Getting around Monaco without climbing more than you need to

Distances in Monaco are deceptive. On the map everything is ten minutes away, but between the harbour and the Rock there’s a cliff, and between Monte-Carlo and La Condamine a hill that feels long in July. What shapes how you get around here isn’t kilometres, it’s height, and the Principality deals with height using lifts.

Does Monaco have public transport?

It does, and more of it than its size suggests. The Monaco government counts 79 public lifts, 35 escalators and 8 moving walkways, and its official leaflet, Monaco Malin, says they let you cross the Principality on foot in under an hour. I’d download it before the trip, since it beats every tourist map I know for this terrain. Which lifts I’d actually use, district by district, is in Monaco’s public lifts.

On whether they’re free, here’s what I know. Local guides take it for granted and that’s the norm, but neither the government page nor the leaflet puts it in writing, and neither gives opening hours, so I wouldn’t count on every one of them in the small hours.

One example of how much they change a walk. From Place d’Armes to the Palace is 10 minutes up the Rampe Major, according to the Palace website, and from the Pêcheurs car park, lifts and escalators carry you up to the door of the Oceanographic Museum. The whole of the Rock is covered in Monaco-Ville.

How much is the bus in Monaco?

The Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco, the CAM, runs six regular lines, numbered 1 to 6, from roughly 07:00 to 21:00. After 21:00 two night lines take over, N1 and N2, and on weekdays there are also three express services with only three or four stops. The ones you’ll use most are the 1 and the 2, which start on the Rock, and the 2 goes up to the Exotic Garden.

A journey costs €1.50 if you pay by card or with Monapass, and €2 if you hand the driver coins. The day pass, with unlimited journeys, is €5.50. What I like most about paying by card is that the CAM caps it at €5.50 a day, the price of the pass, so even if you tap ten times you never pay more. Its FAQ says most bank cards work except American Express and Nickel, and one card can pay for up to six people, which should cover a UK contactless card, although any foreign transaction fee is your bank’s business. Live times are on the CAM website and the Monacobus app, and the hilltop districts of Plati, Fleurs and Annonciade also have an on-demand bus, ClicBus, booked by phone or through its own app.

A detail I love is that in 2026 the government made the whole network free during the tennis Masters, the Historic Grand Prix, the E-Prix, the Formula 1 Grand Prix (1 to 8 June), La Vuelta and the Monaco Yacht Show, which runs from 18 to 30 September. If you coincide with one of them, those are exactly the days when a car is no use at all.

The boat that crosses the harbour

The Bateau Bus is run by Monaco Riviera Navigation as part of the CAM network, and it crosses Port Hercule between Quai des États-Unis in Monte-Carlo and Quai Antoine Ier at the foot of the Rock. You pay as on the bus, €1.50 by card or app and €2 in cash, and the ticket includes an immediate return. On the timetable, Visit Monaco and the operator don’t quite agree, but both describe a daytime service from around 08:00 until around 20:00.

To me it’s the best ratio of price to view in the Principality. For a euro and a half you glide across the basin between the yachts and save yourself walking all the way round. What you see from out there is in Port Hercule.

Taxi Monaco, fixed fares and one rule to remember

Taxis in Monaco don’t work like a black cab at home. Inside the Principality there’s a fixed fare, €18 for one to four people with luggage, under the ministerial order the government approved on 17 September 2026. That same order drops the €28 booked fare you’ll still see on Visit Monaco, so I wouldn’t rely on it. If traffic delays you by more than three minutes, waiting is charged at €90 an hour, and every car must display the fares with a QR code that links to them. There are more than a hundred cars in high season, a 24-hour line on +377 93 15 01 01 and an app, Taxi Monaco. The government lists two ranks, in front of Monaco train station and at the harbour, and for large groups it also mentions City Service minibuses with 8 and 13 seats.

The rule that catches people out is that a Monaco taxi can only be ordered from inside Monaco, and Beausoleil or Cap-d’Ail don’t count, even when they’re across the street. If you’re staying over the border, plan the ride home with that in mind. Fares to Nice and the airport, and how to spot a wrong one, are in scams and safety in Monaco.

And the car?

Inside Monaco a car is a nuisance. The limit is 50 km/h, every stop means finding a car park, and only cars registered in Monaco or the Alpes-Maritimes can drive up to the Rock, so a UK car or a hire car from elsewhere stays below. Telling a local car by its plate is explained in Monaco number plates. On two wheels there’s MonaBike, Monaco’s e-bikes, and on four there are Mobee shared electric cars that don’t pay for parking, but for a day visitor I’d leave the car in a car park on arrival and not touch it again until leaving. Which one to choose is in where to park in Monaco, and when a car is genuinely worth it in car hire in Monaco.

How I’d split the day

In the morning, on foot around the Rock. Down to the harbour, the Rampe Major. Across to Monte-Carlo, the Bateau Bus. Up to the Exotic Garden, line 2. And a taxi only at night, if it gets late and I don’t want to depend on the night buses. If you’d rather someone drove you round and explained it all, the options are in Monaco tours and guided visits.