50 euros per ride and automatically caps the amount at 5.50 euros per day, which effectively equals a day ticket. On board, the driver also accepts cash for single and multi-ride tickets.

Which ticket. CAM tiers its prices by purchase method. In the Monapass app the single ride costs 1.50 euros with 30 minutes of free transfer time, a 10-ride ticket 10.00 euros (1.00 euro per ride), and the day ticket 5.50 euros for unlimited rides. On board from the driver the single ride costs 2.00 euros (also with 30 minutes of transfer time) and a 15-ride ticket 20.00 euros (1.33 euros per ride). Paying with a contactless bank card directly at the boarding reader also charges 1.50 euros per ride, capped at 5.50 euros a day. Mathematically the day ticket pays off for app users from the fourth ride of the day (4 times 1.50 euros would be 6.00 euros), for cash payers on board already from the third ride (3 times 2.00 euros would be 6.00 euros). For pupils, students, and seniors there are also reduced subscription fares, which CAM lists as its own category.

Fare zones. Monaco forms a single fare zone, zone borders play no role for tourists within the city. If you take bus 80 onward to Nice or Menton, the separate ZOU regional fare of the Alpes-Maritimes applies instead of the CAM city fare.

Tip. The lifts are free and save considerable climbing. They appear on no bus map but are signposted everywhere.

Links

Getting there

Main station

Location. Entirely underground inside the rock, opened in 1999. The platforms are very long and curved, so watch for the right exit.

Long-distance trains. Anyone expecting a large station hall with long-distance trains will be surprised. Monaco-Monte-Carlo lies entirely underground inside the rock and is served exclusively by regional trains. In the official SNCF timetable, only two TER lines appear for the station, Grasse–Cannes–Nice–Ventimiglia and Les Arcs–Cannes–Nice–Menton. This gives direct access, without a transfer, to Nice, the airport connection via Nice-Ville, Cannes, Grasse, Les Arcs-Draguignan, and in the opposite direction Menton and the Italian border station of Ventimiglia. On a normal weekday around 120 trains stop. To Nice there are about 60 connections a day, journey time around 23 minutes, to Ventimiglia about 26 minutes. Long-distance travel in Monaco therefore always means one transfer. Toward France you take the TGV to Paris, Lyon, or Marseille from Nice-Ville, toward Italy the Intercity to Genoa, Turin, Milan, or Rome from Ventimiglia. This costs hardly any time, since both transfer stations are barely half an hour away.

Opening hours. The station sits entirely inside the rock and is open daily from 5 am to 2 am, including public holidays. Trains, however, only run during the day. The first departs on weekdays shortly after 6 am, the last around 11.25 pm toward Nice. At night service pauses.

Airports

NCE

Into the city. Bus 80 Express, according to the timetable realistically around 60 to 65 minutes to Monaco (Sporting/Bay Hôtel stop), depending on departure time.

Frequency. Every 30 minutes to/from Monaco, 47 trips a day, seven days a week. From the airport 6.00 am to 8.00 pm, from Monaco/Menton 8.30 am to 10.00 pm.

Local quirks

Good to know

Currency
EUR €
Emergency number
112
Plug type
C · E · F
Time zone
Europe/Monaco
Driving
right

Speed limits. built-up areas 50 km/h (30 km/h in designated zones), outside towns not applicable, all of Monaco counts as a single built-up area under traffic law, motorway not applicable, Monaco has no motorway

The entire principality counts as a single built-up area, there is no rural or motorway category. A few signposted streets allow up to 70 km/h, otherwise the 50 km/h limit applies almost everywhere throughout.

Tipping. Service is included. Rounding up is enough, nothing more is expected.

Tolls. No tolls in the principality. The approach on the French A8 is tolled.

More cities

BerlinLondonParisBarcelonaRomeBudapestFlorenceDresdenLuxembourgMarseillePragueNaplesNiceAmsterdamBrusselsCopenhagenOsloStockholmBratislavaHamburgAntwerpBernAthensBordeauxBrugesDublinEdinburghMunichViennaTallinnLucerneSalzburgPortoCologneBaselRigaVilniusZurichRotterdamStrasbourgGenoaMálagaLisbonMadridMilanValenciaSevilleInnsbruckDubrovnikHelsinkiLjubljanaSarajevoSienaTurinVeronaBilbaoZagrebGdańskWarsawPalermoLyonVeniceKrakówAarhusGothenburgFreiburgStuttgartReykjavíkIstanbulThessalonikiCorkGalwayKilkennyYorkBathGlasgowLiverpool