Microstate, Mega Energy — A Photographer's Guide to Monaco
After a slow morning wandering the still-sleepy stone paths of Èze Village, Melissa and I summoned our second Uber of the day and pointed ourselves toward Monaco—because nothing says “girls trip” quite like casually visiting another country before lunch. I’d done my research and felt confident that we wouldn’t need more than a few hours to get a proper dose of this infamous sliver of wealth and weirdness perched on the edge of the Mediterranean. I was not wrong.
Getting to Monaco (Without Losing Your Mind)
You’ve got a few options for getting from Nice or Èze to Monaco.
Train: Quick and cheap. But the Monaco station has exits for days, and if you don’t know exactly where you’re going, you might as well bring a compass and flare gun.
Uber or taxi: This is what we did—twice—and I’d do it again. Our second driver was a gem. A local tour guide moonlighting as an Uber driver, he gave us a running commentary of Monaco’s must-sees all the way in. Friendly, informative, didn’t drop us halfway up a cliff like the last guy. Win.
We had him drop us right at the Monaco train station—not to catch a train, but because that’s where my VoiceMap audio tour started. I’ve been using VoiceMap for years. It’s basically a self-paced, GPS-triggered walking tour that lets you see a place your way—fast, slow, or out of order if you’re feeling spicy. No holding up a group when you want to linger for more photos. No listening to someone recite facts you already read on Wikipedia when you’re ready to move on. And 1.5x speed if the narrator can’t keep your pace.
Welcome to Monaco: A Symphony of Screeching Metal
My first impression of Monaco? LOUD. A full assault on the senses, like a room-full-of-toddlers-playing-kazoos. Construction was everywhere. Drills, jackhammers, clanging metal—between the never-ending construction, the hammering of scaffolding, and the revving engines echoing off every surface, I was ready to throw myself into the harbor just for a moment of silence. I usually keep one AirPod in for safety when I’m touring, but I had both in with noise cancelling on and remained overstimulated.
I have never been more grateful for a VoiceMap tour. Guided by the soothing voice of our VoiceMap narrator the chaos of the city was smothered into a bearable hum. Her directions and a very detailed GPS map made it easy to know where to go in an otherwise overwhelming urban landscape. The tour kicked off with a deep dive into Monaco’s backstory:
It’s the second smallest country in the world (two Monacos = one Central Park).
A tax haven with no income tax.
100% employment rate. But the majority of the people who work here commute in from France as they cannot afford to live here. (A commute we were unknowingly going to experience later in the trip)
No visible homelessness (because, as our guide cheekily explained, the homeless are relocated over the border into France).
Charming.
Highlights from a Nation That’s Basically a Fancy Neighborhood
We stood atop the Escaliers des Gaumates, a rare public spot to watch the Monaco Grand Prix without buying a ticket. These stairs are steep and nondescript—if you weren’t on the tour, you’d probably walk past without noticing. It was here we got our first taste of just how much this race defines the country. Bleachers and barricades were already going up in late March. Turns out, hosting Formula 1 is one of the few ways Monaco actually makes money, aside from charging yacht fees and selling €17 casino tickets.
And yes, we stopped by the famous Fairmont Hairpin. Watching everyday traffic—Vespas, SmartCars, even a random scooter—navigate one of the most iconic turns in Formula 1 was surreal. The tour described the race as “like driving around your living room over and over”—which, honestly, felt accurate. Melissa and I hung back for a while here, watching the cars make their careful curves. I tried to capture the motion and geometry of the scene, but Monaco doesn’t make it easy with construction cranes everywhere. Not exactly the James Bond cool I expected.
We moved on to Monte Carlo’s Casino Square, home of the Opera House and the legendary Monte-Carlo Casino. A few fun facts:
The casino was built in the 1800s to save the country from bankruptcy.
Charles III gave François Blanc a blank check to make Monaco a destination.
Citizens of Monaco are legally forbidden from gambling there. You’ll need to show your passport to get inside (and cough up €17).
You can enter the foyer for free, which is plenty for those of us who’d rather keep our euros for pasta.
We dutifully opened our bags for the bouncers and made our way into the opulent foyer for a few pictures, but €17 to see what the inside looked like felt like too much of a gamble. And if you’re thinking I should have because James Bond was filmed there—no, it wasn’t. The casino in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic was the filming location for those scenes. (Which I also failed to visit when my husband and I stayed in KV last year. Oops.)
Boats, Billionaires, and… Fresh Pasta
After checking out the casino, we strolled around Port Hercule, one of the deepest and most expensive ports in the Med. We learned that while France and Italy won’t let Russian yachts dock, Monaco apparently shrugs and says, “Money’s money.” You’ll pay anywhere from €5,000 to €100,000 per night to keep your floating palace here. The boats are absurd. Some of them even have support boats.
Eventually, we made our way to La Condamine, Monaco’s quieter district, and stopped for lunch at La Place de la Condamine. There’s a food hall tucked behind the market where we took a local tip from the virtual tour guide and made a beeline for Maison des Pâtes. I ordered spinach pasta with truffle cream sauce. Melissa got a tomato basil situation. Hers was fine. Mine was worth starting a small war over. I was only willing to trade one bite. It was one of those rare travel meals that tastes exactly like you hope it will, maybe even better, and my favorite of the whole trip, hands down. Check out my Instagram highlight for the food porn, because I feel weird taking photos of my food with a real camera.
While ate, we squeezed in a call home to check in on the kids (a glamorous international tradition), then continued on for tea—the royal tea—Grimaldi family history, political drama, and a surprisingly Star Wars-adjacent backstory.
Princes, Palaces, and Unexpected Star Wars Lore
Refueled, we climbed to the Prince’s Palace, where we learned about the infamous Grimaldi family curse: “No marriage will ever be happy in Monaco.” Our guide also claimed that the original Grimaldi inspired Jedi robes in Star Wars, and I have zero interest in fact-checking that because it’s too good not to believe.
The square outside the palace offers another perspective of Monaco—this time overlooking Fontvieille, another of Monaco’s four main districts, built entirely on reclaimed land.
On the other side of the palace, overlooking Port Hercule. I grabbed some wide shots from here, looking down at the mega-yachts, and office towers below, and the landscape of the Rock of Monaco to the West.
Old Town & the Ocean's Edge
From the Palace we wandered into Monaco-Ville and the Old Town was everything I’d hoped for—quiet, walkable, charming. The highlight for me was the Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where Grace Kelly was married and is now buried. It was beautiful and peaceful, and the first moment all day where I felt like I could actually hear myself think.
We continued wandering through old town while our tour filled us in on the Monégasque language and its recent resurgence. Street signs here are all bilingual, which I’d noticed earlier in Nice too—French + Nissart there, French + Monégasque here. The identity politics of these small regions are fascinating, especially when you’ve got a camera in your hand and you’re looking for the stories that don’t make it into postcards.
Our tour ended at the Oceanographic Museum, perched dramatically on the cliff’s edge. An homage to the advancements in aquatic exploration made by Monaco under the reign of ocean-obsessed Albert I. the museum is supposed to be one of the best in the world. I’ll admit though, museums aren’t my thing, especially when the sea breeze is calling.
Dark clouds looked to be rolling in for an afternoon storm. Rather than buy a ticket and spend time inside, we detoured into the Jardin Saint-Martin, a coastal park full of shady paths and ocean views. The wind was wild. The waves were loud enough to drown out the construction for once. It was the first time all day that Monaco actually felt like a place, not a spectacle.
I’m realizing now that I might have documented more of Monaco with video than I did with photos. I was still running on the fumes of the one hour of sleep I got on the plane more than 24 hours before and my gritty eyes weren’t seeing their most creatively. I managed to pull off a few street photography shots, but I was surviving more than I was seeing at this point. You’ll have to head over to my instagram highlights to see anything you missed. Like the pasta. Seriously, go for the pasta.
One Last Piano, One Final Letdown
We made our way back to the train station, where I found one of my favorite features of European travel: the public piano. I’ve been re-learning piano as part of my midlife crisis (when I’m not traveling the world), and I always stop to play. This one? Woefully out of tune. It sounded like it had seen one too many interpretive jazz solos and given up on its will to live. Still, I gave it a shot. And got a shot of myself too. Thanks Melissa!
Why the train though? because, while you can Uber into Monaco, you can’t Uber out. The train is your best option for an exit and they run every 15-20 minutes. if you are visiting Monaco for the nightlife, be extra sure you don’t miss the last train out. While there are taxis that will take you back to Nice, they might just blow your whole vacation budget.
Back in Nice, Melissa called it a day. I wasn’t quite ready to (who are we kidding, I’m never ready). I wandered around for a bit before deciding I wanted a meal I had seen recommended on TikTok, moules frites in a saffron cream sauce from a little place in old Nice. Melissa wasn’t down for adventure and opted for a burger. So I bounced over to Lou Pilha Leva, dreaming saffron dreams, only to find them closed. Quel dommage!
Getting hungry, I wandered back toward the AirBnB in search of another option that was open in the food desert that is Nice from 4-7pm. I settled on Rene Socca (another TikTok rec) and picked up pissalidière, a Niçoise pizza-like dish topped with onions and olives, with a side of socca, another regional food made out of chickpea flour. The pissaladière was delicious. The socca, kind of meh. But the food poisoning that hit around midnight? Utterly atrocious.
There is no way I can blame the divine Italian pasta with truffle cream sauce, so I have to blame the French street food for yet a third night without sleep and the loss of most of the next day recovering and rehydrating.
Should You Visit Monaco?
Absolutely. But half a day is plenty.
Bring noise-canceling headphones.
Bring your passport.
Bring your sense of humor.
And maybe get some Italian pasta to-go on your way out and skip the dinner options in Nice.
