13 Best Sights in Monaco

Perched dramatically on a cliff, this museum is a splendid Edwardian structure, built under Prince Albert I to house specimens collected on amateur explorations, including Jacques Cousteau–led missions from 1957 to 1988. The main floor exhibits the skeletons and taxidermy of enormous sea creatures, early submarines and diving gear dating to the Middle Ages, and a few interactive science displays. The main draw is the famous aquarium, a vast complex of backlighted tanks containing more than 6,000 species of fish, crab, and eel in pools running 100–450,000 liters.

Most of Monaco's sights are concentrated—with tidy, self-conscious charm—on the broad plateau known as Le Rocher, or the Rock. Here, in the medieval heart of Monaco, you'll find the cathedral, palace, Musée Océanographique, and the delightful St- Martin Gardens, the country’s first public garden (open since 1816). Only vehicles with Monaco license plates can drive through the gate, but the No. 1 or 2 buses will get you to the top. If you're feeling energetic, climb the 42 steps of the Rampe Majeur from Place d'Armes, behind the right corner of the port. You can also approach the Rock by elevator from the seafront at the port's farthest end, though this, too, requires some walking.

Although area businesses are predominately souvenir stores that cater to cruise visitors, there are a few unique establishments, including Chocolaterie de Monaco, which has been open since 1920; the award-winning La Montgolfière restaurant; and Les 5 Saveurs ( 6 bis, rue Basse), a shop that sells Panier des Sens natural, made-in-Marseilles cosmetics and soaps that are favored by Monaco residents.

Place du Casino is the center of Monte Carlo and a must-see, even if gambling is not your thing. The hopeful descend from tour buses and enter the gold-leaf splendor of the 1863 casino to tempt fate beneath the gilt-edge rococo ceiling. Some spend much more than planned here, as did the French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who once lost 100,000 francs.

The main gambling hall is the Salle Europe, where you can play roulette and Texas Hold'em, while the slot machines stand apart in the Salle des Amériques. Bring your passport, as you have to be at least 18 to enter. There's a €17 admission to the period gaming rooms (open from 2 pm), where a dress code applies (no runners, shorts, or jeans with holes). To see what the fuss is all about without tempting fate, you could just book lunch in the casino's Salon Rose.

In this impressive assemblage of Prince Rainier's vintage cars, you'll find everything from a De Dion Bouton to a Lamborghini Countach. Also on the Terrasses de Fontvieille is the Jardin Animalier (Animal Garden), a mini-zoo housing the Grimaldi family's animal collection—an astonishing array of wild beasts that includes monkeys and exotic birds.

A half-hour walk (uphill!) west from the palace brings you to this garden, where the views of the coastline are spectacular and an amazing variety of cacti and succulents clings to the sheer rock face. Indeed, the garden, which opened in 1933, traces its roots back to when Monaco's near-tropical climate nurtured plants that visitors from the northlands would have found exotic.

Also on the grounds—or actually under them and down 300 steps—are the Grottes de l'Observatoire, amazing grottoes and caves filled with stalagmites and spotlit with fairy lights. In addition, the on-site Musée d'Anthropologie has exhibits on general prehistory and regional Paleolithic discoveries. Note that the garden has been undergoing a multiyear restoration that's slated to be complete in early 2024; before visiting, check to be sure that it has reopened and to confirm hours and admission fees. You can hop on the No. 2 Jardin Exotique Bus (€2 onboard) in front of the casino tourism office or one of Monaco’s 79 elevators (perhaps at Bd. de Belgique, Av. Pasteur, or Av. Hector Otto) to take you up, up, and away.

Probably the best known of the private beaches, La Note Bleue is one of several strands at the newly revamped Larvotto Beach. It has live music every Wednesday year-round, a restaurant serving breakfast and Mediterranean-Asian food from noon to night, and—most essential—loungers to rent (€30 per day) from mid-April to mid-October. It's also a jellyfish-free zone, with nets that keep their tentacles at bay. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; swimming.

Added to the city in the 1990s, this seawater-therapy treatment center stretches between the landmark Hôtel de Paris and its sister, the Hermitage, and can be accessed directly from either hotel. Within its sleek, multilevel complex you can pursue every creature comfort, from underwater massage and seaweed body wraps to a 50-minute Monte-Carlo Foot Cocooning Massage (€160) in one of the 37 treatment rooms—almost all with views over the port. This is also the only spot in Europe offering crotherapy, a treatment where you spend a couple of minutes in two cold chambers at -60°C and then -110°C, and is said to help with jet lag, sleep disorders, and anti-aging. You'll definitely want to indulge in the outdoor hot tub afterward and enjoy an elegant spa lunch at L'Hirondelle as you thaw.

Follow the crowds down the last remaining streets of medieval Monaco to the 19th-century Cathédrale de l'Immaculée-Conception, which contains the tomb of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III, as well as a magnificent altarpiece painted in 1500 by Louis Bréa. From September to June, Monaco’s Boys Choir (Les Petits Chanteurs) provides the music for Sunday mass at 10:30 am.

Take the elevator down from Place des Moulins to the NMNM, which houses two museums, each of which hosts two exhibitions a year. One of the surviving buildings from the Belle Époque, Villa Sauber, with its rose garden, is in the Larvotto Beach complex, which has been artfully created with imported sand. The Villa Paloma (next door to the Jardin Exotique) was recently restored with fabulous stained-glass windows.

In the true spirit of the town, it seems that the Salle Garnier Opera House, with its 18-ton gilt-bronze chandelier and extravagant frescoes, is part of the casino complex. The designer, Charles Garnier, also built the Paris Opéra, so we are talking one fabulous jewel box. On display are some of the coast's most significant performances of dance, opera, and orchestral music.

The famous Rock, crowned by the palace where the princely family resides, stands west of Monte Carlo. On May 6, 1955, it's where Grace Kelly first met her future husband, Prince Rainier. An audio guide leading you through this sumptuous historical structure, built in the 13th century and expanded and enhanced over the centuries, reveals an extravagance of 16th- and 17th-century frescoes, as well as tapestries, gilt furniture, and paintings. The renovated private apartments, the "Grands Appartements," are open to the public from early April through October, but there is no wheelchair access.

The Relève de la Garde (Changing of the Guard) takes place outside the front entrance of the palace every day promptly at 11:55 am. In addition, beginning in mid-July, a summer concert series is held at 9:30 pm in the palace courtyard; you can buy tickets through the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo ( www.opmc.com).

Just off Avenue Princess Grace, one of the world's most costly streets on which to own property, is the only free public beach in Monaco. After two years of extensive renovations, it now has a pristine beachfront (protected by jellyfish nets) along with a promenade, bike lanes, and shops. Restaurants vary from Italian (Giacomo) to Mexican (Sexy Tacos), and across the street you'll find mind-blowing Japanese at the Niwaki, which is owned by the Sass Café family. Although the beach's €50 million face-lift is impressive, some complain it's too contemporary, and you'll have to put up with construction noise next door where the €2 billion, land-extension Portier Cove project is underway. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunrise; sunset.

It's a blissful downhill hike from Monte Carlo to the port along Boulevard Albert 1er, where pleasure boats of every length flash white and blue. Pop-up grandstands line the street for Grand Prix, and the far corner of the port is where the Institut Océanographique launches research boats to study aquatic life in the Mediterranean, as its late director Jacques Cousteau did for some 30 years. From here, you can also access the seawall—aka the renovated digue—and use the ladder to take a dip in the Mediterranean (just beware of the jellyfish). 

From La Condamine, you can catch a glimpse of the yachting club, one of the world's most prestigious and a staple on the local social circuit, where musicians such as Elton John and Duran Duran have performed. Steps from the club, at La Poissonnerie on Quai l'Hirondelle, you can witness the catch of the day from Monaco's fourth-generation (and only!) fisherman, Eric Rinaldi. He supplies many of Monaco's private chefs, including those who work on yachts. Surely you can afford €8 to try one of the freshest-ever Mediterranean prawns. Burger alert: There are several tasty burger joints in La Condamine, from Gruber's on Rue Princess Caroline to Steak 'n Shake near the train station.