Larvotto, the part of Monaco that lives facing the sea

When people ask me which part of Monaco feels most like an ordinary seaside holiday, I send them here. Larvotto is the eastern district, right on the water, and it’s the only place in the country where you can spend the morning in your swimming things without anyone batting an eyelid. It has sand, a Zen garden, a conference centre half buried below sea level and a peninsula of hotels. Here’s how I’d tackle it, and what I’d leave for another day.

Twenty-seven and a half hectares with its feet in the water

Larvotto runs along Avenue Princesse Grace, from the Grimaldi Forum to the border with Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. IMSEE, the national statistics office, puts it at 27.5 hectares, fourth in size behind Monte-Carlo, Fontvieille and La Condamine. The tourist board describes it as the neighbourhood where Monaco meets the sea, and that’s fair, because the pace here is set by the beach and the promenade rather than by the casino.

What strikes me is the backdrop. On one side you have sand and turquoise water; on the other, an unbroken line of residential towers. On most coastlines that would count against a place, but here it’s part of the appeal, because it sums the whole country up in one glance, very little space and a great deal of money beside the Mediterranean.

Is Larvotto the same as Larvotto beach?

Not quite, and it helps to keep the two apart. The district is the chunk of town; the beach is its busiest corner. If you’re after a swim, snorkelling in the marine reserve or the rules on the sand, you’ll find all of that in my guide to Monaco’s beaches. This page covers everything around the towel.

One fact explains the view. The peninsula that closes the district to the east didn’t exist seventy years ago. The Government of Monaco lists it among the twentieth-century reclamations, carried out between 1961 and 1963, and VisitMonaco counts it among the country’s first projects to win land from the sea. Today it holds the Monte-Carlo Bay, Le Méridien Beach Plaza and the Sporting Monte-Carlo, the SBM’s concert and events venue.

What I’d see, from west to east

I’d start at the Grimaldi Forum, the conference and exhibition centre that opened in July 2000. It’s all glass and steel, three quarters of it sits below sea level and it hosts around 100 events a year. For a visitor it’s only worth going in when an exhibition is on, so I’d check the Grimaldi Forum and what’s on first; the summer 2026 show on Monaco and the motor car closed on 6 September.

Right next door is the Japanese Garden in Monaco, which for me is the best free half hour in the district. There’s a koi pond, waterfalls, bridges and a tea house, open every day from 09:00 to 19:00 in season. After that I’d drop down to the beach promenade, redesigned by Renzo Piano in 2021, and walk it end to end as far as the peninsula.

On the same avenue stands Villa Sauber, one of the last Belle Époque villas in the country. The painter Robert Sauber bought it in 1904, the state has owned it since 1969, and for years it housed the National Museum’s collection of dolls and automata. It’s now closed for restoration and extension works, which VisitMonaco says will run from September 2026 to September 2029. The New National Museum branch that is open is Villa Paloma, by the Exotic Garden, at the far end of the country.

Getting to Larvotto and getting around

The bus is the easy option. Line 5 runs from the hospital to Larvotto and line 6 from Fontvieille to Larvotto, so both finish here. A single costs €2 in cash or €1.50 by card or app. The Monaco Le Grand Tour sightseeing bus has three stops in the district, at the Japanese Garden, the Sporting and Villa Sauber.

Coming down from Monte-Carlo there’s a drop in level, and public lifts deal with it. The official “Monaco Malin” leaflet marks one in Larvotto from Avenue Princesse Grace up to Place des Moulins, and another between Boulevard du Larvotto and the same avenue. The full list, district by district, is in my page on Monaco’s public lifts. From the port, though, I’d walk along the Promenade Prince Jacques in Mareterra, 600 metres beside the sea that bring you out on the Larvotto promenade.

Should you stay in Larvotto?

That depends on your trip. If it’s about museums and the Rock, Larvotto is out of the way. If it’s about the beach, long walks and dinner in Monte-Carlo, it’s the best base in the country. Both peninsula hotels are beach hotels, and the one I’d look at first is the Monte-Carlo Bay, run by the SBM, on a four-hectare peninsula with waterfalls and a sand-bottomed lagoon.

For evenings, Larvotto has its own scene around the Sporting and the Grimaldi Forum, but it isn’t my favourite patch for a night out. What’s on offer, and what it costs, is laid out in my guide to Monaco nightlife. For dinner without leaving the district, I’d look at Maya Bay Monaco, whose kitchen stays open all day, or Cipriani Monte Carlo, at the start of the avenue.

Fitting it into your day

I’d do Larvotto early, when the beach is empty and the Japanese Garden has just opened. Mid-morning I’d take one of the lifts up to Monte-Carlo, the casino district, and save the afternoon for the Rock. In high summer I’d flip that round and come down to Larvotto late in the day, when the sun has eased and the promenade fills with people who actually live here.

The one thing I wouldn’t do is come purely to look at buildings. Larvotto has no monument that justifies the trip on its own; its charm is in lingering, not ticking things off. With a towel, a sandwich and a couple of hours, it’s the district that most rewards going slowly.