Things to do in Monaco
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Monaco Formula One Grand Prix
The scent of singed tyres fills the air at May's Monaco Formula One Grand Prix . If there's one trophy a Formula One driver would like to have on the mantelpiece, it would have to be from the most glamorous race of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix. This race has everything.
Its spectators are the most sensational: the merely wealthy survey the spectacle from Hôtel Hermitage, the really rich watch from their luxury yachts moored in the harbour, while the Grimaldis see the start and finish from the royal box at the port.
Then there's the setting: the cars scream around the very centre of the city, racing uphill from the start/finish line to place du Casino, then downhill a…
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Palais du Prince
Monaco's royal palace has been around since the 13th century. Every Grimaldi since has found it necessary to leave their mark on the place, and as a result this is not one of Europe's most elegant castles. It is worth taking a look inside though - 15 rooms, including the Throne Room, are open to the public.
If you've already blown your cash and can't afford the entrance fee, the changing of the guard won't cost you a cent. It starts just before noon and is over within two minutes, so be on time. Dressed in spiffy white uniform in summer, black in winter, the guards appear apparently resigned to the comic-opera nature of their duties.
In the south wing of the palace, the M…
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Musée Océanographique
Stuck dramatically to the edge of a cliff since 1910, the world-renowned Musée Océanographique - a Prince Albert I (1848-1922) creation - is a stunner. Its centrepiece is the 7.5m-long coral reef, with vivid tropical fish on one side and deep-sea predators on the other. Ninety smaller tanks contain a dazzling 450 Mediterranean and tropical species, sustained by 250,000L of freshly pumped sea water per day.
The Whale Room, filled with cetacean skeletons and pickled embryos, and fanciful seabird-covered chandeliers, mosaic floors and oak doorframes carved into marine shapes at every turn complete the mesmerising ensemble. Kids will love the tactile basin; tickets for the …
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Monte Carlo's Golden Circle
Monte Carlo's legendary Monte Carlo's Golden Circle is the spot to (window) shop. Get going on av des Beaux Arts, on the southern side of the casino gardens, where you can swirl through Chanel, Christian-Dior, Céline, Louis Vuitton, Yves St-Laurent and Sonia Rykiel. Bow down at the altar of Italian fashion house, Prada, and pay homage to Salvatore Ferragamo inside Hôtel Hermitage.
Nearby, av de Monte Carlo is a short, chic street with a luxury line-up: Gucci, Valentino, Hermès, Lalique (crystal) and Prada.
Tucked beside the casino is Parisian jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels while Kenzo, Marina Rinaldi, D&G and Christian Lacroix hide alongside more affordable names in the i…
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Louis XV
Reputed to be the Riviera's best restaurant, Ducasse's legendary Louis XV is the height of sophisticated dining. Set jewel-like inside the opulent Hôtel de Paris, the dining room, which looks as though it's been teleported from 17th-century Versailles, sparkles with gold. Nice-born head chef Franck Cerutti uses seasonal ingredients in his themed French menus, with dashes of Italy, Bavaria, Scotland and the Far East to keep things peppy.
The restaurant contains the world's largest wine cellar: 250,000 bottles of wine (many priceless) stashed in a rock cave. Reservations are essential, as are jacket and tie for men.
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Jardin Exotique
Who would've thought cacti could be so much fun? With 7000 varieties of cacti and succulents, the Jardin Exotique is paradise for prickle-lovers. If 7000 cacti is about 6998 too many, the garden is still worth a visit for its spectacular views.
Your ticket also gets you a 35-minute guided tour round the Grottes de l'Observatoire, a prehistoric cave network stuffed with stalactites and stalagmites. Admission to the Musée d'Anthropologie Préhistorique (Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology) is also included.
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Centre de Congrès Auditorium
The Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (1863; www.opmc.mc) often plays at the Auditorium Rainier III inside the Centre de Congrès Auditorium . In July and August its venue shifts to the star-topped Cour d'Honneur (Courtyard of Honour) at the Palais Princier. Tickets (around €18 to around €80) are sold at the Atrium du Casino in the casino. They are like gold dust.
Jacket and tie for men is obligatory at all performances.
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Grottes de l'Observatoire
Take a 35-minute guided tour round the Grottes de l'Observatoire, a prehistoric cave network stuffed with stalactites and stalagmites, 279 steps down inside the hillside; strangely, it's the only cave in Europe where the temperature rises as you descend. Admission to the cactus collection and Musée d'Anthropologie Préhistorique is also included.
From the tourist office, take bus 2 to the Jardin Exotique stop.
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Cathédrale de Monaco
Visitors flood to this Romanesque-Byzantine Cathédrale de Monaco, built in 1875, to view the flower-covered graves of fairy-tale couple, Princess Grace (1929-82) and Prince Rainier III.
September to June, Sunday Mass is sung by Les Petits Chanteurs de Monaco, Monaco's boys' choir, although tours in July and August can take the choir out of town. Organ recitals are at held on alternate Saturdays, July to September.
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Le Castelroc
Opposite the Palace with an entrance ensnared by T-shirt and souvenir shops it might be, but incredibly Le Castelroc is no tourist trap. Spilling out to an al-fresco terrace, its twin dining rooms are the best place around to try authentic Monégasque specialities such as barbadjuan (a spinach and cheese-stuffed doughnut) and pissaladière (onion and tomato tart; France's version is tomatoless).
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Ferrari City Tour
From mid-July to the end of August speed fiends can put their foot down in a cherry-red Ferrari during a Ferrari City Tour around the Monaco Grand Prix circuit. A lap takes 15 to 20 minutes and costs around €35 in the passenger seat or around €70 if you drive (someone comes with you to tell you when to accelerate, change gear etc). Look for the red Ferrari parked near the Rascasse bend at the port.
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Stars 'n' Bars
This American bar-restaurant just doesn't lose its touch. A long-time hot spot, its portside terrace remains one of Monaco's sexiest - as does its busy interior plastered with sporting memorabilia. TexMex platters, buffalo wings, burgers and a generous dose of vegetarian dishes plump out a family-friendly menu, while fusion is the essence upstairs at the grown-up sushi and cocktail club Fusion.
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Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra often plays at the Auditorium Rainier III inside the Centre de Congrès Auditorium. In July and August its venue shifts to the star-topped Cour d'Honneur (Courtyard of Honour) at the Palais Princier. Tickets are sold at the Atrium du Casino in the casino. They are like gold dust.
Jacket and tie for men is obligatory at all performances.
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Digue de l'Avant Port
Take a nautical stroll around the port and up the stairs next to Yacht Club de Monaco onto the Digue de l'Avant Port, a record-breaking floating dike, 28m wide, 352m long and weighing 163,000 tonnes, that doubled Monaco port's capacity overnight when it was unveiled in 2004. From its southern end a path winds along the coast and up through the shady Jardins St-Martin to Monaco Ville.
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Monte Carlo Rally
January's Monte Carlo Rally is a high-octane three-day series of timed stages, starting and finishing at the port and ripping through Haute-Provence in between. The traditional night stage and the concentration run, where drivers set off from various European cities to meet in Monte Carlo (like Disney's onscreen VW Beetle Herbie in the 1970s), were scrapped in 1997.
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Parc Fontvieille
The lush gardens of Parc Fontvieille are pleasant for a summer stroll; more than 4000 rose bushes and a small swan-filled lake adorn the Roseraie Princesse Grace (Princess Grace Rose Garden), planted in her memory in 1984. Contemporary sculptures, including works by César and Arman, line the length of the park's Chemin des Sculptures.
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Collection de Voitures Anciennes
Highlights of the 100-odd classic cars displayed in the Palace's regal Collection de Voitures Anciennes include a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, a wedding present from local shopkeepers to Rainier III; a black London cab (Austin 1952) fitted out for Grace Kelly; and the first F1 racing car to win the Monaco Grand Prix - the Bugatti 1929.
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Café de Paris
A sight in itself, Monaco's best-known café has been in business since 1882 and is the place in Monte Carlo to people-watch. A coke/croque monsieur on its legendary terrace costs around €5/around €13.50; a nip to the loo to glimpse the original brasserie interior is a must.
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Monaco Shore Excursion: Private Day Trip to Monaco, Eze and Nice
by Viator
When your cruise ship docks in Monaco and you have only a single day to see the beautiful cities of Monte Carlo, Nice and Eze, you’ll need a privately guided, f…Not LP reviewed
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Grimaldi Forum
Monaco's congress and conference centre, the Grimaldi Forum, is worth a peak for its architecture - think glass crystal, two-thirds submerged in the sea - and designer dining and drinking spaces. Otherwise, contemporary art exhibitions and cultural happenings add spice to daily Monagésque life.
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Fuji
With its Zen interior - natural hues broken with the odd splash of lime-green neon - this Japanese restaurant is a sleek crowd-pleaser. Find it beneath the escalator leading down to the Métropole shopping centre and, in July and August, beneath the stars at Le Sporting (26 av Princesse Grace).
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Polpetta
Craving down-to-earth dining? Then hike uphill to this disarmingly old-fashioned trattorianext to a garage where eggs and veg are delivered each morning by a man in a little white van. The doing of the Guasco brothers for 20-odd years, Sinatra among others loved Polpetta. We love its osso bucco.
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La Rascasse
It changed its name to Café Grand Prix but the punters just wouldn't have it. It does, after all, sit inside the Rascasse bend of the F1 Grand Prix circuit and throbs with drivers' girlfriends and support teams during the race. The restaurant is on the 1st floor, the bar is on the ground.
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La Maison du Caviar
Going strong since 1950, the House of Caviar is that - and more. Savour blini with 30 mouth-melting grams of Iranian caviar (around €80) followed by pan-fried beef and caviar (ĕr48) or homemade gnocchi in a chive and cream sauce and 20g of the black roe (€60).
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Plage de Monte Carlo Beach
Plage de Monte Carlo is a fine-shingle beach that has both private and paying sections where you can hire cushioned sun lounges and parasols for around €8/around €10 per half-/full day. Take bus 4 from the train station or bus 6 from the port to Le Sporting stop.
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