Monte Carlo, what I'd see in the district, from the casino to the sea

Plenty of people arrive in Monaco asking where Monte Carlo is, as if it were another town a few miles down the coast, or somewhere in France. It’s inside Monaco. It’s the casino district, next to the harbour, and what most people picture when they think of Monaco, the picture-postcard hotels, the cars at the door and the casino, fits into a few streets around one square. Here’s the order I’d see it in and what I think you can skip.

Where is Monte Carlo, and what exactly is it?

The tourist office puts it plainly, Monte Carlo is one of Monaco’s districts, just like Fontvieille or La Condamine. It’s also the largest, at 43.7 hectares according to official statistics, and the most populated, with 8,318 residents. There’s no border between one district and another, and the casino’s address settles it, Place du Casino, 98000 Monaco. If the question of whether Monaco is a country, a city or both intrigues you, I’ve untangled it in is Monaco a country?.

What the district does have is a very strong personality. In Monaco-Ville you see history, and in Monte Carlo you see money, with no attempt to hide it. That’s precisely why it interests me, because it’s a shop window built on purpose in the 19th century, and seeing it with that in mind makes it far more fun.

Casino Square, where everything starts

Everything begins here, which is why Casino Square in Monte-Carlo gets a page to itself. The square was rebuilt from scratch in 2020, and its centrepiece is now an Anish Kapoor mirror ringed by a circular fountain that reflects the Hôtel de Paris façade. On one side is Charles Garnier’s casino, its façade dating from 1879; on the other, the hotel, open since 1864, and opposite, the Café de Paris terrace.

I’d put the casino first in any plan. In the morning, between 10:00 and 13:00, you tour it with an audio guide for €20 and no dress rules at all, while from 14:00 it turns into a gaming room with rules on age, ID and clothing. Everything you need to know before going is in my guide to getting into the Monte Carlo Casino. The Opera, the Salle Garnier, belongs to the same complex, and to see inside you need a ticket to a performance, between November and April.

Gardens on either side of the casino

The Casino Gardens are really two, laid out in 1893 under Charles III to a design by landscape architect Édouard André. To the east is the Petite Afrique, with tropical plants, ficus and ginkgos, fountains and sculptures. To the west, the Boulingrins, more open, with lawns, flowerbeds and palms. The latest redesign is by landscape architect Michel Desvigne, who worked from the original plans, and at Christmas an old merry-go-round goes up in the Boulingrins.

The official website doesn’t publish opening hours or say whether there’s a charge, so I won’t promise you either. What I can tell you is that the best photo of the casino, with flowers in front, is taken from here.

Hôtel de Paris and Café de Paris, to look or to sit

The Hôtel de Paris is the white domed building on the corner. Inside are Alain Ducasse’s Le Louis XV, with 3 Michelin stars, Le Grill and Le Bar Américain. Le Louis XV serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 19:30 to 21:15 and requires a jacket all year, and it’s the one treat in Monte Carlo I would pay for if I had to choose.

The Café de Paris is a different proposition. It’s SBM’s brasserie on the square, serving daily between 08:00 and 01:00, with a terrace looking straight at the casino. I’d sit down for a coffee and the view and eat somewhere else, because for a better meal for less money I have better places in where to eat in Monaco.

Down to the sea, a Zen garden and a brand-new district

Head down towards Avenue Princesse Grace and the mood changes, and technically so does the district, because you’re now in the Larvotto district. The Japanese Garden was designed by landscape architect Yasuo Beppu and brings together koi carp, lotus and water lilies in the pond, waterfalls, lanterns and bridges, plus a tea house beside the Zen garden. It’s free and never closes; in winter it opens 09:00 to 18:00 and from April to October until 19:00. There’s more in the Japanese Garden in Monaco.

Next door is the Grimaldi Forum, the conference centre opened in 2000, with three quarters of the building below sea level. A little further on begins Mareterra, reclaimed from the sea in its entirety and inaugurated by Albert II on 4 December 2024. Its walkway, the Promenade Prince Jacques, runs 600 metres between the marina and the Grimaldi Forum, and on Place Princesse Gabriella, beside a pool, stands an Alexander Calder piece, Quatre lances. It’s the nicest walk in this part of Monaco, and it leads straight to the beach, covered in Monaco’s beaches.

Shops, corners and what’s no longer there

One Monte-Carlo, between the Hôtel Hermitage and the square, opened in 2019 on the site of the old Sporting d’Hiver and has around forty luxury shops. The Metropole shopping centre, on Avenue des Spélugues, opens Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 19:30. To me they’re shop windows, not sights.

More interesting, I think, is walking down to the Fairmont hairpin, one of the corners of the Monaco circuit, which you can follow on foot along the pavement any day of the year. The Sun Casino operated there until the 2020 lockdown, and SBM never reopened it. One more warning so you don’t waste an afternoon, the Monte-Carlo Beach, despite its name, isn’t in Monte Carlo or even in Monaco, but in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, in France. It lies just beyond La Rousse-Saint-Roman, the district at Monaco’s eastern tip.

Getting there and getting around the district

By train, Monaco station has an exit called Monte-Carlo, with a lift, which spares you the climb from the harbour. By bus, lines 1, 5 and 6 stop at Citronniers, next to the Métropole, and each journey costs €1.50 by card, fifty cents more in cash. Everything else, from the free public lifts to the boat across the harbour, is in getting around Monaco.

By car, the Parking du Casino is on Allée des Boulingrins. In 2026 Monaco’s standard public car parks give you the first hour free, but the reduced night rate doesn’t apply at the Casino car park, which matters if you’re coming for dinner. And if you’re staying out, Monte Carlo is the liveliest part of Monaco after dark, and the bars and club are set out in Monaco nightlife.