The Rainier III pool, a swim on the Grand Prix's most famous corner

You’ve probably seen this pool without realising it. It’s the one that gives the Grand Prix its Swimming Pool section, glimpsed on television behind the harbour grandstands. Outside race weeks it’s a proper municipal pool, lifeguards, aquagym and swimming lessons included, except that it sits in the middle of Port Hercule and it’s filled with seawater.

An Olympic pool in the middle of the harbour

Its official name is the Stade Nautique Rainier III, and it’s run by the town’s sports department. The pool is 50 by 20 metres and holds 3,000 m³ of treated, filtered seawater heated to 27 °C. Around it you’ll find sunloungers and parasols for hire, three diving boards (1, 3 and 5 metres) and, best of all, a 45-metre slide, which for me is what turns an afternoon at the pool into a proper day out for kids.

Lifeguards with the proper qualifications watch the whole pool, which I find reassuring with a slide and a 5-metre board in play. It’s on Route de la Piscine, on the La Condamine side, a few steps from the Prince’s Car Collection, which shares the same quay. Coming down from the Rock or from Monte-Carlo it’s a short walk, and you pass along Port Hercule on the way.

What it costs and when it opens in 2026

The 2026 season runs from 1 May to 7 October. Non-residents pay €12 for an adult, €9 for ages 3 to 17 and €7.20 from 60, and under-3s go free. For Monaco, I think that’s a fair price. If you’d rather join a class, aquagym costs €9 for 45 minutes, aquabike €15 and a 30-minute swimming lesson €20, all booked in advance on the town’s sports website or at the machine by the entrance. If you’re in town for a week or more, a book of 10 adult entries at €108 brings each swim down to €10.80, which is where I’d start if I planned to come most mornings.

Opening hours shift with the summer. In May, June, September and October it opens at 09:00, 07:00 on Wednesdays, with last entry at 17:20. From 1 July to 6 September last entry moves to 18:50 every day but Monday. Watch out for one rule hardly anyone reads, because if you leave the site your ticket is spent. I’d eat before you go or bring something, and not nip out mid-afternoon.

When it’s shut, and why

Because it sits inside the circuit, the races call the shots. In 2026 it closed from 14 to 18 May for the Formula E E-Prix and from 1 to 9 June for the Grand Prix, and the slide and diving boards didn’t open until the race structures had been taken down. It also closed for the whole of 12 September for a party for local schoolchildren. From 7 September the slide and boards only run on Wednesdays and at weekends, worth knowing if you’re bringing children in late September.

Is it worth it with children?

For me, very much so. Under-12s can’t go in without an adult, so it’s not a place to drop them off, but between the slide, the boards and the warm water it’s about the most complete summer afternoon Monaco offers families. In 2026 there were also two Wednesdays, 8 July and 12 August, with free scuba try-dives for over-8s, entry fee only. More ideas for them are in Monaco with kids.

If you’re torn between this and the beach, think about the kind of day. Larvotto costs nothing and has sand, but with a choppy sea or a crowded beach I’d come here without a second thought.

In winter, an ice rink

Once the swimming season ends, the pool becomes an ice rink, fitted with a retractable cover. The 2025-2026 rink opened on 5 December and closed on 1 March, alongside the harbour’s Christmas village. Entry was €8 with skates included, under-5s went free and time on the ice was unlimited except on busy days, when it was capped at 30 minutes. Helmets and pads are lent free against an ID card. The 2026-2027 dates aren’t out yet, but this year’s Christmas village runs from 4 December to 3 January, and what happens over those weeks is in Monaco at Christmas.