French Riviera Travel Tips 10 Places To Visit In Monaco On A Budget

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera:

Monaco has a reputation as a place of luxury, superyachts and supercars but I’m going to shatter the myth that you need to have lots of money to enjoy Monaco as a tourist.

Monaco/Monte Carlo is spread over a lot of hills, so if you’re a first-time visitor you may not be aware of this and you should plan a way to get around to save yourself time and effort.

…Continue reading here for Rebecca’s travel tips on how to visit Monaco without taking out a bank loan. It is possible to explore the gardens and many public places in a stylish seaside city for free or little cost. The Access Riviera guide to top places to see in Monaco:

Casino Square/place du Casino
Chemin des Sculptures in Jardin de l’Espace de Fontvieille
Musée Collection of Voitures Anciennes
Musée Naval
Palais Princier and the changing of the guards
Monaco Oceanarium
Musée de la Chapelle de la Visitation
Monaco Cathedral
Saint Martin Gardens

Visit Monaco

Monaco is truly blessed when it comes to its climate and location. These two factors combined create some of the most aesthetically-pleasing scenery in the world with verdant vegetation atop hills and craggy rock faces. It is the gateway to the French Riviera and Provence, whose scenic roads have been immortalized in numerous films. With luxury car hire in France, you can travel along these same roads in a fabulous convertible or sports car and experience the beauty of the French Riviera and Provence for yourself. Here’s a selection of some of the three scenic drives around Monaco.

Twenty-three Formula 1 cars, 800 horsepower V-8 engines spooling, it’s the start of the Monaco Grand Prix. Deafening! Full ear protection is essential. Within the confines of the city of Monte Carlo, the towering hills a natural amphitheatre, magnify the sound of the race circuit. The idiosyncrasies of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit truly test drivers’ skills. Cars come to a virtual standstill on some hairpin corners, head through a tunnel and then accelerate to breakneck speeds on the straightaways. If a Formula 1 race were to be proposed in Monaco today, it would be considered unsafe. Read about the Amber Lounge in Monaco.

Calm and exquisite pleasure reign there. And the luxury of course. In the smallest details. At the Metropole Hotel in Monte-Carlo, an invitation to travel begins in the driveway of honor that spreads its Italianate finery as an introduction to the patrician face of the facade of the hotel. Barely entering the grounds of the palace, we feel transported to a different, refined world, the Olympian calm that makes one forget the presence of the road just a few meters away. Where are we? At the luxurious 5-star Hotel Metropole.

Rebecca Whitlocke

New Zealand born and raised, Rebecca moved permanently to the French Riviera when she fell in love with an Englishman working on a super yacht.

With 10+ years background in the travel industry, she left the rat race and founded Access Riviera after realising there was a lack of travel information in English for expats and tourists.

Access Riviera is her blog providing general travel advice regarding sightseeing, transport and festivals focusing on families and persons with reduced mobility mixed in with a healthy dose of posts about 'la vie en France' as an expat.

When not writing for her blog and collaborating with companies such as FlipKey, Lonely Planet Kids and Wanderant, Rebecca consults globally in tourism and media. She enjoys stand up paddleboarding on the Riviera coastline, and searching for the best tarte aux citron in the region.

You can connect with Rebecca via her blog Access Riviera.