Monaco travel guide

Flights to Nice

Nice Cote d’Azur Airport is the nearest airport to Monaco. It is the second busiest airport in France and just 4km to the west of Nice city centre. It's served by more than 40 scheduled airlines with direct flights from North America and most European countries as well as North Africa and the Middle East.

Flights from the UK include the four London airports; East Midlands; Manchester; Liverpool; Leeds/Bradford; Newcastle; Bristol and Belfast. Both Ryanair and easyJet fly regularly to Nice.

There are two terminals, with most UK arrivals using Terminal 2. It’s a short, inexpensive trip into the city – buses run every 20min from both terminals. The #23 bus goes to the SNCF Railway station every 30mins, from 7.53am to 9.00pm. Taxis cost around €25 to the station. The regular trains to Monaco take about 15mins.

Monaco helicopter

Helicopters are the smart way to fly to Monaco and the price is not prohibitive compared to a taxi. There are regular daily services every 15min from Nice Airport to the Monaco Heliport. The flight takes 6min. Call Heli Air Monaco on 00-377 9205 0050 or Monacair on 049 321 8086 for information.

Monaco by road

It’s a long drive from Paris - 960km, but the roads are good using the French autoroutes. Monaco is pretty congested so it's best to park as soon as possible. The largest underground car parks have 500 to 1,200 spaces and are well marked. Sous-Sol du Stade Louis II has 1,200 spaces; Centre Commercial de Fontvielle (680); Chemin de Pecheurs (600) and Les Boulingrins are the largest. Parking fees for relatively short stays are reasonable for such an exclusive resort.

Only vehicles bearing a Monaco or French Alpes-Maritime plate are allowed on the Rock (Le Rocher) around the Royal Palace.

Monaco by train

Trains arrive at Monaco SNCF railway station, near to the centre and underground. If changing trains at Nice, it's just 15min away. There are six daily services from Paris to Nice (5hrs 40min) and other TGV connections from Dijon, Geneva, Lille-Brussels and Metz. There is also a ‘train-auto’ service from Paris which cuts out the 931km drive.

Monaco by sea

The harbour will be of interest if you are lucky enough to arrive in your own vessel – there are floating pontoons, catways, quays and fuelling facilities as well as showers/toilets etc.

Cruise ships call at Monaco, either at the new extension jetty at the Port, or anchoring off-shore or in nearby bays such as Villefranche.

There are ferries and high-speed vessels to and from Corsica to Nice with SNCM and Corsica Ferries, then on by train to Monaco.