Monaco with kids, my ideas ranked from best to least

Monaco does not look like a place for children, with its casino, yachts and luxury hotels, and I think that is exactly the mistake. It is small, you can walk across it, it has one of the oldest aquariums in the world and a network of public lifts worth its weight in gold with a buggy. What you do need to know is what is closed, what each thing costs per child and how to tackle the hills.

What to do in Monaco with kids if you only have one day

I would start on the Rock. Get to Palace Square about fifteen minutes before 11:55 to watch the Carabiniers change the guard, which is free and, for me, the best show in Monaco for a child. From there walk to the Oceanographic Museum on the same headland and give it about two hours. Have lunch nearby, and in the afternoon choose between Larvotto if it is hot or the Exotic Garden if you would rather have shade and views. How a whole day fits together is set out in my one-day Monaco itinerary.

If you arrive by train from Nice, the station has exits with lifts towards Monte-Carlo, La Condamine and Fontvieille, and town buses climb up to the Rock. A single trip costs €1.50 by bank card (€2 in cash), while unlimited travel for one day is €5.50.

The Oceanographic, the plan that never fails

If I could pay for only one ticket with children, it would be this one. The Oceanographic Museum costs €13 for ages 4 to 17 and €20.50 for adults, and under-4s go free. The big draw is the shark lagoon, a tank 6 metres deep holding 450,000 litres of seawater, with blacktip reef sharks, grey reef sharks and a nurse shark. Then come the tropical aquarium, the sea turtle trail, which is partly outdoors, and the roof terrace, with a turtle island and play equipment.

There is more aimed at them, such as escape games, a touch pool and a 45-minute workshop on seashore animals, for €8 on top of the entry fee. The Mediterranean aquarium is closed for works with no reopening date, so do not promise it. With a buggy, the whole museum is reachable by lift except level -1, which is stairs. And if you come by train, the ticket desk takes €2 off each ticket when you show a same-day ZOU! rail ticket. The full visit is in my guide to the Oceanographic Museum.

Gardens, a farm and mini golf

After almost six years of works, the Exotic Garden reopened to the public at the end of March 2026, and it came back with family facilities, a children’s garden, a picnic area, a party room and a snack bar. It costs €6 for ages 4 to 17. The Observatory Cave is visited with a guide every hour from 10:00, taking 40 to 45 minutes, but it goes down about 300 steps, and with small children I would stay up top. It is all in my guide to the Exotic Garden. The combined ticket with the Oceanographic is €20 per child and €33 per adult.

Close by, at 54 bis boulevard du Jardin Exotique, is Princess Antoinette Park, which for me is the most neighbourly outing on the list. It has swings and sandpits for under-9s, courts for teenagers, an 18-hole mini golf course and a small farm with hens, ducks, goats, guinea pigs and rabbits. Mini golf is €5 per person, paid by card and booked in advance, with tee-offs every quarter of an hour and groups of six at most. After heavy rain it can close for one to three days while the clay dries. The town hall does not say whether the rest of the park charges, so I will not sell it to you as free.

Beach, pool and ice depending on the season

In summer, Larvotto is the family beach. It is mostly public, smoke-free and dog-free, with a Handiplage service and an underwater snorkelling trail in the Marine Reserve. Nearby is the Japanese Garden, free, with koi carp, bridges and waterfalls, perfect for slowing the pace. Everything on the coast is in Monaco beaches.

If you prefer a pool, the Stade Nautique Rainier III opens in season, in 2026 between 1 May and 7 October, with seawater heated to 27 °C, diving boards and a 45-metre slide. Under-12s cannot go in without an adult, and opening hours are in Monaco’s harbour swimming pool. When the cold arrives, the pool becomes an ice rink. In winter 2025-2026 entry with skates was €8 and under-5s went free. If you’re eyeing the pool at Nikki Beach Monte Carlo, up on the Fairmont, note that it only lets children in until 12:00.

What is closed and what is hard with a buggy

The Fontvieille Animal Garden, the zoo, is closed. The Palace lists it that way with no date, and the local press says it will stay shut throughout 2026 for safety works on the cliff above it and a modernisation plan. Leave it out of your plans. Which animals it holds and what’s known about reopening is in Monaco’s Jardin Animalier.

The Prince’s Palace does open from late March to mid-October and has an activity booklet for 6 to 11-year-olds, but the visit is stairs only. With a buggy, I would save it for another trip. For every other slope the public lifts transform the day, and they are explained in getting around Monaco.

Cars, the little train and the stadium for older children

With primary-age children or teenagers, three outings move well up the list. The Prince’s Car Collection, by the harbour, has close to a hundred vehicles and costs €10 for ages 6 to 17. The little tourist train leaves from opposite the Oceanographic and in 30 to 40 minutes covers the harbour, the circuit, the Casino and the Palace, for €7 for ages 2 to 10. And the Stade Louis II runs tours from Monday to Friday, April to September, for €2.90 for under-12s.

One thing that surprises people is that the Monte-Carlo Casino opens its morning visit, from 10:00 to 13:00, to families, and 6 to 12-year-olds go in free. It is a way of showing them the building without anyone gambling. And one last point for British families. Neither the GHIC nor the EHIC is valid in Monaco, according to gov.uk, so check your travel insurance covers the children before you go.