Tourist attractions Monaco

With its casino, palaces and luxuriant gardens, the name Monte Carlo is synonymous with gambling and the high life. Developed in the late 19C by the Bains de Mer company, Monte Carlo is today a tightly packed haven of rich villas and buildings. To th..

The Grande Corniche is the highest coastal road between Nice and Menton. Built on the orders of Napoleon, it follows part of the old Roman road Via Julia Augusta. Its panoramic views are unforgettable, especially from Le Vistaero restaurant and Be..

Clinging to the cliff, offering a view that extends as far as the Italian Riviera, the Jardin Exotique provides a rare change of scenery, with 900 varieties of beautiful semi-arid plants. Species include hundred-year-old cacti, euphorbias, giant al..

Overlooking the sea, the rock (rocher) is crowned with the ramparts of the old town and has an almost theatrical feel. The attractive 16C-18C houses, all painted in the same bright salmon pink, are huddled together in a maze of pretty narrow streets...

The main attraction of the Oceanographic Museum is the spectacular aquarium , which houses 6 000 specimens. The highlight here is the “lagoon”, an incredible reconstruction of a coral reef inhabited by large marine predators. Other interesting secti..

An oasis of palm trees, the casino terrace offers a splendid view of the coastline from Monaco to Bordighera. The surrounding gardens, adorned by the Hexa Grace , a work by Vasarely in enamelled volcanic rock, were laid out on the rooftops of the Sp..

Situated at an altitude of 300m above sea level, this restaurant has magnificent views of the Bordighera headland, Cap Mortola, Menton, Cap Martin, Roquebrune, and Monte-Carlo Beach. To the right, Monaco and Beausoleil are dominated by the Tête de Ch..

A rich suburb of Menton, the Cap Martin peninsula has retained the charm of its turn-of-the-20C elegance, with opulent villas hidden by a luxuriant vegetation. It is served by roads which cut through fragrant pinewoods and banks of mimosa. One of t..

This replica of an ancient Greek house was built in 1902 on a site reminiscent of the Aegean coast by and for the archaeologist Théodore Reinach. Original pieces stand alongside copies and reproductions of furniture and frescoes. All the windows of..

There are lovely views of the town and the Alps from the section of the seafront promenade that runs along the grey pebble beach. It widens into large terraces with gardens in places.

Standing in a stunning location on Cap Ferrat, this Italian-style palace was built in 1905 by Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild to house her collection of almost 5 000 works of art (mosaics, Flemish tapestries, porcelain and furniture). After her dea..

Seven hectares of heavenly gardens surround the Villa Ephrussi-de-Rothschild . They follow a thematic scheme: the French garden has running water and a Temple of Love; the Spanish garden is planted with exotic species; the Florentine garden ha..

The Moyenne Corniche, built between 1910 and 1928, runs from Nice to Menton mid-way up the mountainside. Less winding and shorter than the Grande Corniche , it passes through the remarkably-located old village of Èze , skirts the Tête de Chien (dog..

Paved with a beautiful cobblestone mosaic and surrounded by two Baroque church façades and old Menton houses, this square (Parvis St-Michel) is crammed with Italianate charm and fancy. It also has a lovely view of the sea, the town and part of the co..

Surrounded by wooded slopes, Villefranche harbour extends between Cap Ferrat peninsula and Mont Boron. Reaching depths of between 25m and 60m, the harbour can accommodate a large fleet of boats.

Halfway between Villefranche and Beaulieu, the most prestigious headland on the Riviera is covered by dense vegetation. The peninsula is strewn with elegant houses such as the delightful Villa Ephrussi , home to a remarkable collection of works of a..

The Basse Corniche (lower coastal road), which has linked Nice to Menton since the 1880s, serves all the Riviera resorts: Villefranche-sur-Mer , known for its beautiful natural harbour ; Cap Ferrat , the location of the magnificent Villa Ephrussi..

Dominating the sea, this 17C villa, with its Sienna earth colour, houses around 30 paintings by Matisse (1869-1954). From dark palettes to canvases lit with the Mediterranean sun, then, after a stay in Morocco, to pure colour, and finally to the refi..

This museum exhibits works by the Nice School and the movements that preceded and followed it. Nouveau Réalisme is shown through artists like Arman, César and Spoerri, with pride of place given to Yves Klein (1928-62) and his blue monochromes. The ne..

Laid out in terraces overlooking the sea, these gardens (named after the English founders) incorporate an exotic and varied profusion of flora.