Casino Monte Carlo

Monaco residents cannot gamble at the Casino de Monte-Carlo. The casino was established in 1863 specifically to raise money for Prince Charles III without taxing Monegasques; it needed foreign gamblers to work financially. The ban on local residents gambling at the casino is still in effect. This detail sets the tone for everything else about the place: the whole principality is a financial construction, and the casino is where it became legible.

The Casino

Charles Garnier designed the building (he also designed the Paris Opera, the connection is visible). The Belle Époque interior has chandeliers, elaborate frescoes, and gilded columns. It opened in 1863 and has been in operation since, making it one of the oldest continuously operating casinos in Europe.

Entry to the casino gaming rooms requires a passport or national ID card, a minimum age of 18, and smart dress: jackets required for men in the European Rooms and Grand Rooms. Entry to the European Rooms is EUR 10 per person. The lobby and the atrium (the Salle des Amériques with slot machines) are free to enter. Walking through to see the architecture is worth the EUR 10 even if you have no intention of playing.

The casino appears in several James Bond films, most directly Casino Royale (the 2006 version was filmed partly here). The association is real and present in the décor and the tone of the place.

Monaco Beyond the Casino

The Oceanographic Museum, founded by Prince Albert I in 1910, occupies a cliff-edge building above the sea. The aquarium contains Mediterranean and tropical tanks, including a substantial shark display. The museum’s history of marine research is more interesting than most aquariums; Jacques Cousteau directed it for 32 years.

The Prince’s Palace occupies the Rock of Monaco, the old town on a promontory above the harbour. The changing of the guard happens at 11:55am. The State Apartments are open in summer.

The Formula 1 Grand Prix in May transforms Monaco’s streets into the world’s most prestigious and least overtaking-friendly racing circuit. The hairpin at Fairmont is where cars slow to 50 km/h within a race at over 300 km/h. Being in Monaco during race week without tickets means watching from available hillsides; the atmosphere justifies it.

Getting There

Monaco is 15 minutes by train from Nice (French national rail, EUR 4 or so). By car from Nice about 30 minutes. Monaco has no commercial airport.

The best restaurants in Monaco are expensive by any European standard. Le Louis XV by Alain Ducasse in the Hotel de Paris has three Michelin stars and is considered among the best in Europe; the cost is calibrated accordingly.