know before you go: monaco

During my trip to the South of France in June 2024, I jumped at the opportunity to also visit Monaco, just a short train ride away. After seeing the movie Monte Carlo, it had been on my list for years and I was so glad to finally be able to visit. Honestly, it was just like in the movie. There was history and glamour and beauty and so much fun. Let's take a look at one of the smallest countries in the world.

what to see and do

1. Walk around to the old town of Monaco. Make sure to go all the way around and to Fort Antoine for the view on Port Hercules and the surrounding mountains. Then head to the other side for a view that is just as beautiful on Port Fontvieille. Walk the narrow streets to see what you might discover. Have a bite to eat in one of the restaurants and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
2. Visit the palace. Yes, you read that right, you can buy tickets at the entrance, no reservations required, and go inside the palace. There are audioguides in multiple languages and you can even buy tickets to visit the garage with all of the expensive cars. I absolutely loved this visit and it was a good introduction to the history of Monaco as well.
3. Visit the Monte Carlo Casino. While you can't go past the main lobbies unless you are exchanging money for coins, it is still worth a visit to see this iconic building.
4. Relax at Larvotto beach. Have a drink or a meal at one of the beach clubs or take a swim.
5. Visit the Oceanographic Museum. 
6. Check out the exhibitions at Grimaldi Forum. While the expositions are temporary, you might find one you like during your visit and the Forum is worth a visit in and of itself.

where to stay

I'm not going to lie, Monaco is expensive. I would have loved to rent a penthouse with a view on the bay and Monte Carlo, but I'm not one of the rare people with the money to do that. All jokes aside, a regular hotel room in Monaco would still set you back a few hundred euros per night so, if like us, you would like a more budget friendly option, know that it is totally possible. We opted to stay in Nice as a base to explore most of the Riviera and did not regret it. AirBnBs and hotels were reasonably priced and the train and buses in that area are top notch. The day of our visit to Monaco, we simply took the train for 20 euros (roundtrip) and arrived about 30 minutes later. If your plan is to visit Monaco by train, like we did, just make sure you are staying in one of the towns on the train path and you'll be golden.

how to get around

There are lots of options to get around Monaco and Monte Carlo, the two main cities of the country. Buses run frequently, we saw a lot of taxis and there are even hop-on-hop-off buses that loop to the main attractions. But it is also totally possible to walk the whole way, which is what we ended up doing. It was a 30k+ steps kind of day up and down hills and staircases, not a possibility for everyone, but if you like walking, we loved slowly discovering the two cities.

how long should you stay

This depends on how deeply you want to explore Monaco. If you want to spend a day at the oceanographic museum or spend an evening at the casino, you might want to spend more than one day, but after one day, I felt like we had seen what we wanted to see. We arrived early in the morning and left before dinner and I don't feel like we missed anything.

While Monaco isn't exactly the kind of place you visit for a whole week. It was totally worth the small detour. Every street was more beautiful than the last, the view on the mountains and the sea was incredible and the visits were interesting and fairly priced. What more could you look for in a destination?

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