I had lived and worked in Monaco for 9 months couple of years ago. I have to say, it was one of the best times of my life so far. So if you’re considering visiting Monaco – absolutely do so! People have love or hate relationship with Monaco. I am on the love side, off course. Monaco is absolutely fantastic and not as expensive as you might think. I mean, off course, you can get a bottle of champagne for 198 000 EUR (yes, one hundred and ninety eight thousands Euros) but you can also have a decent meal for 25 Euros. In this article, we will look at everything Monaco and I hope I will convince you to visit and experience Monaco like a pro!
Table of content:
- How to get to Monaco?
- Where to stay in Monaco (or just outside)?
- How to get around Monaco?
- What museums and cool places are worth the time and effort in Monaco?
- Is Monaco safe?
- Final thoughts on visiting Monaco
How to get to Monaco?
By plane from far abroad or by train from France or Italy.
The closest airport to Monaco is Nice Cote d’Azure International Airport in France. It’s about 45 min drive from Monaco, so not that bad. In terms of best airlines to fly into Nice, I really recommend Lufthansa, even if with a connection on one of the German airports like Munich or Frankfurt (99% of times they really work well and remaining 1% they know what to do with you when shit hits the fen). You can also go with any major airline that flies to Nice. There are even couple of direct flights from the US – for example from JFK and from Newark. For those flying in from Asia or Australia, you have a nice connecting flight with Turkish Airline from Istanbul to Nice (and btw – Istanbul is really worth exploring too – you can read about Istanbul in my other post https://europeloving.com/istanbul-a-city-of-culture-history-and-beauty/). You also have a nice flight with Emirates from Dubai. For connecting flights within Europe, you can go with pretty much every single airline as majority of them flies to Nice – Lufthansa, KLM, BA, Air France. You have also couple of low cost options. I would however strongly recommend flying with airline within Star Alliance or Flying Blue, especially when you’re connecting as you have higher chances of actually arriving at your destination on time.
Getting from Nice Airport to Monaco
You have couple of options to get from Nice Airport to Monaco. You could take the train from Nice but I’d strongly recommend taking a taxi. But not the regular city taxi, rather the private taxi service. You can book pretty much any of them, just google Nice to Monaco taxi service and you’ll get plenty of options. They are all pretty much the same, just check that the rate is shown when booking so that there are no surprises afterwards. Especially if you have luggage, a private taxi service will be much more convenient. Also the drive itself is worth it. You will drive along the A8 highways with some scenic views of the sea and the mountains, small villages and nice houses overlooking the coastline. Just be sure to pre-book your taxi service so that they can pick you up directly from the arrivals. Just give them your name and your flight number in case flight is delayed. That way they know they have to wait.
Ok, so now we’ve arrived in Monaco, or have we?
Where to stay in Monaco?
Hotel in Monaco
There are plenty of accommodation options in Monaco. From those more reasonably priced (although I still classify them as expensive), I really like the Marriott, very close to Port de Fontvieille. I liked staying there because of the location which was very convenient for me – close to the harbor and close to the company I used to work for at the time (I have not stayed in Marriott for 9 months though – just initial couple of weeks before we found a longer term accommodation). Melia is also very nice, at the other side of town – closer to luxury shopping (although Monaco is so small that it’s close everywhere). There are plenty of more fancy and luxurious accommodation options as well, but with a corresponding price tag.
Hotel in France
Remember that there is no physical border between France and Monaco – on one side of the road you are in Monaco, on the other side you are in France. Beausoleil is a town attached to Monaco in a way that when you walk up the hill, you cannot tell if you are in Monaco or already in Beausoleil. And I mean like really – they look like one town. Yes, you will maybe notice the pavement being a little less nice or you’ll notice more convivence stores on a street but that’s pretty much it. Also it’s not like have to walk for away to be in Beausoleil. It’s really connected – like it was one town with Monaco. And for the effort of walking 5 min more (and I mean 5 min, not 25 min!) you can get a very convenient and practical accommodation in a serviced apartment for a fraction of the price of a fancy hotel 5 min down the hill. Most of those serviced apartments are self-catering but typically you will have a kitchenette so you can prep your own meal. Some of them offer continental breakfast. Anyway, if you want to explore Monaco with a reasonable budget, I trully recommend accommodation in Beausoleil. Ok, so now, when we have a place to sleep, let’s start exploring Monaco. It’s rather small but still if you don’t figure out your ways around, you’ll get exhausted easily because most of the time it’s sunny, rather hot and you walk up the hill a lot :).
Regardless if you decide to stay in France or in Monaco, you can always find the best hotels deals at Expedia. I use them a lot and so far so good 🙂
How to get around Monaco?
Get around Monaco with public transportation
Despite being very small, Monaco has public transportation – namely buses. They are cheap, clean, safe and very convenient to get around Monaco. The buses are operated by C.A.M which stands for Monaco Bus Company when translated. Regular bus service is available between 7 a.m. and 9.30 p.m. then you have evening busses, from 9.20 p.m. till 12.20 a.m., and a night bus from 12.20 a.m. till 4.20 a.m. on the weekends. There are 6 bus lines operating in Monaco. Just think about it – a place so small with 6 bus lines means that really you can get pretty much everywhere by bus. That’s exactly what I used to do – take the bus when I wanted to go from side of town to the other. The 6 bus lines cover pretty much all the key points in Monaco (all are round trips): Line 1 goes from Monaco Ville to Saint Roman, Line 2 goes from Monaco Ville to Exotic Garden, Line 3 goes from Fontvieille (Shopping Mall) to Hector Otto, Line 4 goes from Fontvieille (Shopping Mall) to Saint Roman, Line 5 goes from Hospital to Larvotto and finally line 6 goes from Fontvieille (Shopping Mall) to Larvotto. Really no need for taxis any services of this kind – just take the bus! Just get your multi-ride pass and you’re good to go. You ca get it on the bus or from C.A.M. office. If you prefer to pay for each ride, have cash on you!
What museums and cool places are worth the time and effort in Monaco?
Classic Cars Museum
The Price of Monaco has a magnificent collection of classic cars and this collection is on display at La collection de voitures de SAS Le Prince de Monaco. It’s in Fontvieille district of Monaco and an absolute must see if you like cars. It’s a private collection that belongs to the Price of Monaco but it’s available to see for the public. About 100 cars in the collection, with some unique cars like 1903 De Dion Bouton or cars that were used in F1 racing in Monaco Grand Prix. You can really see that Monegasque Royal Family loves cars and racing sports. You could even organize an event there like wedding reception or a business meeting, at a rather high price, off course but hey, why not! The cars are really well maintained, very well displayed, at the area of 5000m2, and trust me, if you like cars, this will be a heaven for you! To me it’s an absolute must see! The place is open all year round except for Christmas and you can get the tickets online. Adult admission is only 10 EUR so there’s really no excuse not to see it! BTW – their website isn’t great but the place itself is! To me, this is one of the best cars collections in the world, and since I am a car freak, I’ve seen quite a few of those.
Wander around Monaco
Most people when visiting Monaco, come for a day or two. If you read some of the travel guides, you’ll see most popular articles are in the spirit of “Monaco for a day trip” kind of sightseeing. I’ve lived and worked in Monaco for 9 months and I have to say one thing – in order to really experience and love Monaco, you should stay there for longer. One day is not enough to fully experience the atmosphere and what I call Monegasque Spirit. Despite being only a few square kilometers big, Monaco is very densely populated and a home to almost 40 thousand people, out of which only below 10 thousand actually have Monegasque passport. You can imagine that with so many rich people on such a small area, there are one fancy thing next to another. I actually love wandering around Monaco streets – this is the only place on earth where I saw 2 Bugatti Veyrons parked in front of the same building. Monaco is also a home to some of the most beautiful gardens – they have Japanese Garden, Rose garden and Exotic Garden. Gardens the Fontvieille was my favorite place to have lunch or just have break. Walking around Monaco you will find multiple narrow passages, stairs and hidden corners. There are even elevators and escalators to make your walking a bit easier. Really, just have a walk around, don’t hurry, talk to people you’ll meet – it’s actually very easy to tell who is a tourist and who lives there. You just know! Early morning or in the evening go for a run to Larvotto beach and back. Good times guaranteed! And yes, you got that right – if you get tired, just hop on a bus.
Musee Oceanographique
Not only it’s a home for some 6000 marine life but also the building itself and it’s location on the Monaco Rock is a must see! The museum was opened in 1910 and it is one of the oldest ocean museum in the world. They also have a terraced restaurant with an amazing view of the sea. The museum is opened from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the adult admission (at the time of writing) is 18 Euro. You can also get a combined ticket to the Museum and to the Prince Palace for 25 Euro and I’d choose this option since the Palace is also worth seeing. So get in, spend some quality time there and enjoy not only the marine life (they have some fun shark experience) but also the building. Have lunch there – food is ok and the view – amazing. If you don’t want to go there in person, or if you want to prepare for your visit, they offer virtual tours of the museum now. Not the same as personal experience but still an option. You can access the virtual tour here: https://musee.oceano.org/en/the-virtual-visit-of-the-museum/. If you want to learn more about traveling without living home, you can also read my other post: https://europeloving.com/how-to-travel-without-leaving-home/
Monte Carlo Cassino and Opera House
Probably the most famous and iconic place in Monaco – the Cassino and Opera House. To be honest with you, I am not a big fan of this place. I mean, yeah, it’s a beautiful building and the surroundings, with beautiful view, fancy cars always parked outside, and a lot of money inside, I think it’s a bit overrated. Yet, if you are in Monaco, this is a must see. So my recommendation is – go there, take some nice pictures, spend no more than 1-2 hours and you’re done. Put it out there on Instagram and everybody’s happy 🙂
Port Hercule
Who doesn’t like yachts? Well, I love them. And the best place on earth to see some of the most expensive, amazing and modern yachts is in Monaco – there are couple of marinas but Port Hercule is my favorite. You can see all kinds of beats there, from just a regular boats to yachts worth hundreds millions Euros. Even better if somehow you could get into one of the private boat parties that are happening very often – that’s exactly why you should network and talk to people while on the road. You never know who you meet. I used to come to the port with a book and lunch just to contemplate the boats in peace and quiet. You should try too!
Dine and Club like a Diva
Monaco is home to some of the best and finest restaurants on earth. And yes, you can spend hundreds thousands euros for a meal (or champagne to be precise) but in most of restaurants in Monaco, even those fancy, you can get a very nice meal with superior service for a decent price. Even the place next to the Cassino is not as expensive as you’d think. What is important though, is to enjoy the experience, with no hurry and hustle. After you had a nice meal with a nice wine (house wine) it’s time for a party! Monaco is famous for nightclubs and all different sorts of partying you can imagine. Two place I’d like to take you to are: Jimmy’z at Place de Casino and La Rascasse. Jimmy’z is a legendary place that has been there for over 40 years. This is the place where rich and famous, and you and me, have fun. Only the best DJs, amazing atmosphere and really something in the air that makes you feel good there. Even if you’re not rich and famous, you will still feel very welcome, like a Diva! So go there, and have a night of of your life. The other place I love in Monaco is La Rascasse (yes, same name as the famous curve on F1 route). They call themselves a restaurant but for me this is more like a pub. Finger food is super nice, you can choose from whatever alcohol comes to your mind and during my time in Monaco, they had live music. We used to go every Thursday and we had the best time every time. I even remember one night with too much tequila. The next morning, I was flying back to Warsaw and it was so bad that the Taxi Driver needed to help me pack my stuff and go through checking at the airport (btw – here we come back to importance of choosing the right private taxi driver, especially if you know you will be flying in and out a lot). Anyway, some of my best memories from Monaco are from La Rascasse – you have to go and enjoy!
Is Monaco safe?
Yes, Monaco is very safe!
There is a lot of police in Monaco. They are very well trained and also very discrete. If you are just having the best time and no harm no anything and anybody, you will almost never see them. But if you do something illegal or dangerous, they will catch you immediately. This is because of two reasons: 1. There is a lot more police officers in Monaca per 1000 people than any other place in Europe and 2. There are cameras almost everywhere. The police really sees everything. But you have nothing to worry about – they are very friendly and discrete, as long as you behave, and by behave I mean, you enjoy yourself without harming other people. Monaco is one of the very few places on earth these days where you can see 4 or 5 year old kids marching unsupervised to preschool. It’s that safe. Just to give an idea – that night after the famous tequila party in La Rascasse, I don’t remember how I got back home with my friend Astrid. We are sure as hell, we were singing along the way and we have some memories of riding a city bike. We are sure as hell that we has absolutely no encounter with the police, despite being drunk as hell in the middle of the night on the streets of Monaco because we were causing no harm to anybody and anybody’s property. We were just having fun, maybe a bit too much fun, buy hey! We all need to have fun sometimes, am I right?
Final thoughts on visiting Monaco
Monaco is the place to be
People have love or hate relationship with Monaco. My observation is – people who came there for a day or two, tent to hate it. People who have spend some more time there and really had a chance to experience the lifestyle – love it. I belong to the “love” category. Those 9 months in Monaco, was the best time of my life. Despite not being rich or a celebrity, just a regular hard working human, I felt like a Diva in Monaco. I felt safe and welcomed. The only time I don’t recommend Monaco is during the Grand Prix, unless you are F1 fan. Purely because it’s very crowded, streets are closed, busses don’t operate normally and it’s at times difficult to get by. Apart from that, I really, truly recommend spending some quality time in Monaco. Who know, maybe one day I will have a chance to live there again?
Photo by Photo by Vincent Guzman.
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