When we planned our September trip to the French Riviera, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to add another country to our list. (That’s if we’re now counting principalities. I’m not excluding Monaco on a technicality). And what better place to spend my birthday, swanning around the playground for the rich and famous. Home of playboys, Formula 1 drivers and millionaires. (Or all they all the same thing?). But as we are not famous OR rich we decided to see if we could live like a pauper and do one day in Monaco on a budget.

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All About Monaco

Monaco is a principality on the French Riviera, independent of France. It has it’s own monarchy and governing system, and is home to just over 38,000 residents, despite covering less than a square mile. That makes it the most densely populated country in the world despite having the most expensive real-estate prices in the world. Only Vatican City is smaller. In fact, to gain residency in Monaco, your application has to be PERSONALLY approved by Prince Albert himself.

Monaco is the second smallest country in the world, but do you want to read more about the smallest? Click here to read all about our visit to Vatican City.

Lying along the Côte d’Azur and backed by mountains, Monaco has a mild Mediterranean climate and boasts over 300 days of sunshine per year. We visited in mid-September, and it was still very warm with afternoon temperatures hovering around 26 degrees.

Formula One in Monaco

Whether you’re an F1 fan or not, you’ll probably know that it’s home to one of the most iconic Formula One race tracks in the world. Casino Square. Mirabeau. The Fairmont Hairpin. Tunnel Larvotto. Tabac. La Rascasse. It’s an ultimate test of driving skills. And because it’s a street track, if you’re wandering around Monte-Carlo then you’re most likely to end up strolling streets which have hosted famed F1 drivers including Juan Michael Fangio, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris. Just a few of the winners of this jewel in the Grand Prix crown.

Unless you’re visiting specifically for the Grand Prix it’s probably best to avoid Monaco on a race weekend (or the lead-up); this usually takes place in late May. However it’s the best time to try and bag yourself a millionaire 😉

If you want to discover more of the secrets of the 3km urban circuit, you can take a Formula One Circuit Guided Walking Tour.

Princess Grace Kelly in Monaco

One of Monaco’s most beloved figures is Grace Kelly. The glamourous Hollywood star captured the heart of Prince Rainier III and became Princess of Monaco. Tragically she died in a car crash in 1982, aged just 52. You can see her photo everywhere, in shops and restaurants. There’s a memorial statue in Saint-Martin Gardens and a rose garden which was created by the Prince as a tribute to Princess Grace. You can also pay your respects at her tomb at Saint Nicholas Cathedral. It’ll be the one covered in flowers.

Our One Day itineray for visiting Monaco on a budget

We start our day in Monaco – or more accurately, our afternoon in Monaco after a lazy morning in Menton – strolling through the lush Jardins de la Petite Afrique to Place du Casino. In fact almost immediately after getting off the bus we get a spectacular view of Casino de Monte-Carlo. We’re in Monte-Carlo and the air smells of money. Or maybe its just all the exotic plants around us.

Casino de Monte-Carlo

Our first stop is the iconic Casino de Monte-Carlo, immortalized on celluloid in Bond movies GoldenEye and Never Say Never Again. Designed by Charles Garnier (of Opéra Garnier, Paris fame), it’s a beautiful Belle Époque building sitting on Casino Square, flanked by Hotel de Paris on one side and Café de Paris on the other. Place du Casino is where you’ll often find flashy sports cars – sadly absent during our visit. It seemed to be mainly Mercedes SUVs and vans. A bit like our local Aldi car park.

Our funds definitely don’t stretch to holding ’em and foldin’ em so we content ourselves with visiting the sophisticated atrium. It’s free entry from 9am, and there’s no dress code for the atrium or Café de la Rotonde. There is a bag check though, and hats aren’t allowed in this spiritual home of gambling. If you want to see more more of the casino, there is a tour with audio-guide (€20) between 10am and 1pm.

The gaming rooms are strictly off-limits until 2pm, and a valid identity card or passport is required as well as the €20 entrance fee. This does include a €10 voucher which can be used at the slots, bar or redeemed against your restaurant bill.

Did you know that Monaco’s residents are banned from entering the casino? Only foreign nationals are allowed to gamble here.

The famous Fairmont Hairpin Turn and Larvotto Tunnel

Exiting the casino, we take the walkway between the casino and Café de Paris to the iconic hairpin bend which is a key feature of the Monaco Grand Prix, and the slowest corner in the F1 calendar. Instead of supercharged sports car, there are a succession of vans and hop-on hop-off buses slowly making their way around the bend, trying to avoid the Instagrammers and influencers sauntering to the apex for a photo or ten.

Descending a stairwell behind the Fairmont Hotel, we unexpectedly find ourselves at a very recognisable spot in Monaco. It’s the famous high-speed Larvotto Tunnel with its sea view windows. I insist on posing Mr Fletche for a series of photos. Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” plays in my head on a loop.

Behind the Fairmont is a fairly new high-end complex at Le Petit Portier, with reflecting pools and modern sculptures. Mr Fletche became a little obsessed with photographing the cruise ship shaped Le Renzo building, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano:

(If Renzo Piano is a vaguely familiar name, he designed the Shard in London, as well as the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Also Kansai Airport in Osaka – I’ll report back on that one soon 😉)

Port-Hercule

We emerge from Larvotto tunnel onto Port-Hercule, expecting to see the sparkling Mediterranean Port and a marina chockful of luxury superyachts. Except it’s the week before the Monaco Yacht Show, and the whole waterfront is hidden behind pop-up white tents, which somewhat spoils the view. Even the famous swimming-pool, a staple overhead shot for camera people on Grand Prix day, is sadly out-of-sight.

Le Rocher (the Rock) & Monaco-ville

This was probably my favourite part of Monaco. Even the hot and sweaty climb up Rampe de la Major. Le Rocher juts out into the Mediterranean so there are magnificent views of the port as you ascend. Which is an excellent excuse for another pause to “take in the views” and let your more knowledgeable F1 fan husband explain the track layout below.

Place du Palais stands at the top of the hill. On the fringes of the square is Palais de Monaco, home to the current Prince of Monaco. You can visit the State Apartments from April to mid-October (€10) but as we were on a mission to spend essential funds only we simply admired the pale pink building from outside. We’re too late for the changing of the guard (daily at 11:55am) so instead we dive into the shady narrow streets which make up the historic old town, Monaco-Ville.

There’s also the highly renowned Oceanographic Museum in this part of Monaco, which would be perfect for a rainy day. (Do they even get rainy days in Monaco?). The museum houses the world’s largest collection of marine curiosities.

You can purchase tickets for the Oceanographic Museum here. Adult admission is £19.75 and £12.50 for kids

Jardins Saint-Martin

One of the best things to do in Monaco on a budget is stroll around the public gardens. We enjoyed the shade and panoramic views at Jardins Saint-Martin, where you can peer down into the Fontvielle district. A young couple made the mistake of asking me to take a photo of them with the famed view behind them which I turned into an impromptu photo shoot. I hope one of the 76 pictures I took was usable.

Other things to see and do in Monaco

• Le Jardin Japonais
• Pop into the Monaco Tourism Office to get a coveted passport stamp (not on your actual passport though)
• Princess Grace Rose Garden and the Fontvielle distrct
• Prince Rainier III Collection, a treat for luxury car enthusiasts.
• Fort Antoine, a former military fortress now used as an open-air theatre

Eating and drinking in Monaco on a budget

It’s not cheap to eat and drink in Monaco, particularly around Monte Carlo. I tentatively suggested a traditional overpriced birthday cocktail at Cafe de Paris on Casino Square, but even I baulked at €26 a pop. That did NOT fall into the “One Day in Monaco on a budget” theme. Neither did any of Monaco’s EIGHT Michelin-starred restaurants, with 13 stars between them.

This makes Monaco the country with the highest concentration of Michelin-starred establishments. The Hotel de Paris alone has two Michelin-starred restaurants.

My top recommendation – and thank you to other bloggers for the suggestion – is Le Marché de la Condamine. You can easily find this on your stroll from Port-Hercule to Place d’Armes. I LOVE a food hall, and I was surprised how much was on offer at Le Marché de la Condamine. We arrived around 2pm, and some of the vendors were closing up for the day, but we managed to nab a huge seafood salad to share, and a couple of beers from the bar. It also meant we avoided the peak lunchtime rush and easily got a table. This is definitely the best place to eat on a budget in Monaco.

We also found a bar in Old Town which was offering happy hour 2-for-1 spritz – an offer that was far too good to resist. Much better value than those €26 cocktails in Monte Carlo.

Getting from Nice to Monaco

If you’re staying in Nice then Monaco is an easy-peasy day trip. It’s just 25 minutes by TER train from Nice Ville to Monaco Monte Carlo station, or 45 mins if you’re travelling straight from Nice Cote D’Azur Airport. Trains are frequent, leaving every 15-20 mins, and cost €5.90. We took the train from Nice Cote D’Azur all the way through to Menton (€6,70) and can confirm that it’s a great way to travel quickly along the Riviera.

If you’re renting a car, it’s about 30 minutes from Nice Airport. Taxis are quite expensive; Uber and Bolt do not operate in Monaco. If you’re using a rideshare company to travel from elsewhere along the French Riviera you’ll have to hop out at the border (best drop-off point is just behind the Monaco Monte Carlo train station) – Uber and Bolt do not operate in Monaco.

There’s also a round-trip Nice to Monaco ferry which sounds like an awesome way to see this spectacular coastline

Getting to Monaco from Menton

We travelled to Monaco from our base in Menton. As the #600 bus stop was right outside our hotel we used the bus to travel to Monaco, a 35 minute journey (€2,50pp, payable on the bus, or €2,10 if purchased via the ZOU! app). The Monte-Carlo bus stop is a couple of minutes walk through the Jardins de la Petite Afrique to Place du Casino. It’s also easy by train, it takes just 12 minutes from Menton to Monaco-Monte Carlo Station and costs €3,90. From the station it is 15 mins to Place du Casino or 25 mins to Monaco Ville.

We found the bus a convenient and cheap way to travel to Monaco on a budget. It can be crowded though, so you may need to prepare to stand, especially on the return journey. Our return bus was running behind schedule, but it was 5pm on a Friday afternoon so it probably wasn’t the best time to travel.

If you prefer a tour rather than travelling independently, there are plenty of options available:

Getting around Monaco

It might be compact – less than the size of New York’s Central Park, and slightly less than Birmingham’s Lickey Hills Country Park – but be prepared to do A LOT of walking on one day in Monaco. It’s cliffside location means Monaco is very hilly so bring comfy shoes. Most attractions are located either in Monte Carlo or Le Rocher. There are some escalators and lifts (ascenseurs) between street levels, but they can be pretty slow so unless you have mobility issues it’ll be quicker to take the stairs.

There’s a frequent bus service around the principality, and CAM buses can be paid using contactless credit card for convenience. Tickets are €2 per journey, with a maximum daily charge is €5,50. All cab fares around the principality are fixed at €18, regardless of journey.

On our visit we were pleasantly surprised to find that local buses around the principality were free of charge. This is a new initiative around dates that major events are scheduled; we were there the week before the Monaco Yacht Show.

Where to stay in Monaco on a budget

Nice. Or Menton. Or any place along the Cote D’Azur. Anywhere else is likely to be much cheaper for accommodation. Our budget certainly didn’t stretch to the Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo or the Hotel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, where rooms start at around €600 per night. But you can try and bag yourself a bargain here.

You can read more about our 2 night stay in Menton here!

Final thoughts: Is it worth spending one day in Monaco?

We only spent about 5 hours in Monaco, but this gave us plenty of time to experience the highlights on a budget. Yes, we saw a whole country’s highlights in 5 hours, and we hardly spent a thing. Monaco is glamorous and compact (just like me dear readers!) and very easy to visit from Nice or anywhere along the Cote d’Azur. Best of all, you can still get a glimmer of the glitz and glam whilst sticking to a budget. Any more than half a day and you might just start splashing the cash…

I try my hardest to keep the information in this travel guide up to date; however if you notice anything has changed please let me know! Happy travels, Emmalene