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.
Both the Greeks and the Romans sheltered here, which is where the name comes from. Today it is the most animated part of Monaco at almost any hour: quays lined with restaurants, a solar-powered bateau bus crossing the water, and a permanently rotating cast of yachts that get larger every September for the Monaco Yacht Show.
Behind the harbour, La Condamine is where the Principality does its ordinary business. The Marché de la Condamine on Place d’Armes has been running since 1880 and is comfortably the best-value food in the country.
For three days each May the quays become the Grand Prix’s fastest section, running from the tunnel exit along the water to the chicane and the swimming-pool complex.
| Best for | Superyacht watching and the Condamine market |
|---|---|
| Free | Yes — walking the quays costs nothing |
| Tip | A 50-minute harbour cruise is the cheapest good view of the Principality |
Everything in Monaco is within a twenty-minute walk, but the country climbs from sea level to about 160 metres — use the network of roughly 80 free public lifts and escalators rather than the streets. Buses 1, 2 and 6 cover the whole Principality for a couple of euros. Full detail in the Monaco travel guide, and transfers from Nice airport in getting to Monaco.
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.
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