Is Monaco expensive? What a day there really costs

“Is Monaco really that expensive?” is the question I get asked most about the Principality, and it nearly always comes with the yachts and the Casino in mind. Honestly, it depends on what you do. A day visit can cost less than a day in plenty of capitals. Staying the night and eating on terraces can’t.

What’s cheap in Monaco

Getting about is the first surprise. A ride on the CAM buses is €1.50 if you tap a card on the reader and €2 in cash to the driver, and €5.50 buys unlimited rides for the whole day. On top of that, many of the hills can be climbed by public lift. If you’re coming from Nice, the regional train is €6.10 single, falling to €4.30 with the ZOU! Malin card.

Taxis aren’t the rip-off you might expect either. Since 17 September 2026 the government has set by decree a flat €18 for any journey within the country, for one to four people with luggage, with no room for haggling. Every car has to display the fare table, with a QR code. I go through the other options in getting around Monaco.

And there’s plenty that’s free, from the changing of the guard outside the Palace to the Japanese Garden and the Casino Atrium. I’ve set all that out in Monaco on a budget, so I won’t repeat it here.

What the tickets cost

The big sights charge normal prices for a European museum. The Prince’s Palace is €13 for an adult and its 2026 season runs until 15 October. The Oceanographic Museum is €20.50, and the two combined €31. The Exotic Garden, which reopened in March 2026, charges €12 for the garden and €15 including the Observatory cave. The New National Museum’s Villa Paloma is €6 and free on Sundays.

The Casino deserves a paragraph of its own, because it’s what everyone wants to see. The heritage visit, mornings only until 13:00, costs €20. From 14:00, getting into the gaming rooms is also €20, but €10 of that comes back to you as credit for the slots, a drink or a meal. The Atrium by the entrance is free. I explain how each option works in visiting the Monte Carlo Casino.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Nice on Expedia and filter by area before price.

Where the bill really climbs

This is where Monaco is expensive, full stop. According to its statistics office, in 2025 there were just 13 classified hotels with 2,460 rooms, four of them five-star. With so little supply and so much demand, prices don’t come down.

The big Société des Bains de Mer hotels sell by date and don’t publish a from price, so I won’t give you a figure I can’t check. What they do publish is the tourist tax they charge, which at their two grand old hotels is €7 per adult for each day of the stay. Among the simpler places, the Ambassador advertised its standard room “from €150” a night on its website. The simpler hotels are side by side in cheap hotels in Monaco.

My fix is the same as nearly everyone’s on a budget. Stay in Nice or Menton and come in by train, twenty minutes and €6.10.

And eating?

A sit-down meal on a terrace with a view is expensive, and openly so. On the Café de Paris summer 2026 menu, with taxes and service included, a salade niçoise is €36 and rockfish soup €33. At the other end, the Société des Bains de Mer’s own cafés sell sandwiches from €16 to €35, salads from €21 to €29 and cold drinks from €4 to €10.

If you want fine dining, the price is fixed and published. Le Louis XV’s Riviera Lunch, with three Michelin stars, costs €230 without drinks on Fridays and Saturdays. For me it’s one of the treats I would pay for once, and I explain why in luxury experiences in Monaco. For everyday options, see where to eat in Monaco.

If you still need a way in, check train and coach tickets to Nice from where you are.

My budget for a day

I’ve added up three typical days using the official prices on this page, without accommodation. A tight one, coming from Nice by train, seeing the free sights and having a sandwich, comes to about €28 per person. A mid-range one, with the bus pass, the combined Palace and Oceanographic ticket and a simple lunch, is around €75. And a treat, with taxis, the combined ticket, the Casino at night and lunch at Le Louis XV, reaches about €330.

None of them is the Monaco of the magazines, but all three let you see what matters. The real difference isn’t the day, it’s whether you spend the night inside or outside the country.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Nice and pick one that fits your day.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Nice before you arrive rather than at the desk.

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