Paris to Monaco, how I'd choose between train, plane and car

Paris and Monaco sit at opposite corners of France, and that shapes how you travel between them. There’s no flight to Monaco, because it has no airport, and the train most people take ends in Nice. The good news is that the last stretch is short and lovely, and the high-speed train does nearly all the work. Here I compare the three ways to make the trip and tell you which I’d pick.

How do you get from Paris to Monaco by train?

The usual approach is to split the journey in two. First a TGV INOUI or OUIGO out of Gare de Lyon, bound for Nice Ville. SNCF Connect counts 12 trains a day between Paris and Nice, the first at 06:03 and the last at 20:57, averaging 6 h 45 and taking 5 h 42 on the fastest. Then, at the same Nice station, a regional TER to Monaco-Monte-Carlo, about 20 minutes for €6.10 at full fare, with no reservation needed.

According to Monaco’s government, the Principality’s station gets TGVs from Paris and around 100 trains a day in all. What I couldn’t confirm from an official source is how many run direct or how long they take, so I’m giving you the route via Nice, which is the one with published timetables. When you arrive, the station is underground with four exits, and picking the right one saves you a climb, as I explain in Monaco train station.

What the train costs and how to pay less

SNCF Connect advertises Paris to Nice from €19, in second class on selected trains and dates, usually on OUIGO, the low-cost high-speed service. OUIGO tickets go on sale nine months ahead, children under 12 pay €8, and the OUIGO PLUS option, with extra luggage and a chosen seat, costs €9 more. TGV INOUI is the more comfortable choice and lets you bring two large labelled bags and a piece of hand luggage.

My rule for France is the usual one, book early. The closer you get to the date, the rarer that €19 becomes. The regional train from Nice to Monaco isn’t worth booking ahead, because the fare doesn’t change and there are no reserved seats.

The sleeper, my favourite if I’m not rushed

There’s a third option I’m fond of. The Intercités night train leaves Paris Austerlitz in the early evening and gets into Nice early the next morning, just in time for breakfast by the sea and the regional train onward. The Automobile Club de Monaco specifically recommends it for getting to the Grand Prix, because you arrive with the whole day ahead of you. For the race itself, the rest of my advice for that weekend is in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Flying, quick in the air and slow on the ground

There are lots of flights from Paris to Nice. According to Nice airport’s website, Transavia flies 58 times a week and easyJet 49 from Orly, while from Charles de Gaulle Air France flies 92 times a week and easyJet 21, all year and in 1 h 20. Those are good numbers, but on top of the flight you have the trip to the airport in Paris, security and, in Nice, the 80 express bus to Monaco, which takes 50 to 55 minutes and costs €21.40.

Door to door, plane and train end up closer than you’d think. I’d fly if I were leaving work late or connecting with another flight. Which cities fly direct to Nice and how to carry on from the airport is in flights to Monaco, and the last leg is compared in Nice to Monaco.

What about driving?

It’s about 954 km from central Paris to Monaco and roughly 10 hours behind the wheel without stops, according to my calculation with OpenStreetMap’s route planner. I haven’t found a reliable source for the tolls and I’d rather not invent one. You come in off the A8 at exits 56, 57 or 58, and inside Monaco the speed limit is 50 km/h. The first hour of parking is free and after that you pay per quarter hour, as I explain in parking in Monaco. If you’re driving on a UK licence, the FCDO says you also need a 1968 International Driving Permit.

For a trip to Monaco alone, the car is the weakest of the three. It makes sense if you’re then touring the Riviera, where it gives you a freedom the train can’t.

My pick, depending on your trip

With a day to spare, the morning train and the regional, arriving in Monaco by late afternoon without any rush. Short on time, a flight to Nice and the 80 bus. For the Grand Prix, or to save a night’s hotel, the sleeper. And the car only as part of a longer trip. If you’re coming straight from the UK rather than from Paris, everything that changes is in how to get to Monaco.