The Saint-Martin Gardens, a free clifftop stroll above the sea

Most people cross the Rock from the cathedral to the aquarium along the road and miss the best bit of the journey. Just below Avenue Saint-Martin runs a hillside garden of pines, holm oaks and a pond that tumbles towards the sea and charges nothing. For me it’s the pleasantest stretch of the whole old town, so here’s why I’d take it and in which direction.

Why I’d take the garden rather than the road

The natural order for a morning in Monaco-Ville, the Rock is palace, guard, cathedral, museum. Between the last two you can follow Avenue Saint-Martin or drop just beneath it into the trees, with rest areas along the way and the sea in view. The tourist office puts the full walk at about twenty minutes, so the detour hardly costs you anything.

It’s also the most useful shade on the Rock. In July and August the Palace square has nowhere to hide, and once the 11:55 guard change is over this is where I’d get my breath back before heading into the museum.

A garden born of hard times

I like its origin story because there’s nothing royal and frivolous about it. Honoré V ordered the gardens in 1816 on land that was derelict at the time, and VisitMonaco says the aim was to give work to residents hit by a period of famine. The first planting was the flora of this coast, pine woods, holm oaks, myrtle and pistachio, and exotic species were added over the years to grow alongside the local ones.

That’s why they rank as the oldest of Monaco’s gardens and parks. The Exotic Garden, the Japanese Garden and Grace’s rose garden all came much later, and none has this mix of Mediterranean scrub and gentle promenade.

What is there to see in the Saint-Martin Gardens?

The views come first. The paths follow the contours of the Rock and open onto the sea and the Fontvieille district, with its marina below. It’s not as wide a panorama as the Oceanographic Museum’s roof terrace, but it’s free and there’s no ticket desk to get past. Few people walking here realise that Monaco’s prison sits in the old fortifications underneath. If you collect lookouts, I’ve listed the lot in the best viewpoints in Monaco.

Then there’s Albert I, the prince they called the Navigator. François Cogné cast him in bronze in 1951, and he stands on a promontory facing the Mediterranean, looking out at the sea he spent his life exploring. It’s my favourite moment of the walk, because the museum he founded is just ahead and the statue gives you a reason to care about what’s inside.

Along the way you’ll also pass sculptures from the Chemin des Sculptures Rainier III, the Monaco sculpture trail that scatters works all over the country, plus a pond. Don’t expect a botanical garden with a label on every plant. It’s a park for walking, sitting and looking.

Which way round to walk it

There are two entrances, one opposite the cathedral and one in front of the Oceanographic Museum forecourt. I’d go in opposite the cathedral, after seeing Grace Kelly’s tomb in Monaco Cathedral, and head downhill. That way the path runs in your favour and leaves you right outside the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, where I’d budget a couple of hours. Afterwards, Fort Antoine waits a few metres beyond the museum, where the Rock runs out.

If you’re coming up from below, the museum’s own directions already use the garden, from Place d’Armes climbing Avenue de la Porte Neuve before crossing it. By bus, the last stop of lines 1 and 2, Place de la Visitation, is close to the upper entrance.

With a wheelchair or a pushchair, VisitMonaco lists the gardens as accessible but warns that some slopes are quite steep. I’d keep to the upper paths and not try the bottom section unless you’re confident.

What I couldn’t confirm

Neither VisitMonaco nor the town hall publishes opening times. The tourist office describes the gardens as freely accessible and leaves it there, so I won’t promise they’re open at night or tell you when they shut. My rule of thumb is simple, walk them by day in the gap between the cathedral and the museum, which is when being there makes sense anyway.

Nor have I found an official list of the sculptures in the garden beyond Albert I. If the art trail interests you, ask at the tourist information kiosk opposite the cathedral.