A casino that saved a country, a museum cut into a cliff, a working royal palace and a Formula 1 circuit made of public roads — all in two square kilometres.
Monaco's great advantage is density: you can see every sight on this page in two days without ever getting into a car. The free public lifts do the climbing.
The building that paid for a country
The most famous gaming room on earth, opened in 1863 to save the Grimaldis from bankruptcy — and successful enough that Monegasque citizens have paid no income tax since. Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opera, designed the concert hall attached to it.
A prince, a cliff and Jacques Cousteau
Better than almost any aquarium, because it was never meant to be one. Prince Albert I built it into the cliff face in 1910 as a serious research institution, and Jacques Cousteau ran it for thirty years.
Taken by a monk with a sword, 1297
A working royal residence on the site of a Genoese fortress. François Grimaldi took it in 1297 disguised as a Franciscan monk — which is why two sword-carrying monks still stand on the Monegasque coat of arms.
A racetrack for one week a year
Run on public roads since 1929 and barely changed since: 3.3 kilometres of ordinary streets barriered off each May, including the slowest corner in Formula 1 and a tunnel taken at 280 km/h.
Succulents on a cliff, and a cave beneath
Thousands of succulents terraced down a sheer cliff on the western edge of the country, with the best panorama in Monaco — and a prehistoric cave 60 metres below the entrance.
Garnier’s other opera house
The Salle Garnier, built onto the back of the Casino in 1878 by the architect of the Paris Opera. Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes were based here, and several Massenet operas had their premieres on this stage.
Superyachts in an ancient harbour
The only deep-water harbour on this stretch of coast, used since antiquity and now holding around 700 berths — including some of the largest private yachts in the world.
A hundred cars in Fontvieille
Rainier III’s personal collection of about a hundred vehicles, from a 1903 De Dion Bouton to Formula 1 cars that raced the circuit outside — reopened in a purpose-built Fontvieille space.
Where Grace Kelly is buried
A white Romanesque-Revival cathedral on the Rock, built in 1875 on the site of a thirteenth-century church. The Grimaldi princes are buried here, Rainier III and Grace Kelly among them.
Monaco splits neatly into three walkable clusters, and planning around them saves a lot of pointless climbing.
The Exotic Garden is the outlier — it is on the far western cliff and needs bus 2, but it has the only view that fits the whole country in one frame.
Grouped tours of several sights, plus skip-the-line museum tickets, are on our tours and tickets page.
Real-time prices from GetYourGuide, with free cancellation on most experiences.
Museum tickets, guided circuit walks and harbour cruises — compare live prices and book in a couple of taps.
The Casino de Monte-Carlo, the Oceanographic Museum, the Prince’s Palace on the Rock, and the Grand Prix circuit — which is simply a set of public roads you can walk for free. Add the Exotic Garden for the best panorama in the country, and Port Hercule for the superyachts.
Two comfortable days covers all of it. Everything on this page is within a twenty-minute walk of everything else, and Monaco’s free public lifts handle the climbing. One rushed day is enough for the Rock, the Casino quarter and the harbour.
More than you would expect: walking the Grand Prix circuit, the changing of the guard at the Palace, Saint Nicholas Cathedral, the quays of Port Hercule, the Larvotto beaches, the Princess Grace Rose Garden, the Jardins des Boulingrins, and all 80-odd public lifts and escalators.
The Oceanographic Museum is the busiest paid attraction and worth a timed ticket in summer. The Palace State Apartments are seasonal and close when the Prince is in residence. The Opéra has under 600 seats, so performances sell out well ahead.
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