The Princess Grace Rose Garden, Rainier's tribute in Fontvieille

Fontvieille was built out into the sea, over seabed more than forty metres deep, and in the middle of all that concrete Rainier III wanted something gentle to remember his wife by. The result is this rose garden, free, open at any hour and far better tended than its low profile suggests. Here’s how it came about, how it’s arranged and how I’d spend time in it.

An English-style garden with ancient olive trees

Rainier knew what he wanted, according to the history the garden publishes. An English-style layout with curving lines and beds set in lawn, but with a Mediterranean touch, which is why he had century-old olive trees planted. Presiding over it then, as now, was the bronze of Grace that the sculptor Kees Verkade finished in 1983.

The princely family opened it on 18 June 1984, two years after the princess’s death. That first garden had 4,000 rose bushes over 3,000 m² and 168 varieties, gifted by around fifty donors from across the world. In 2000 it grew to 3,500 m² and 5,500 bushes.

Why doesn’t it close at night any more?

What you see today comes from a makeover that began in January 2013, backed by the watchmaker Piaget, and ended with a second opening on 14 June 2014. The change I like most is one of attitude. They took out the hedge that enclosed it and stopped locking it at night, so anyone can walk right up to the roses at any hour.

The two gates with the princess’s monogram survived, as did the statue and a nod to the old pergola, and they added a water wall and a bronze fountain that take the edge off a summer afternoon. Even the old olive trees were replanted in the new garden. VisitMonaco now counts more than 450 varieties over nearly 5,000 m², and the statistics institute goes further, with 500 varieties and 8,000 bushes.

How it’s arranged, if you’re looking for something in particular

The roses sit in rings around the central fountain. Scented varieties fill the inner ring, shrub roses the outer one by the shopping centre, and the collector’s roses, the great names in the history of rose breeding, grow near the heliport. Winners of Monaco’s own competition line Avenue des Guelfes.

The part I’d make for is the west side, along the 50-metre water wall. That’s where the Grimaldi family’s roses and those named after public figures grow, with varieties honouring Léo Ferré, Simone Weil and Nicolas Hulot. It’s the section with the most story behind it, and the one that best explains the garden’s name. If you’re tracing the princess across the country, it makes a fitting finale to the Grace Kelly trail in Monaco.

A rose competition and a chemical-free garden

Every two years the garden hosts the Monaco International New Rose Competition. The 8th edition was judged on 30 April 2026, with 70 varieties from 16 breeders in eight countries, and the prizes were handed out on 23 September. The trophy for the finest rose went to Simsalabim, from the German breeder Kordes, and the fragrance cup to Perugino, from the French house Orard.

The other thing worth telling you is how it’s looked after. It holds Ecocert certification as an ecological green space and uses no chemical treatments. Ladybirds and hoverflies deal with the pests, the beds are mulched with flax straw and, according to VisitMonaco, a few hens keep the weeds down.

When I’d go, and what you can’t do there

The official site doesn’t publish a flowering calendar, so I won’t give you dates I don’t have. All I know is that the jury assesses the bushes at the end of April, which suggests spring is a good time. The photo on this page shows the roses bare, and that’s what you may find out of season.

Beyond that, there are no hours to worry about. I’d leave it for the end of an afternoon in Fontvieille, the district built on the sea, once the heat has eased. Remember there’s no eating inside, no animals, not even on a lead, and no bikes, skates or scooters. Buses 4 and 6 stop at Roseraie, and so does the sightseeing bus. And if you’re flying in by helicopter from Nice, it’s a few dozen metres from the heliport.