Monte-Carlo Country Club, the Art Deco club that only fully opens in April

Most people know the Monte-Carlo Country Club for one week a year, Masters week. But the club carries on for the rest of the year, and then it’s something else. It’s a private Art Deco club with more than 35,000 m² of terraces above the sea, and what people search for most is whether they can get in, whether they can eat there and how to reach it. Here’s the club’s own account, plus my view.

What the Monte-Carlo Country Club is

It’s a members’ tennis and leisure club, affiliated to both the Monegasque and French tennis federations, at 155 avenue Princesse Grace. Despite the Monte-Carlo name it’s in France, in the commune of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, just across the border from the Saint-Roman district. There are 21 clay courts, two of them covered, and two hard courts, all floodlit and stepped down the hillside facing the sea. Add a 25-metre pool, two squash courts, a gym, table tennis, snooker and a putting green.

Since 2020 it has been chaired by Melanie-Antoinette de Massy, daughter of Baroness Elizabeth-Ann de Massy and granddaughter of Princess Antoinette, who took on the presidency in 1972 at Rainier III’s request. She’s the third generation of the family in charge, and it shows in the tone of the website, more club than business.

A story that starts in the Hôtel de Paris cellars

Monaco’s first tennis club opened on 2 April 1893 above the cellars of the Hôtel de Paris. In 1905 it moved to La Condamine and in 1921 ended up on the roof of a garage in Beausoleil, as La Festa Country Club. This is where my favourite story comes in. The American patron George Pierce Butler, a devoted admirer of Suzanne Lenglen, decided a garage roof was unworthy of the world’s best player and talked the authorities and the SBM into building something better.

With no space left in the Principality, the SBM bought land at Saint-Roman, in Roquebrune, and more than 1,500 workers built the terraces running from the road down to the sea. The architect Letrosne designed it in the Art Deco style, and it opened in February 1928 with Prince Louis II and King Gustav V of Sweden among the guests. Ten months later it took the name Monte-Carlo Country Club. Its changing rooms, the club says, are unchanged, with wooden lockers still marked with the names of former players.

Can you visit if you’re not a member?

It’s worth being straight about this, because the answer disappoints anyone expecting a tour. The club is private. Its courts, pool and restaurant are for members and their guests, and the website offers no tickets or guided visits. Membership means a form with a photo, two sponsors writing letters by hand, an ethics charter, a medical certificate and an interview with the management, and the committee can turn you down without explanation. The fee isn’t published.

There are two more realistic ways in. The first is the tournament. During the Monte-Carlo Masters each April the club opens to anyone with a ticket, and centre court starts at €50 at the 2027 box office. The second is staying at an SBM hotel such as the Hôtel de Paris, because the company advertises preferential Country Club rates for its guests, except during the tournament. It doesn’t say what they are, so I’d ask before booking.

Restaurant, bar and shop

Le Club House restaurant opens every day from 12:00 to 15:00, with a panoramic terrace over the sea, and asks for bookings 24 hours ahead. In summer there’s also SunSet by the pool, and on Thursday evenings brazier dinners at the Summer Lounge. The Wild Card Bar, a revival of the original Art Deco bar, serves from 09:00 to 20:30. The website presents them all for members and guests, so I wouldn’t count on eating there independently.

What is within anyone’s reach is the shop. The club sells its clothing and the tournament’s collections online, and runs a shop of more than 155 m² in the Pavillon des Pins, which closes during the Masters. Since 2024 it has even sold four fragrances of its own.

Getting there from Monaco

The club suggests taking the train to Monaco Monte-Carlo station and then Monaco bus lines 1, 4 or 6. If you’re already in the Principality, the simplest thing is to walk along avenue Princesse Grace to La Rousse-Saint-Roman, the last district before the border, and the club appears just after it. A Monaco taxi charges a fixed €25 to Roquebrune but won’t pick you up for the return.

Once you’re in Roquebrune, the medieval village and its castle from around 970 are up the hill, which I cover in my Roquebrune-Cap-Martin guide. A few minutes along the same avenue is Monte-Carlo Beach, the SBM’s other club on French soil, and that one does let paying day visitors use its pool. Don’t mix either of them up with the Monte-Carlo Golf Club, which is up on Mont Agel above La Turbie.