Monaco at night, and where I would go out

Monaco at night is not Ibiza or Berlin, and anyone coming for that will be disappointed. It is a night that is short in distance and long in euros, packed into a handful of streets between Casino Square, the Grimaldi Forum and the harbour. But it has a couple of things you will find nowhere else, and if you know what you are going for, I think it makes for a very good night out.

What is there to do in Monaco at night?

My short answer is casino, harbour and, if it falls on a weekend, Jimmy’z. Everything worth doing is within walking distance between Monte-Carlo and Port Hercule, so the night happens on foot. The only serious logistical decision is where you are sleeping, because that decides how much getting back will cost you.

Before going anywhere, I would stop at Casino Square once it is dark. Charles Garnier’s façade lit up, with the gardens in front, is the best night-time image of Monaco and costs nothing. What else surrounds the square is covered in my guide to Monte-Carlo.

The casino, the most classic night

The Monte-Carlo Casino’s gaming rooms open every day from 14:00, and the official website does not give a closing time. You pay €20 at the door, but €10 comes back as credit for the machines, the bar or Le Salon Rose, so if you were going to have a drink anyway, the real cost of entry is ten.

Clothing is where people going out at night come unstuck. From 14:00 shorts, ripped jeans, sportswear, trainers, flip-flops, vests and beachwear are not allowed, and from 19:00 neither are T-shirts or sweatshirts. You must be 18 and show your original passport or national ID card. All the detail, with the opera house and the rooms I would look for, is in how to visit the Monte-Carlo Casino.

If you would rather play without paying to get in, the Casino Café de Paris, on the same square, is free, switches on its machines at 10:00 and opens its tables at 16:00, with a more relaxed dress rule of no tracksuits or beachwear.

Dinner that turns into a late night

Two venues take care of the whole night. The Buddha-Bar in Monte-Carlo is in the casino building itself, an Asian lounge restaurant with French touches, seven-metre ceilings, a Buddha statue and two terraces. It opens Monday to Saturday from 18:00 to 3:00, with a DJ on some Fridays.

Twiga Monte Carlo, part of the Twiga group, is on the second floor of the Grimaldi Forum. It serves dinner from Tuesday to Sunday between 20:00 and 0:00 and at midnight turns into a club until 5:00; it closes on Mondays. If I had to pick one night-time indulgence in Monaco, this would be it, and I list it alongside others in luxury experiences in Monaco. On the same avenue, the local press places Sass Café, a restaurant, piano bar and club open since 1993, with a DJ until 4:00; its official website gives the hours and how to book, and I would ring ahead because its opening days have changed before.

None of the three publishes a dress code or a minimum age. My rule is to apply the casino’s, long trousers and proper shoes, and you will not be turned away from any of them.

Jimmy’z, the club that has always been there

The SBM calls Jimmy’z Monte-Carlo a legend, and in Monaco it is the nightclub. It has a dance floor, a garden and a floating bar in summer, it sits within the Sporting Monte-Carlo complex at 26 avenue Princesse Grace, and it opens only on Fridays and Saturdays from 23:30 to 5:00. The 2026 season began on 20 March.

The official site says nothing about what to wear or the age limit. Unofficial guides talk of a strict code, shirt and trousers for men and cocktail dresses for women, and of 18 as the minimum, but I have not been able to confirm it with the venue. I would go along with that assumption and my passport in my pocket. In season, from April to October, COYA Monte Carlo serves Peruvian dinners a few steps from the club.

A drink on the Rascasse corner

My favourite place to start or finish is La Rascasse, the SBM bar on the corner of the same name, on the Quai Antoine Ier at the harbour. It has been turned into a sports bar with deep house music, and opens Tuesday to Thursday from 17:30 to 3:00, Friday from 17:30 to 4:00 and Saturday from 19:00 to 4:00. Having a drink on the corner the Formula 1 cars take in June has its charm, and I cover the rest of the harbour in Port Hercule. A short walk away on route de la Piscine, the Brasserie de Monaco pours Monaco’s own beer, brewed on the spot, until 2:00.

Getting home

This is the part most people improvise, and the part that costs them most. Within Monaco, two night bus lines, the N1 and N2, run after 21:00. Taxis have fixed fares set by ministerial order, €18 within the Principality, and must be ordered from inside Monaco, on +377 93 15 01 01 or with the Taxi Monaco app. Since 17 September 2026 the official table charges €100 to the eastern side of Nice and €110 to the western side and to the airport, tolls included.

If you are staying in Nice, ZOU! bus 601 covers the same coastal route as the 600 at night. The station opens from 5:00 to 2:00, but on the TER page the last train from Nice to Monaco leaves at 22:20, and the time of the last one back is not shown, so for a long night I would not count on the train to get back to Nice. It is all set out with current prices in Nice to Monaco. And if you are staying out until closing, my advice is not to go back at all but to sleep here, with the options in where to stay in Monaco.