What I would see in Monaco, from 1 to 16

Most lists of things to do in Monaco open with the Casino, and I understand why, but I would not. It is the most photographed building in the country, and yet what impresses me most is at the other end, up on the Rock. Here is my list, scored, with what each place costs in 2026 and the reason behind every position.

How I scored each place

I trained in tourism, with a master’s in tourism planning, and when I score a place I weigh three things. First, what you cannot find anywhere else on the Riviera, a coast with plenty of pretty villages and very few museums hanging off a cliff. Second, the price and how easy it is to get in at different times of year, which counts for a lot here because several visits are seasonal. Third, whether it fits into a day on foot without wrecking the rest of your plans.

That throws up a few surprises. The changing of the guard, free and in everyone’s photos, only makes seventh because it is over so quickly. And the Stade Louis II, which I have a soft spot for, comes last because it is really for football fans and only runs tours from April to September. The scores are mine, with decimals to show I thought each one through.

Why the Oceanographic beats the Casino

The Oceanographic Museum of Monaco is my number one because nothing else on the coast looks like it. Albert I, the prince who gave half his life to the sea, opened it in 1910 on the edge of the cliff, and Jacques-Yves Cousteau was its director from 1957 to 1988. Inside are more than 60,000 objects, a shark lagoon of 450,000 litres built in 2000 and, up top, a roof terrace 85 metres above the water. The Mediterranean aquarium is in the middle of a full renovation, and even so I only take a few tenths off.

Second place is free. Monaco-Ville, the old town on the Rock, holds nearly everything that explains the country, and you can walk it in just over an hour. From Palace Square both harbours lie at your feet, and in the lanes you will find the Museum of Old Monaco, which charges nothing and tells the story of the district and its language.

The Monte-Carlo Casino completes the podium. The façade is by Charles Garnier, from 1879, and the rooms hold work by artists active between 1863 and 1910. To see it as a monument you go between 10:00 and 13:00, with an audio guide, for €20, and the hours, age limit and dress rules are in my guide to visiting the Monte-Carlo Casino. I put it behind the Rock for a simple reason. The Rock is free and the Casino is not.

Fourth to eighth, with a day trip in the middle

The Prince’s Palace of Monaco would score higher if it opened all year. It has 600 m² of Italian Renaissance frescoes, the Hercules Gallery and the Throne Room, still used for major ceremonies, but in 2026 it only shows its rooms between 30 March and 15 October, closes on odd days (1 to 4 October in 2026) and can only be reached by stairs. With the combined Oceanographic ticket at €31, I think it is very good value.

The Exotic Garden is the news of the year. It has been open since spring 2026, after almost six years of works, with new walkways and viewpoints above Fontvieille. If views are what you’re after, I rank them separately in the best viewpoints in Monaco. What would make me pay €15 for the combined ticket is the Observatory Cave, which you go down with a guide, about 300 steps among the stalactites.

Sixth place is not in Monaco, and I flag it so nobody is disappointed. Èze is 9 km away in France and the first excursion I would make, with the village crowning a rocky peak and the Nietzsche path climbing up from the sea. The other villages are in my day trips from Monaco.

Rounding off this stretch are the changing of the guard, at 11:55 on the dot every day, and Monaco Cathedral, where Rainier III and Grace Kelly lie and which you can see in twenty minutes between 8:15 and 18:00.

What can you do in Monaco for free?

More than people expect. Seven of my sixteen places charge nothing, namely the Rock, the guard, the cathedral, the circuit, the harbour, the Japanese Garden and Larvotto with Mareterra. Walking the Monaco Grand Prix circuit is my favourite of those, because it is 3.337 km of normal streets and, if you follow Formula 1, every corner has a story. Just be aware that between late February and July you will find grandstands going up or coming down, because in 2026 the works for the three big races ran from 23 February to 17 July.

The Japanese Garden is my breather in Monte-Carlo, with its koi pond and tea house, open until 19:00 from April to October. And the boat bus across Port Hercule, €1.50 if you tap a card, is the cheapest way to feel you are on a yacht for a few minutes. Everything free or nearly free is together in Monaco on a budget.

Famous, but lower down my list

I like the Prince’s Car Collection, with close to a hundred cars from a 1903 De Dion Bouton to a 2013 Lotus, but it is a themed museum and at €15 it gets no more than 7.7 from me. Plenty of guides still place it in Fontvieille, and since July 2022 it has been at the harbour. The Condamine market loses a little while it trades from kiosks during the works on its hall. And the Stade Louis II is last for the reason I gave above.

What I leave out

The Fontvieille zoo is not on the list because the Palace says it is closed, though I tell its story in Monaco’s Jardin Animalier. Villa Sauber, part of the New National Museum, is out too because it is shut for works, and the Museum of Stamps and Coins, open daily for €3, is really one for collectors. If that is you, I cover it in my guide to Monaco’s museums.

The order of the list is not the order of the day. Follow it top to bottom and you miss the Palace and the guard, which both belong to the morning. The day set out by the hour is my one-day Monaco itinerary.