Bucket list destination:
Monaco, Cote d'Azur, France
This tiny principality, complete with a royal family, is the second smallest (and most densely populated) country in the world. Crammed into this 2sq km tax haven are skyscrapers, mega yachts, Porches, celebrities, a royal palace, a famous Oceanographic Museum, a plethora of top-end clothing boutiques and three marinas filled with giant yachts, making it the ideal choice for an afternoon of wandering (and gawking).
End the day in style by trying your luck (and losing your holiday money) in one of Monaco’s famous casinos.
Although it all merges together into a giant conurbation, Monaco is divided into distinct quarters.
Monte Carlo is on its headland with the Casino, the surrounding Cercle d’Or, with the most fancy-pants jewellers, antiques dealers and haute couture shops.
The Royal Palace, Cathedral and Oceanography Museum are on the rock of the old town, or Monaco-Ville.
In between these is the port quarter, La Condamine, filled with the skyscraper apartment blocks; brash Fontvieille to the southwest is similar.
Our selection of the best Viator tours of this destination, plus helpful tickets and transfers
Nice
Price: €45
Min age: 0
Rating 4.03 / 5 [421 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Nice
Price: €60
Min age: 11
Rating 4.85 / 5 [115 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Nice
Price: €65
Min age: 0
Rating 4.63 / 5 [267 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Nice
Price: €69
Min age: 0
Rating 4.40 / 5 [128 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Nice
Price: €89
Min age: 0
Rating 4.71 / 5 [451 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Cannes
Price: €89
Min age: 0
Rating 4.27 / 5 [11 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Nice
Price: €97
Min age: 0
Rating 4.59 / 5 [752 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Nice
Price: €134
Min age: 0
Rating 4.43 / 5 [57 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Nice
Price: €600
Min age: 0
Rating 5 / 5 [25 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Nice
Price: €872
Min age: 0
Rating 4.76 / 5 [17 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
The most beautiful times to visit are April to June and mid-September to October, when the weather is warm and breezy but not uncomfortably hot.
July and August are crowded, hot and expensive, but the most popular time to go for the casinos, beaches and nightclubs. November is the dullest month, when many things close down; December and January have many bright, shirtsleeve days.
May sees Monaco host of the Riviera’s main events – the Monaco Grand Prix – with an accompanying surge in hotel and flight prices.
If money is no object, Monacair helicopters link Nice Airport to Monaco in seven minutes connecting with every arriving flight. Alternatively the Nice Airport Express Bus No 110 leaves Terminal 2 roughly once an hour, stopping in Monte Carlo. There are also plenty of taxis, which like the bus take around 50 minutes depending on traffic.
As the world’s second smallest country, getting around on foot would be easy if it weren’t so steep, but there are eight street lifts and five bus lines, as well as a solar-powered Bateau Bus across the harbour. If you’ve got a car, there are convenient car parks by the Casino, and the Chemin des Pecheurs near the Oceanographic Museum.
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