An hour east · Polished, then unhurried
Monaco does the grand version well for an afternoon. Carry on twenty minutes to Menton for the citrus-coloured old town and a much slower evening.
27 places in 6 sections
How to arrive, and how long to allow.
Menton · 55 min by train
By train, 55 min · TER coastal line, ~€11 each way
The last town before Italy, pastel houses, lemon groves, the Jean Cocteau Museum on the harbour. Quieter and more local than its neighbours. The Halles market is excellent for lunch supplies, the citrus gardens worth a half-day on their own.
Monaco · 45 min by train
By train, 1 hr · TER coastal line, ~€12 each way
Worth a full day. The Casino Square, Larvotto, the Oceanographic Museum, the Palais Princier. Stop at Le Café de Paris for a coffee. The journey along the coast through Èze-sur-Mer, Cap d’Ail and Beaulieu is part of the appeal.
From counters you eat standing up to the tables worth booking a week out.
Monaco · 45 min by train
Oyster Bar · Port de Fontvieille · Tue–Sun
An oyster bar at the very tip of the Fontvieille pier, oysters raised in Monaco’s own deep waters by two marine biologists. A small, briny treat with a view.
Menton · 1h15 east
South-West French
In the Menton old town, duck and foie gras done properly, with wine advice worth taking. Dinner only, closed Mondays. Book.
Menton · 1h15 east
Small Kitchen
Two chefs, a short menu that wanders from tartare to gyoza, and a room that feels like someone’s house. One of the warmest tables on this coast.
Monaco-Ville · 1 hr east
Greek Counter · Cheap
A tiny counter on Rue Basse on the Rock, pita for around ten euros, a plate for eighteen. In Monaco that is remarkable. Bar stools only, no dining room. Closed Sundays.
Monaco-Ville · 1 hr east
Italian · Menu of the Day
In the alleys of the old town, a menu of the day with risotto, dessert and coffee, and staff who switch between French, English and Italian without blinking. Straightforward rather than remarkable.
Monaco-Ville · 1 hr east
Terrace · Palace Square
Beside the entrance to the Prince’s Palace with a shaded terrace over the sea and Fontvieille. Portions are small for the price. Come for the position and the view, and eat properly later.
Monaco-Ville · 1 hr east
Italian · Closed Sun
On Rue Emile de Loth, seasonal pizzas and a daily menu longer than the fixed one, which is a good sign. A calm terrace in the old town streets.
Larvotto, Monaco · 1 hr east
Greek · Sea View
New on the Quai du Petit Portier, proper Greek cooking with the sea in front of it, which Monaco was missing. Open all day to quarter to eleven.
Larvotto, Monaco · 1 hr east
Beachfront · Lunch Only
On the water at the Méridien Beach Plaza, open from noon to four only, so it is a lunch and afternoon place. Relaxed by Monaco standards and the service is a cut above.
Fontvieille, Monaco · 1 hr east
Italian · Port View
On the Fontvieille harbour away from the casino, and priced like Italy rather than Monaco. Fresh seafood, generous plates, and gelato at the end worth staying for.
Fontvieille, Monaco · 1 hr east
Italian · Family Run
A family kitchen on the Fontvieille quay with handmade pasta, truffle when it is in, and unusually good gluten-free bread and gnocchi if you need them.
Fontvieille, Monaco · 1 hr east
Steak · Halal
The Monaco original, now copied worldwide. Premium cuts alongside a street-food menu of tacos and ceviche. Tables sit close together and the Sunday DJ is loud.
Fontvieille, Monaco · 1 hr east
Italian · All Day
Named after the owner, run with her son on the floor. Open from eight in the morning. Carbonara, bruschetta and a tiramisu people come back for.
Monaco · 1 hr east
Oysters · Closed Sun
A shack on the pier below the Rock doing some of the best oysters on this coast, with the Oceanographic Museum above you. Lunch mostly, seating limited, book.
La Condamine, Monaco · 1 hr east
Fresh Pasta · Cheap
A counter at the Condamine market. Choose the pasta, choose the sauce, sit outside. Around ten euros in Monaco, which is the whole point. Closed Sundays.
La Condamine, Monaco · 1 hr east
Pizza · Market Rooftop
Upstairs at the Condamine market with a terrace. Proper Neapolitan pizza and an Aperol at a Monaco address for a fraction of what that usually means. Book.
Wine rooms, hotel bars and the terraces worth timing for the light.
Monaco · 45 min by train
Bar, Diner · Port Hercule · Wed–Sun
A sprawling American style bar and diner on Port Hercule, three levels and a broad terrace among the yachts. Easy going, good for a drink and the harbour show.
Monaco · 1 hr east
Rooftop · Harbour View
A terrace above the Avenue d’Ostende looking straight down onto Port Hercule. Open Wednesday to Sunday from the afternoon. They will push the perfumed cocktails, which are theatre and priced the same whether or not there is alcohol in them, so order what you actually want.
Monaco · 1 hr east
Hotel Bar · Waterfront
Out along the Avenue Princesse Grace, a lounge bar with a proper sea terrace away from the casino crowd. Evenings only. The gin list is the point.
Monaco · 1 hr east
Rooftop · Over the Hairpin
A pool deck on the roof of the Fairmont, directly above the Grand Prix hairpin, which is either the whole point or entirely irrelevant depending on the week. Daytime only, closing at eight. Expensive even by Monaco standards.
Beausoleil · 1 hr east
Rooftop · Good Value
Two minutes over the border into France, on the roof of a small hotel in Beausoleil, with the same view down over Port Hercule at a fraction of the Monaco price. Pinsa and a drink for what a glass of wine costs below. The local secret on this stretch.
Where to start the morning, and the bakeries worth a detour.
Monaco · 45 min by train
Brasserie, Café · Place du Casino · Daily, from breakfast
The Belle Époque brasserie on the casino square, open from breakfast until late. Take the terrace for a coffee or an apéritif and the best people watching in the principality.
Market mornings, and the shops worth carrying something home from.
Monaco · 45 min by train
Market, Food Hall · Place d’Armes · Daily 07:00–15:00
Monaco’s everyday market on the Place d’Armes, a morning produce market and a covered food hall, the Halle Gourmande, for barbagiuans, socca and a seat among locals.
Museums, galleries and the buildings worth going inside.
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin · 15 min from Menton
Architecture · Guided tour only · Book weeks ahead · capmoderne.monuments-nationaux.fr
Eileen Gray built this house above the sea between 1926 and 1929, and it is the one piece of modernist architecture on this coast worth crossing the department for. Everything is fitted, folded and thought through, down to the stencilled instructions on the walls. The ticket also takes in Le Corbusier's Cabanon next door, the only building he made for himself. Tours run four times a day in season, in groups of a dozen, and they sell out weeks ahead. Get off at Cap-Martin Roquebrune station; the reception is the hangar by the car park.
Menton · 1h15 east
Garden · Closed Mon
Lawrence Johnston’s garden above Menton, wilder and quieter than the famous ones. Terraces, rare planting and almost nobody there out of season.
Menton · 55 min by train
By train, 55 min · TER coastal line, ~€11 each way
The last town before Italy, pastel houses, lemon groves, the Jean Cocteau Museum on the harbour. Quieter and more local than its neighbours. The Halles market is excellent for lunch supplies, the citrus gardens worth a half-day on their own.
Monaco · 45 min by train
By train, 1 hr · TER coastal line, ~€12 each way
Worth a full day. The Casino Square, Larvotto, the Oceanographic Museum, the Palais Princier. Stop at Le Café de Paris for a coffee. The journey along the coast through Èze-sur-Mer, Cap d’Ail and Beaulieu is part of the appeal.
Monaco · 45 min by train
Oyster Bar · Port de Fontvieille · Tue–Sun
An oyster bar at the very tip of the Fontvieille pier, oysters raised in Monaco’s own deep waters by two marine biologists. A small, briny treat with a view.
Menton · 1h15 east
South-West French
In the Menton old town, duck and foie gras done properly, with wine advice worth taking. Dinner only, closed Mondays. Book.
Menton · 1h15 east
Small Kitchen
Two chefs, a short menu that wanders from tartare to gyoza, and a room that feels like someone’s house. One of the warmest tables on this coast.
Monaco-Ville · 1 hr east
Greek Counter · Cheap
A tiny counter on Rue Basse on the Rock, pita for around ten euros, a plate for eighteen. In Monaco that is remarkable. Bar stools only, no dining room. Closed Sundays.
Monaco-Ville · 1 hr east
Italian · Menu of the Day
In the alleys of the old town, a menu of the day with risotto, dessert and coffee, and staff who switch between French, English and Italian without blinking. Straightforward rather than remarkable.
Monaco-Ville · 1 hr east
Terrace · Palace Square
Beside the entrance to the Prince’s Palace with a shaded terrace over the sea and Fontvieille. Portions are small for the price. Come for the position and the view, and eat properly later.
Monaco-Ville · 1 hr east
Italian · Closed Sun
On Rue Emile de Loth, seasonal pizzas and a daily menu longer than the fixed one, which is a good sign. A calm terrace in the old town streets.
Larvotto, Monaco · 1 hr east
Greek · Sea View
New on the Quai du Petit Portier, proper Greek cooking with the sea in front of it, which Monaco was missing. Open all day to quarter to eleven.
Larvotto, Monaco · 1 hr east
Beachfront · Lunch Only
On the water at the Méridien Beach Plaza, open from noon to four only, so it is a lunch and afternoon place. Relaxed by Monaco standards and the service is a cut above.
Fontvieille, Monaco · 1 hr east
Italian · Port View
On the Fontvieille harbour away from the casino, and priced like Italy rather than Monaco. Fresh seafood, generous plates, and gelato at the end worth staying for.
Fontvieille, Monaco · 1 hr east
Italian · Family Run
A family kitchen on the Fontvieille quay with handmade pasta, truffle when it is in, and unusually good gluten-free bread and gnocchi if you need them.
Fontvieille, Monaco · 1 hr east
Steak · Halal
The Monaco original, now copied worldwide. Premium cuts alongside a street-food menu of tacos and ceviche. Tables sit close together and the Sunday DJ is loud.
Fontvieille, Monaco · 1 hr east
Italian · All Day
Named after the owner, run with her son on the floor. Open from eight in the morning. Carbonara, bruschetta and a tiramisu people come back for.
Monaco · 1 hr east
Oysters · Closed Sun
A shack on the pier below the Rock doing some of the best oysters on this coast, with the Oceanographic Museum above you. Lunch mostly, seating limited, book.
La Condamine, Monaco · 1 hr east
Fresh Pasta · Cheap
A counter at the Condamine market. Choose the pasta, choose the sauce, sit outside. Around ten euros in Monaco, which is the whole point. Closed Sundays.
La Condamine, Monaco · 1 hr east
Pizza · Market Rooftop
Upstairs at the Condamine market with a terrace. Proper Neapolitan pizza and an Aperol at a Monaco address for a fraction of what that usually means. Book.
Monaco · 45 min by train
Bar, Diner · Port Hercule · Wed–Sun
A sprawling American style bar and diner on Port Hercule, three levels and a broad terrace among the yachts. Easy going, good for a drink and the harbour show.
Monaco · 1 hr east
Rooftop · Harbour View
A terrace above the Avenue d’Ostende looking straight down onto Port Hercule. Open Wednesday to Sunday from the afternoon. They will push the perfumed cocktails, which are theatre and priced the same whether or not there is alcohol in them, so order what you actually want.
Monaco · 1 hr east
Hotel Bar · Waterfront
Out along the Avenue Princesse Grace, a lounge bar with a proper sea terrace away from the casino crowd. Evenings only. The gin list is the point.
Monaco · 1 hr east
Rooftop · Over the Hairpin
A pool deck on the roof of the Fairmont, directly above the Grand Prix hairpin, which is either the whole point or entirely irrelevant depending on the week. Daytime only, closing at eight. Expensive even by Monaco standards.
Beausoleil · 1 hr east
Rooftop · Good Value
Two minutes over the border into France, on the roof of a small hotel in Beausoleil, with the same view down over Port Hercule at a fraction of the Monaco price. Pinsa and a drink for what a glass of wine costs below. The local secret on this stretch.
Monaco · 45 min by train
Brasserie, Café · Place du Casino · Daily, from breakfast
The Belle Époque brasserie on the casino square, open from breakfast until late. Take the terrace for a coffee or an apéritif and the best people watching in the principality.
Monaco · 45 min by train
Market, Food Hall · Place d’Armes · Daily 07:00–15:00
Monaco’s everyday market on the Place d’Armes, a morning produce market and a covered food hall, the Halle Gourmande, for barbagiuans, socca and a seat among locals.
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin · 15 min from Menton
Architecture · Guided tour only · Book weeks ahead · capmoderne.monuments-nationaux.fr
Eileen Gray built this house above the sea between 1926 and 1929, and it is the one piece of modernist architecture on this coast worth crossing the department for. Everything is fitted, folded and thought through, down to the stencilled instructions on the walls. The ticket also takes in Le Corbusier's Cabanon next door, the only building he made for himself. Tours run four times a day in season, in groups of a dozen, and they sell out weeks ahead. Get off at Cap-Martin Roquebrune station; the reception is the hangar by the car park.
Menton · 1h15 east
Garden · Closed Mon
Lawrence Johnston’s garden above Menton, wilder and quieter than the famous ones. Terraces, rare planting and almost nobody there out of season.
Nothing here under that name. Try another word, or choose Everything.
Riviera Séjour
Notes from the coast, now and then. Nothing more.
Thank you, you are in.
