A Day Trip to Monaco from Nice, France – French Riviera

July 2024

A Day Trip to Monaco from Nice, France – French Riviera

The country of Monaco is located smack in the middle of the French Riviera and it is certainly the most unique among the coastal towns.

Monaco is the second smallest country in the world – second to the Vatican and is the most densely populated country in the world. Nicknamed “the billionaires’ playground” due to its tax-haven status, Monaco has the highest per-captia GDP in the world with a third of the population as millionaires and the highest density of millionaires and billionaires in the world. Monaco is home to the iconic Place du Casino – also known as the Monte Carlo Casino – has been featured in pop culture, most famously in James Bond. This super rich country is known for luxury cars, the most upscale shopping, and a mecca for gambling.

I did not see ourselves spending a lot of time in Monaco as we are not car enthusiasts, gamblers, nor shoppers. In fact, I really did not expect to like Monaco too much at all but we could not come all the way here without checking it out. So when we left Monaco having had such a fun time, I was surprised and impressed. 

Monaco looks extremely different from the rest of the French Rivera with towering new skyscraper buildings, tons of new construction, luxurious amenities, and brand stores I have never even heard of. The streets are paved, narrow, and very winding. The marina is jam packed with the largest yachts I have ever seen. This place oozes money and people were here for it.

Our first stop was the famous Monte Carlo Casino and we really had no expectations of what we were going to do. The crowd in front of the entrance was wild and it became clear that they were letting people in as batches to avoid overcrowding the space, as I knew it was very small inside. We were able to sneak into the front of the not-really-a-line (Europeans are not good at lines), go through security, and enter through. But do not forget to enjoy the outside as well – expensive luxury cars seem to be found outside at all times – we happened to be around for the arrival of a Ferrari. The external facade of the building is also very ornate and details to enjoy as well. 

The lobby area is extremely small but ornate in how everything is decorated. Upon entering, to the left is the casino floor entrance and to the right is a lounge that is first come first serve. I would say at least 80% if not more come in, take the photo of the lobby, and leave. We somehow spent over three hours here without even gambling our own money and it all happened rather organically. 

Having a beverage inside the lounge was definitely intriguing when we learned it was an option and we were seated immediately in the bar area. Kevin ordered the James Bond beverage as he is a big fan of Golden Eye which featured scenes from inside this very casino. It was fun to sit and enjoy the ambiance of the area and a relaxing place to lounge. 

Afterwards, we returned to the lobby to learn about access to the casino floor. There are multiple areas and while there is no ticket required to enter the first room that is only slot machines. Beyond that, a ticket is required to have access to the other rooms of the casino. As far as dress code, there is not a strict dress code to enter the casino floor, there is a dress code if you want to enter one of the exclusive game rooms. We decided to purchase tickets cause we came all this way and who knows if we will ever be back here. The tickets are 19 euro and require a passport – you are in another country which can be hard to remember when traveling around the Riviera. The ticket then also comes with a 10 euro voucher for select slow machines (I am sure the ones that will guarantee you lose that money) so not a bad deal. There are items you are not permitted to bring inside and there is a free check room for those items. I am not quite sure what the rules are, but the water bottle was a no go but my sling bag was ok. There are no photos allowed in the casino itself or else I would be posting all of them! There was more security here than in the Sistine Chapel so I was not going to whip my phone out and get kicked out of the country. That being said, while the casino itself is small, it is absolutely beautiful inside. The decor truly spans from floor to ceiling with the actual ceilings and floors being included in that. After walking around the rooms we were permitted to see, we spend the remaining time watching games of roulette, black jack, and poker both studying the games and identifying the value of the colored chips. Most people were playing with multiple hundreds of dollars and that was quite insane to fathom that there was real money behind these colorful chips. We took our 10 euro each to a black jack slot machine and played it all away. We had a surprisingly fun time inside Monte Carlo Casino.

Before heading to the main harbor area, we ventured to the famous hairpin turn of F1 races. As regular cars and bikes slowed to take the turn gently, I cannot image what this must be like for an F1 race – a reminder for myself to google one so I can see for myself. 

We walked along the water towards Port Hercule and wow I thought we had seen some expensive yachts along the Riviera up until this point but the yachts parked in Port Hercule are in another category all together – these look like they could go to space. 

There was a horse competition going on that limited our access to the port. It seemed like an odd place to hold a competition but apparently it is one of the most technically challenging courses of this kind. After trying to dine at one of several spots – including Supernature and Puzzle – we were just too early for dinner service so we decided to have better use of the time heading back to Nice and grabbing dinner there. 

Overall, we had a fantastic time in Monaco for the short time we were there. We definitely did not see everything so if you are planning on spending more time there, make sure to check out Princess Grace Japanese Garden, the Prince of Monaco’s private car collection, The Prince’s Palace of Monaco, Port of Fontvielle viewpoint, Le Marche de la Condamine, and Jardins de la Petite Africa. If you are visiting the French Riviera, you must stop in Monaco whether it was for a half day like we did or longer as it is so different from any other location along the Riviera.

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