Flights to Monaco, which UK airports fly direct to Nice

Type flights to Monaco into any search engine and you’ll get flights to Nice, which is exactly as it should be. The Principality has no airport and no runway, so the useful question isn’t how to fly into Monaco but which UK airport has a direct flight to Nice, and in which months. I’ve gone through Nice airport’s own route pages one by one, and this is what they showed on 25 September 2026. Schedules change every season, so take it as a snapshot.

Why can’t you fly into Monaco?

There simply isn’t room. Monaco is a strip of coast pressed against the mountains, and the only thing that lands there is a helicopter, at the heliport in Fontvieille. The reference airport is Nice Côte d’Azur, 30 km away by road according to Visit Monaco, with two terminals. When an airline sells you a flight to Monaco, it’s selling you a flight to Nice.

Everything else about the journey, from the train via Paris to what documents to carry, is in how to get to Monaco. This page is only about planes.

London to Monaco, five airports to choose from

This is where the UK does well. According to Nice airport, every London airport has a direct route, and the average flight time is 1 h 50 whichever one you use. Add an hour on the clock when you land, as the time zone in Monaco is the same as Paris. Heathrow is the busiest, with British Airways flying 53 times a week all year. Gatwick has easyJet 38 times a week and BA 14, also all year. London City has BA 24 times a week, and the airport’s own page notes it’s the closest to the centre, about 10 km out. Luton has easyJet 12 times a week all year, and Stansted has Ryanair 8 times a week from April to February, plus a single weekly BA flight from May to February.

With that many departures, the London question is really which airport is easiest from your front door. I’d choose on that rather than on the airline, and I’d avoid anything landing late in the evening if you plan to take the bus, whose last departure from Terminal 2 is at 22:00.

From the rest of the UK

Outside London, Manchester is the best served, with easyJet flying 7 times a week and Jet2.com 3, both all year, in about 2 h 20. Bristol has 9 easyJet flights a week all year, taking about 1 h 55, and Liverpool has 8, about 2 h 10. Edinburgh has 7 a week with easyJet, all year, in about 2 h 30, which makes it Scotland’s only option on the list.

Some routes are thinner or seasonal. Birmingham has Jet2.com 3 times a week all year and easyJet twice a week from May to March, about 2 h 15. Leeds Bradford has Jet2.com twice a week from May to March, Newcastle has easyJet 3 times a week, and Belfast has easyJet 3 times a week in certain seasons. If yours is one of these, I’d pick the dates around the flight rather than the other way round.

I’m not giving fares. They change every day and I’d rather not print a price that has gone by tomorrow.

Landed in Nice, now what?

The 80 express bus from ZOU! leaves both terminals and reaches Place d’Armes in 50 to 55 minutes, every half hour on average, for €21.40 if you buy in advance or tap a card on the reader. If you’re travelling light, walk 7 minutes or take the tram from Terminal 1 to Nice Saint-Augustin and catch the regional train to Monaco. A French taxi charges a flat €95 to the Principality, and the scheduled helicopter crosses in about 7 minutes, from €195 per person, which I cover in detail in the Nice to Monaco helicopter.

My rule of thumb is simple. Big suitcase, the 80 bus. Backpack, tram and train. Three or four with luggage and in a hurry, a taxi. All the times and prices for that last leg, including from central Nice, are compared in the Nice to Monaco leg.

Three things to sort before you fly

The first is your phone. Monaco is outside the EU roaming zone, and since Brexit your UK network sets its own rules for Europe in any case. Some tariffs treat Monaco like France and some don’t, so check yours in advance. I go through it in phone and roaming in Monaco.

The second is paperwork, set out in full in Monaco entry requirements. Gov.uk allows British visitors 90 days in any 180 across Schengen, Monaco included, with no visa, as long as the passport is under 10 years old on the day you arrive and still valid 3 months after you leave. It also says the GHIC isn’t recognised in Monaco, so travel insurance with medical cover is worth having.

The third is your luggage at Nice. The FCDO warns of thefts at the airport, especially at the hire-car parks while people load their boots. And if you’re coming from France rather than the UK, the plane isn’t your only option, as I explain in Paris to Monaco.