Monaco 5 Day Itinerary
Monaco 5-Day Itinerary
Monaco is 2.02 square kilometres. The entire principality fits inside Central Park with room to spare, and yet it contains a Formula 1 street circuit, three Michelin three-star restaurants, the world’s most famous casino, and the kind of density of supercars that registers as absurd within an hour of arrival. Five days here requires using the principality as a base for the wider French and Italian Riviera rather than filling all five with Monaco-only activities. That combination is what makes the trip work.
Getting There
Monaco has no commercial airport. The nearest international hub is Nice Cote d’Azur Airport (NCE), 22 kilometres west along the coast. Four options for the last stretch:
The cheapest is the SNCF TER regional train from Nice-Ville station (not the airport; take a bus or taxi to Nice centre first) to Monaco-Monte Carlo, which costs around EUR 7 and takes about 25 minutes. If you are arriving at the airport itself, Express Bus 80 runs directly to Monaco for EUR 21 and takes around 50-60 minutes including coastal stops. A standard taxi from the airport to Monaco has a set fare of EUR 90. The fourth option is the helicopter service operated by Blade: seven minutes, EUR 195 per seat on a scheduled shared flight. Expensive, but if you have never landed at the Monaco Heliport on the harbour with Port Hercule below you, it is worth doing once.
From France, the coastal train stops at Monaco-Monte Carlo and Monaco-Fontvieille. From Italy, Ventimiglia connects via the same regional line.
Visas
Monaco is not an EU member but has a customs union with France and participates in the Schengen Area. If you can travel to France without a visa (which covers most Western nationals), no separate Monaco entry document is required.
Day 1: Monaco-Ville and Port Hercule
Monaco-Ville, the old fortified town on the Rock, is where the history of the principality is concentrated. Start at the Palais Princier (Prince’s Palace): entry is EUR 14 for adults during the summer visiting months (April-October; the Palace closes to visitors when the Grimaldi family is in residence in winter). The Changing of the Guard at 11:55am is a set piece that takes five minutes but draws a crowd. Arrive ten minutes early.
The Oceanographic Museum on the south side of the Rock is the building most visitors underestimate. Founded in 1910 by Prince Albert I, a serious oceanographer who led 28 scientific expeditions, it has a genuine research mission alongside its public exhibits. The aquarium on the lower floor contains Mediterranean species including sharks, rays and large groupers, and the upper floors document deep-sea exploration. Entry is EUR 17 for adults. Allow two to three hours.
Lunch at one of the small cafes on Rue Basse or Rue Emile de Loth in Monaco-Ville, where set lunch menus run EUR 15-20 per person. These are aimed at the people who live and work on the Rock rather than the tourists who pass through; the food quality-to-price ratio is the best you will find in Monaco.
Late afternoon: walk down to Port Hercule and along the quay past the boats. The scale difference between the yachts and everything else is one of those Monaco experiences that photographs cannot quite convey. The largest vessels have crews of 10-15; some are configured as floating offices. On a warm evening, a drink at one of the harbour-side bar terraces runs EUR 12-18 for a glass of Provençal rosé, which is both expensive and actually reasonable for what it is.
Dinner near the port. Le Petit Bar on Rue Compte Felix Gastaldi in Monaco-Ville is a deliberately unpretentious choice: homemade French food with locally sourced ingredients at prices that seem anomalous for Monaco. Mains run EUR 18-28. This is not aspirational dining; it is good food at fair prices, which in Monaco is worth celebrating.
Day 2: Casino, Monte Carlo and Jardin Exotique
The Casino de Monte-Carlo opens at 2pm for gaming (10am-1pm is visits only). The entry fee is EUR 18 per person, which includes a EUR 10 gaming voucher. Passport required (driver’s licences no longer accepted). Smart casual dress minimum: no shorts, flip-flops, trainers, or tank tops. After 8pm, a jacket is recommended. The minimum bet at most open tables is EUR 10 in practice, even if EUR 5 is listed. If you are there to see the 19th-century Belle Epoque interior rather than gamble, the daytime visit-only window (10am-1pm) with a lower entry charge is enough.
Casino Square is where the Ferraris and Lamborghinis congregate most predictably. The square itself, with the Cafe de Paris on one side and the Hotel de Paris (where Alain Ducasse’s Le Louis XV has held three Michelin stars since 1989) on the other, is the most photographed spot in Monaco. Walk through, take the photo, then continue.
The Jardin Exotique de Monaco reopened in March 2026 after a six-year renovation and restoration. The garden, built into a steep cliff face on the west side of the principality, contains one of the largest collections of succulent and cactus species in the world, some specimens more than 100 years old. Entry is EUR 8.50 for adults, including access to the prehistoric cave system (the Grotte de l’Observatoire) below the garden. The renovation has improved accessibility and sightlines; the panoramic view over Monaco and the Mediterranean from the upper paths is the best ground-level view of the principality available.
Dinner at Le Grill in the Hotel de Paris, which has a Michelin star and a retractable roof that opens on clear evenings. The view across Port Hercule from the eighth floor, the wood-fired cooking and the famous soufflé dessert are the reasons to spend here. Budget EUR 100-180 per person. For this specific restaurant, make a reservation at least two weeks in advance during summer.
Day 3: The Circuit and the Collection
The Circuit de Monaco is the F1 street circuit that runs through the principality every year in late May or early June. On non-race days, it is simply the road system: you can walk or drive every section. The most recognisable corners are Casino Square (Massenet and Casino corners), the Fairmont hairpin (the tightest on the F1 calendar, a 180-degree bend where the cars slow to under 60kph), the tunnel on the harbour approach, and Rascasse corner at the exit back to the pit straight.
Walking the whole circuit in the evening, when the day-visit crowds have left, is one of the best things to do in Monaco that costs nothing. Start at Sainte Devote corner (the first after the pit straight), walk uphill through Beau Rivage and Massenet to Casino Square, descend via Mirabeau and the Fairmont hairpin, through the tunnel section, and back past Tabac and La Rascasse to the start. It takes about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace and gives a visceral understanding of how narrow the track is for machines doing 300kph.
The Collection de Voitures Anciennes (Prince’s Car Collection) in Fontvieille contains about 100 vehicles including some of the Grimaldi family’s personal cars alongside historic racing machines. Entry is EUR 10 for adults. Allow 90 minutes. The Fontvieille neighbourhood itself, where industrial Monaco meets a quiet residential harbour, is the most unphotographed part of the principality.
Larvotto Beach is Monaco’s main public beach on the northeast side of the principality. Entry is free for the public section; beach clubs adjacent to it charge EUR 20-40 for a sunbed. The water is Mediterranean clean, calm and cold enough to be refreshing in June-September. The walk from the Casino area to Larvotto along Avenue Princesse Grace takes about 15 minutes and passes the Japanese Garden, a free public garden of classical Japanese design.
Day 4: Day Trip to the Italian Riviera (Menton and Ventimiglia)
The French-Italian border is 6 kilometres east of Monaco. The SNCF regional train from Monaco-Monte Carlo to Menton takes 7 minutes and costs around EUR 2. From Menton to Ventimiglia across the border is another 10 minutes and roughly EUR 3. Between these three points is a full and interesting day.
Menton is the warmest town on the French Riviera, sheltered by mountains that block cold northern winds. The old town climbs steeply from the waterfront, with pastel-coloured buildings and a baroque cathedral at the top. The Marché du Bastion market (mornings, closed Mondays) sells local produce including Menton lemons, which the town has cultivated for centuries and which are considered the finest in France. The Musée Jean Cocteau on the seafront occupies a fort designed by Cocteau himself.
Ventimiglia across the border has a Roman theatre, a medieval old town, and a Friday market that draws buyers from Monaco and Nice for fresh produce, cheap Italian goods and the price differential on wine and coffee. A coffee and pastry in Ventimiglia costs EUR 1.20-1.50; the same items in Monaco cost EUR 4-6. Stock up on Ligurian olive oil and wine.
Lunch in Ventimiglia at any of the trattorias in the old town, where a pasta with local seafood runs EUR 10-14. The return train to Monaco takes about 20 minutes total.
Day 5: Nice Day Trip and Final Evening
Nice is 25 minutes from Monaco by regional train (EUR 7), and is large enough to absorb a full final day. The Cours Saleya market in the old town runs every morning except Monday (when it hosts an antiques market instead) and is one of the best food markets on the French Riviera. Flower stalls, olives, fresh pasta, socca (chickpea flour flatbread cooked in a wood-fired oven) and produce from the surrounding hills.
The Promenade des Anglais is the famous seafront boulevard, 7 kilometres long, and the walk along it from the old town toward the hotel strip gives the full Belle Epoque Nice experience without the tour-bus filter of the obvious viewpoints. The Colline du Château at the east end of the Prom is a public park on the headland with views east toward Monaco and west along the coast; the lift up is EUR 3 or the stairs are free.
For lunch in Nice: Chez René Socca on Rue Miralheti in the old town sells socca by the portion (EUR 2.50-4) from a wood-fired pan. It is the most local thing you can eat in Nice and the restaurant has been doing it since 1943.
Return to Monaco by 5pm for a final aperitif on the harbour terrace at a price you no longer wince at.
Things to Know
The Euro is Monaco’s currency. Prices in Monaco are 30-50% higher than comparable French cities for food, drink and services. The free public bus network (routes 1-6 cover most of the principality and surrounding French communes) costs EUR 2 per journey with a contactless card. Monabike, the public electric bicycle programme, costs EUR 1 for 30 minutes and is practical for short point-to-point journeys.
During the Monaco Grand Prix (late May/early June), hotel prices triple or quadruple and most restaurants require advance bookings made months earlier. If your visit overlaps with the race, the Fairmont hairpin section of the circuit has public grandstands, but be aware that significant parts of the road system are closed for days before the race. Some attractions including the Prince’s Car Collection close during the Grand Prix weekend.
Monaco citizens are legally prohibited from entering the Casino. This has been the law since 1987. If a local tells you this makes no sense, they are probably just noting the irony.
For affordable drinking and dining, the area around La Condamine (the district between the Rock and Monte Carlo) has brasseries and cafes at less painful prices than the Casino Square and harbour front. The bars near Rascasse corner on the circuit have a lively local crowd on weekday evenings.