The Best Things to Do in Monaco, the French Riviera's Bell Epoque Gem

05.09.2023 - 18:15 / cntraveler.com / Renzo Piano

Monaco’s high season is bookended by two of the French Riviera’s ritziest events: the Monaco Grand Prix and the Monaco Yacht Show. Super yachts and fast cars are two of the principality’s defining features, but there’s much more to Monaco than you’d expect from the world’s second-smallest state, which is about the same size as Central Park.

The clifftop Prince’s Palace, covered in frescoes dating back to the Italian Renaissance, and James Bond-famous Belle Époque Casino de Monte-Carlo have created an air of mystery around Monaco, a place where the European jet set and Hollywood royalty brush elbows. Often reduced to a day trip from nearby cities like Nice, or a brief stop on a Mediterranean cruise, the principality is now becoming more accessible thanks to a crop of innovative young chefs and renovated hotels catering to travelers looking to stay for more than a night. With Larvotto’s new strip of lively beach bars, Capri-style cliffside day club La Vigie, and Mareterra—the $2 billion seaside land expansion project with homes and buildings designed by Renzo Piano, Tadao Ando, and Sir Norman Foster—Monaco is showcasing the best of its gilded past while catering to a crowd also seeking something more modern.

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Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo spa overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.

The Nice airport is the gateway to the French Riviera, and you can fly direct year-round from New York (JFK) or Atlanta, or from most major cities in Europe. If you’re taking a train from another part of France or Italy, you’ll have to connect in Nice or the Italian border town of Ventimiglia. From Nice, it’s a 25-minute drive or seven-minute helicopter ride to the principality. Once you arrive in Monaco, the easiest way to get around is by foot or bus (you can tap a credit card or pay for a ticket onboard). Carshare services like Uber will drop you in the principality, but you can’t request a car to take you from Monaco to another destination. You can, however, order a taxi or request one through your hotel and charge it to your room, if you’re staying at one of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer properties.

The Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo's wellness center.

Monaco isn’t a place known for its beaches, which is why so much real estate is dedicated to pools (there’s even an open-air, Olympic-sized saltwater pool on the port). Sunbathe along the waterfront solarium that's the Côte d'Azur version of Scandinavia's floating saunas, or set off on a half-day whale-watching safari around the coast to spot migrating fin and sperm whales.

If you’re looking for a beach club