Things To Do in Monaco

Monaco’s main sights—including its glamorous port, casino, and hotels—are clustered around the pedestrianized place du Casino. Its principal museums, including the Prince’s Palace and Oceanographic Museum, are situated on the history-laden rock of Monaco-Ville.

Life still focuses on the Casino de Monte-Carlo and we have a full write up of that historic gaming palace here.

On the western side of Monaco, reachable by a picturesque coastal trail cut into the coastline’s rocks, is the Villa les Camélias, 17 av. Raymond Gramaglia, Cap d’Ail (www.villalescamelias.com; tel. 04-93-98-36-57). A local history museum, albeit one with astounding sea views and a private swimming pool, the villa charts the history of this Monaco suburb by way of photographs, handwritten notes from regular visitor Sir Winston Churchill, and even a calling card from a glamorous local bordello. It’s open Tuesday to Friday 9:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 6pm, and Sunday 11am to 6pm. Admission is 9€ adults, 5€ for children aged 12 to 18, and free for children 11 and under.

High end shopping is the norm in Monaco. Hermès, Gucci,  Lanvin and the like are cheek by jowl near the Hôtel de Paris and the Casino de Monte-Carlo. Just west of place du Casino, Pretty You, 5 pl. Saint James (tel. 97-70-48-08), sells Oscar de la Renta and Elie Saab. Just east of this piazza, Galeries du Métropole is packed with high fashion and specialty stores. Temples of fashion of all sorts are available, as well, on boulevard de Moulins. We’re talking Baby Dior, no. 31 (tel. 97-25-72-12) and swimwear-to-the-stars brand Erès, also at no. 31 (tel. 97-70-76-50). For Repetto ballet slippers and Michael Kors satchels try La Botterie, no. 14 (tel. 97-25-80-55).

However, you don't have to be Princess Caroline to shop in Monaco, especially now with Fnac (tel. +33 825-02-00-20; www.fnac.com/Monaco) in the heart of town. A branch of the big French chain that selling all kinds of books and media, it's at the Métropole Shopping Center (tel. 93-50-15-36; metropoleshoppingmontecarlo.com/en), 17 av. des Spélugues, next to the Hôtel Métropole and across from the casino gardens. The ornate Métropole Shopping Center also has a few specialty shops worth visiting. C

For real-people shopping, stroll rue Grimaldi, the principality's most commercial street, near the fruit, flower, and food market. Rue Princesse-Caroline is a pedestrian thoroughfare with shops less forbiddingly chic than those along boulevard des Moulins, and it's loaded with bakeries, flower shops, and the closest thing you'll find to funkiness in Monaco.

For a look at the heart and soul of the real Monaco, head to place d'Armes for the Condamine Markets, a collection of covered and open air fruit, flower, and food shops that open daily at 7am. The indoor and outdoor market has a fountain, cafes, and hand-painted vegetable tiles beneath your feet. The outdoor market packs up at noon, and some dealers at the indoor market stay open to 2pm. If you prefer bric-a-brac, a small but funky (especially for Monaco) flea market, Les Puces de Fontvieille, is open on Saturdays 9:30am to 5:30pm on the quai Jean-Charles Rey, immediately adjacent to Port de Fontvieille.

Museums are all well and good, but to survey the soul of Monaco you need a credit card, a suntan, and a late-morning wake-up call. Early-evening glamour revolves around the bars that surround the historic port. Here, locally based luxury yacht agencies like Y.CO (www.y.co; tel. 93-50-12-12) charter 50m-long (262 ft.-) sailing craft for around $200,000 per week.

Casinos — François Blanc developed the Casino de Monte-Carlo, place du Casino (tel. 377-98-06-21-21), into the most famous in the world, attracting the exiled aristocracy of Russia, Sarah Bernhardt, Mata Hari, King Farouk, and Aly Khan. The architect of Paris's Opéra Garnier, Charles Garnier, built the oldest part of the casino, and it remains an example of the 19th century's most opulent architecture. The building encompasses the casino and other areas for different kinds of entertainment, including a theater (Opéra de Monte-Carlo) presenting opera and ballet. Baccarat (chemin de fer and punto banco) and roulette are the most popular games, though you can play craps, blackjack, and thirty and forty as well.

The casino’s marble-floored Atrium is open to all (for 18€ plus the presentation of a valid passport) from 2pm. Gamers can shoot slots or play blackjack in the hallowed Salle des Amériques or try their luck at roulette in the Salle Europe. For roulette, trente et quarante, and Texas Hold’em visit the private areas of rococo Salon Touzet and Salon Médecin. Entrance to Les Salons Supers Privés is by invitation only (heh, they’ve got our number!) and requires smart dress and nerves of steel. Another great summer addition is the Casino de Monte-Carlo alfresco terrace. Here visitors may play roulette and poker overlooking the moonlit Mediterranean. Now that’s glamorous. To enter the casino, you must show a passport or other photo ID, and be at least 18. After 8pm, the staff will insist that men wear jackets and neckties for entrance to the private rooms.

The brightly lit Sun Casino, in the Fairmont Monte Carlo, 12 av. des Spélugues (tel. 377-98-06-12-12), feels more Vegas than Monte Carlo. As well as poker, it also features blackjack, craps, American roulette, and war game (based on the kids game Battleship). Slot machines operate daily noon to 4am, and gaming tables are open daily 5pm to 4am. Admission is free.

The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is headquartered in the lavish, Belle Époque Salle Garnier of the casino. Tickets to the operas start at 40€. Tickets to events within the Salle Garnier are available from a kiosk in the Atrium du Casino (tel. 377-98-06-28-28; www.opera.mc), located within the casino; tickets can be purchased Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5:30pm.

At the Grimaldi Forum, 10 av. Princesse-Grace (tel. 377-99-99-30-00 for tickets and information; www.grimaldiforum.com), you can see classical and pop concerts. If tickets are hard to come by, ask your hotel concierge for assistance.

Bars & Clubs — At sundown the action moves uphill to place du Casino, where Buddha Bar (tel. 98-06-19-19) is bedecked with chinoiserie, Asian statues, and a raised DJ booth. For sheer class, the Crystal Bar (tel. 98-06-98-99) inside the Hôtel Hermitage pulls out all the stops. Patrons may sip glasses of Perrier-Jouët Champagne until 2am. Le Bar Américain (tel. 98-06-38-38), in the Hôtel de Paris, is far more raucous, with chillingly expensive cocktails and nightly jazz. Near Plage du Larvotto, the timeless superclub Jimmy’z (tel. 98-06-36-36), open nightly 11:30pm until dawn, has attracted stars from Farrah Fawcett to George Clooney.

Other hotel bars that are popular with a chic Monégasque crowd include the übertrendy NiBar (tel. 377-97-97-51-51; www.nihotel-nibar.com) at 1 bis rue Grimaldi and the Columbus bar (tel. 377-92-05-90-00; www.columbushotels.com) in Fontvieille. A more informal place to unwind is La Rascasse (tel. 377-98-06-16-16; www.larascassemontecarlo.com), overlooking Port Hercule. In the day it's a place for coffee and Wi-Fi, but at night it transforms into a bar (after 5pm) and later into a nightclub (after 11pm). A relaxed Anglophone crowd can be found drinking beer at McCarthy's Irish pub (tel. 377-93-25-87-67) on rue Portier.

If you'd like a late-night, postdinner boogie squeezed between and even on tables, then you'll like restaurant-cum-piano bar Le Sass Café, 11 av. Princesse-Grace (tel. 377-93-25-52-00). With its deep-red brothel-like decor, it's always packed to the gills with Monaco partygoers. Please note that after midnight you'll have to pay a steep bottle fee to sit at a table.