Monaco travel guide
How to get in, how to get around a country built on a cliff, what to wear and what it all costs — without the brochure gloss.
Getting to Monaco
Monaco has no airport of its own. Everyone arrives via Nice Côte d’Azur, about 30 kilometres west, and there are four ways to cover the last leg.
| Option | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Express bus (line 110) | ~50 min | Direct from both terminals; cheapest by a wide margin |
| Taxi or private transfer | 30–45 min | Door to door; traffic on the Basse Corniche can be bad |
| Train (change at Nice-Ville) | ~60 min | Frequent, scenic, and drops you inside the rock at Monaco-Monte-Carlo |
| Helicopter | 7 min | A Monaco institution; lands at the Fontvieille heliport |
Monaco-Monte-Carlo station is built into the hillside in the middle of the country, with exits at different levels — check which one you want before you walk, because picking wrong costs you a serious climb.
Getting around
Monaco is 2.08 km² and you can walk across it in half an hour. The complication is that it rises from sea level to about 160 metres, and the solution is one of the country’s genuinely great pieces of public infrastructure: a network of around 80 public lifts, escalators and travelators threaded through the buildings and the rock.
- The lifts are free and signposted, and most run from about 6am to midnight.
- Buses — lines 1, 2 and 6 cover the whole country for a couple of euros.
- Do not bring a car. Parking is costly, the one-way system is punishing, and you will not need it.
- The Bateau Bus crosses Port Hercule on a solar-powered shuttle, on a normal bus ticket.
What to wear
Less formal than you expect by day, more formal than you expect at night. Smart-casual covers almost everything; the exceptions are the Casino gaming rooms (no shorts, sportswear, flip-flops or bare shoulders, and jacket-and-tie in the salons privés after 8pm) and the Michelin-starred restaurants, which expect a jacket. Beachwear stays at Larvotto — Monaco has by-laws about walking around town in swimwear.
What things cost
Monaco’s reputation is built on its hotels and restaurants, and those are genuinely expensive — see our hotel comparison for realistic figures. The rest of the country is more reasonable than people expect: a bus ticket is about €2, the public lifts and the Larvotto beaches are free, lunch at the Condamine market is €15–20, and the Oceanographic Museum is a normal museum price.
There is no income tax for residents, but as a visitor you will notice VAT at French rates on everything. Tipping is not expected beyond rounding up.
How long you need
- One day — the Rock, the Casino quarter and the harbour on foot.
- Two days — add the Oceanographic Museum, the Exotic Garden, an afternoon at Larvotto and a real dinner.
- Three or more — use Monaco as a Riviera base: Èze, Menton, Villefranche and Italy are all short trips.
More Monaco guides
Monaco Grand Prix
Where to stay for race week, which balconies see the circuit, and when to book.
Best Time to Visit
Month by month on weather, rates, crowds and the events that fill every room.
Monaco Travel Guide
Getting in from Nice airport, the lifts and escalators, dress codes and what things cost.
Book Monaco tours & activities
You have the practicalities — now book the good part
Guided walks of the Rock, harbour cruises past the superyachts and circuit tours with the stories attached. Live prices and free cancellation on most tours.
Monaco practicalities
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a visa for Monaco?
Monaco is not in the EU but is in the Schengen area in practice, and it has no border controls with France — you arrive through France, so French and Schengen entry rules apply. There is no passport check at the border itself.
What currency does Monaco use?
The euro. Monaco is not an EU member but has a monetary agreement that lets it use the euro and mint its own coins, which are legal tender everywhere in the eurozone and collectable enough that you will rarely see one in change.
How do I get from Nice airport to Monaco?
The express bus (line 110) runs from both terminals to Monaco in about 50 minutes. A taxi or private transfer takes 30–45 minutes depending on traffic. The train involves a change at Nice-Ville and takes around an hour door to door. Helicopter transfers take seven minutes and are a genuine, if expensive, Monaco institution.
Is Monaco expensive?
Hotels, restaurants and the Casino quarter are as expensive as anywhere in Europe. Everything else is less bad than its reputation: the buses are about €2, the public lifts are free, the beaches at Larvotto are public, the Condamine market is cheap, and the walk around the Rock costs nothing.
Is Monaco safe?
Extraordinarily. Monaco has one of the highest police-to-resident ratios in the world and a dense CCTV network, and street crime is close to non-existent. Ordinary caution about valuables is sufficient.