Map of Monaco, from the Rock to Larvotto on one plan

Monaco fits on a pocket map, and even so plenty of people arrive unsure where exactly it is or how it is laid out. This page answers both, where the country sits in Europe and how its districts are arranged, with my interactive map further down. If you are after the overview of the trip, it is in my guide to Monaco.

Where is Monaco?

On the French Riviera, on the shore of the Mediterranean, between Nice and the Italian border. On land it only touches France, with a 5,469-metre border shared by four towns. The longest stretch is with Beausoleil, 3,274 metres, and the shortest with La Turbie, 390. Cap-d’Ail lies to the west and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin to the east, with 1,341 and 464 metres of border respectively.

To place it on a map of Europe, think of Nice. From there it is 23 minutes on the regional train, and Nice Côte d’Azur airport is 30 km away by road. In the other direction, an Intercity gets you to Ventimiglia, in Italy, in 26 minutes. Close as it looks to Italy, it does not touch it. Monaco is an independent country surrounded by France, something I explain properly in is Monaco a country?.

A long, narrow country between mountain and sea

The first thing you notice on the map is the shape. Monaco is a coastal strip stretching 3,344 metres and never wider than 1,140, with 4,856 metres of shoreline measured outside the harbours and beaches. Behind it rise the mountains, and in front lies the sea, from which it has steadily won land. In 1861 it covered 145 hectares, and today it covers 208.

That shape explains nearly everything you will experience there. Distances are short, but the gradients are serious, and the country has dealt with them through a network of public lifts, escalators and moving walkways. The government says that, thanks to them, Monaco can be crossed on foot in less than an hour. I believe it, as long as you know which lift to take, and that is what I cover in getting around Monaco.

How to read the map on this page

The map below comes from OpenStreetMap, and each number is one of my Monaco guides. Hover over a point and its line lights up in the key; click it and you go to its page. I would use it for two things. To see what is a stroll from your hotel, and to group visits by area, which is the most sensible way to avoid climbing the Rock twice in one day.

Look at it for a moment and you will see the sights cluster in three patches. One is the Rock, where the Palace, cathedral and Oceanographic stand together. Another is the area around the casino, in Monte-Carlo. The third is Fontvieille, with the rose garden, the stadium and the museums in the shopping centre. The harbour sits between them like a hinge.

The districts, from Fontvieille to Larvotto

The tourist office counts eight districts, and that is how the table lists them, with their official areas. Following the coast from the west, the first is Fontvieille, an entire district reclaimed from the sea at the foot of the Rock, with its own marina and the heliport. Above it is Monaco-Ville, the old town on top of the headland. On the far side of the Rock, La Condamine runs down to Port Hercule, the market and the church of Sainte-Dévote.

From the harbour, Monte-Carlo climbs up the hill, the largest and most populous district, with the casino, the Hôtel de Paris and its gardens. Further along the coast is Larvotto, with the public beach, and between the two the newest district, Mareterra, opened on 4 December 2024, which extends the shoreline from the Grimaldi Forum to the Grand Prix tunnel. Jardin Exotique, named after its garden, Les Moneghetti and La Rousse complete the list, the last two mostly residential. Each district worth a visit has its own guide, such as Monte-Carlo or La Condamine.

Distances that deceive

In a country this small, it is the hills that count rather than the metres. From the Place d’Armes in La Condamine you walk up to the Palace in about ten minutes by the Rampe Major, and from the Place de la Visitation, where buses 1 and 2 terminate, it takes five through the lanes. Those are official times from the Palace website, and they look realistic to me unless you are pushing a buggy.

The buses work much the same way. The CAM’s six regular lines stitch the districts together by day, and a 24-hour pass costs €5.50. To cross the harbour there is also a boat bus between the two quays, which spares you the long way round. If you are coming by car, the car park map is a world of its own, covered in parking in Monaco.

What the map does not tell you

There are three things I would add to any map of Monaco. First, several places bearing its name are not inside it. The Monte-Carlo Country Club, where the Masters tennis is played, and the Monte-Carlo Beach are both in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, in France. Second, the border is invisible. You walk from Beausoleil into Monte-Carlo without a sign to tell you, and your phone may switch network as you do, because Monaco is outside the EU’s regulated roaming area.

The third is that the best view of the map is from outside it. From La Turbie, the French town that shares 390 metres of border with Monaco, you see the whole country at once, from Fontvieille to Larvotto, and I know of no clearer way to understand everything you have just read. The trips round about are ranked in my day trips from Monaco.