Monaco top sights
TravelSavvy travel guide to top sights in Monaco
Despite its miniscule size there's lots to see in the Principality. We haven't listed them below but the people who live and work here are amongst the main attractions - how the rich and beautiful seem irresistibly drawn to each other!
The world-famous casino was built in 1878 and put Monaco on the tourist map. Surrounded by magnificent garden and terraces, everything is on a grand scale, with Rococo turrets, green copper cupolas and gold chandeliers.
The casino is open daily. You have to be 18 or over to enter and ID is obligatory. There is a strict dress code, with jacket and tie for men. It costs €10 – the slot machines are available from 2pm except weekends when they start at noon. Roulette and trente et quarante are after noon. There are also private rooms for European and English roulette, trente et quarante, chemin de fer, blackjack and craps.
The harbour is the centrepiece of the Principality, situated in La Condamine, the area between Le Rocher and Monte-Carlo. It's surrounded by a broad promenade and crammed with luxury yachts – just imagine watching the Grand Prix, champagne glass in hand, from the deck of one of these floating palaces. The Olympic swimming pool next to the Port acts as a chicane during the Grand Prix race. In the summer season, you can take a trip in a glass-bottomed boat; they leave from the Quai des Etats-Unis.
Climb up to the Royal Palace, the Palais du Prince, on Le Rocher. The building dates back to the 13th century with later additions in Italian Renaissance style. Partly built into vertical rock, the whole building, with its smartly uniformed guards, has a fairy tale feel. Make sure you're there for the changing of the guard at 11.55am - not at noon - each day.
Tours of the palace include a visit to the Hercules Gallery, which looks down on the main courtyard.
The square outside with its old cannons offers views over the rooftops and harbour of Fontvielle - even the tiled roof of the football stadium of Monaco FC blends in with the local architecture. From the square, narrow lanes, packed with shops and affordable restaurants, lead off in to the characterful Monaco old town.
The oldest part of Monaco sits on a rock that juts out to sea. It is always an incredible sight, floodlit at night and incredibly pretty with 18th century houses and quaint alleyways, packed with shops, bars and restaurants. There are, of course, the inevitable tourist shops but Monaco is perhaps one place where you might want to buy a tee-shirt - Grand Prix goods feature strongly. Whilst you're in this area, take a peek at the cathedral where Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly were married.
The Jardin Exotique in Monaco is located on a steep rock looking down on to Le Rocher and is worth visiting for the view alone. Combine that with a collection of 6,000 cacti and succulents, plus a 279 step descent to the Grotte de l'Observatoire, and it's worth putting an hour or so aside for a visit.
The grottoes include a series of chambers with stalactites and stalagmites. Human habitation here dates back 200,000 years. A selection of tools and and bones are are on display in the Musee d'Anthropologie Prehistorique.
If Monaco has no male heirs to the throne, the country becomes part of France
Copyright © SavvyNetworks 2006 - 2010, Cheshire, UK. All rights reserved.
Monaco bars
Nearby trips
Monaco basics
Monaco shops