What to do in Monaco for a day: The perfect daytrip to Monaco on a budget | Including Google maps link with all locations
- Gem
- Aug 8
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 10
When you are on vacation in the South of France, or the Cote D'azur, Monaco is one of the many great places to go to for a day trip. With just a 30 min train ride from Nice, you will enter this rich and vibrant country. Within a day you can definitely see all of the highlights that this expensive place has to offer, even on a budget. You just need your walking shoes, some water and a great eye for good souvenirs. As someone who is living in the South of France and who has visited Monaco multiple times, this is exactly how i would spend my day.
In this short blog, you will quickly learn about every hotspot and viewpoint in Monaco, starting the day the Monaco Monte Carlo Train Station. Visiting all of the mentioned locations by foot in a relaxing way will only take around 5-6 hours in total. At the end of the blog a Google Maps link is placed which contains all of the mentioned locations.
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Table of Contents
1. Monaco Monte Carlo Train Station --> Casino de Monte-Carlo
We will start the day at the at the train station. Although the train station is small, it can be a bit confusing. There are multiple different entrances and exits. I recommend to go towards the exit that is to the same side as the car park. Just follow the exit and take the stairs downwards. This will lead you to the front of the station.
From here, follow the signs downwards which say Casino de Monte-Carlo. Just before the Casino, there is Jardin du Casino. This is a picturesque park that leads to the Casino. At the Casino, admire the building (which actually might look smaller in real life compared to pictures :) ). Many expensive and rare cars often park here or drive by that are fun to spot. It is also possible to walk into the lobby for free during the day if there is no event going on.
Casino Monte-Carlo Casino Monte-Carlo
The Monte-Carlo Casino
2. F1 Hairpin Turn
Take a left in front of the Casino to walk down to the famous F1 hairpin turn. I was here the day after the Grand Prix so the gates for the route and the skid marks were still there, which made seeing this turn even more impressive.
The F1 Hairpin turn
3. Yacht harbor
Follow the road of the Hairpin dowmwards and keep going straight until you end up at the waterfront ("Le Renzo" in the Google maps file). Take in the view here before going to the right through the open tunnel (Tunnel Louis ll). When you see a sign that says Casino inside this tunnel, start following it. You will quickly see a flight of stairs leading up. These stairs will take you to The Champions Promenade. If you would like to walk up, you will get another nice waterfront view, see a couple of statues and the footprints of several well-known athletes. You will already see a lot of yachts on the way when you walk further through the tunnel, but at the end of the tunnel you will find the yacht harbor with many large and impressive yachts.
Wander along the harbor until the start of the stairs towards the palace and the old town. The locations shown on the google maps called "Fontaine Avenue du Port" is the start of a short-cut route towards the top.
The waterfront monaco Tunnel Louis ll Monaco Monaco Yacht Harbor
The Waterfront, inside of the tunnel and the Yacht Harbor
4. Old town and Palais Princier
At the end of the shortcut upwards, soak in the view of Monaco with the blue water and busy city traffic. Walk around the old town, go inside the Cathedral of Monaco and see the waterview on the opposite side of the Old Town (Port of Fontvieille Viewpoint). The old town area of Monaco is much cheaper than the rest of Monaco when it comes to souvenirs and food, so make sure to get your lunch or a coffee here!
At 12:00 every day the guards will change in front of Palais Princier. This happens with drums and trumpets and many guards, altogether performing this interesting tradition. To make sure you won't miss out on this, be there at 11:45 as they start a bit before 12:00.
Viewpoint OldTtown Monaco Old Town Monaco Port view Monaco Cathedral of Monaco Palais Princier Monaco Old Town Monaco
The Old Town of Monaco, Cathedral of Monaco and Palais Princier
5. Shopping area La Condamine
After lunch, go back downstairs the same way you came up to go into the shopping area just behind the harbor called La Condamine. This part has many boutiques and chain stores to take a look inside or just to windowshop. On your way there, you will pass the statue of Juan Manuel Fangio, one of F1history's greatest drivers.
La Condamine neighbourhood Monaco
6. Eglise Saint-Dévote
Once you have seen this whole area and are ready to go back to the train station of Monaco, make sure to take the route that goes by a very cute and small church. The church is called Eglise Saint-Dévote and it is located on the bottom of the stairs up towards the train station. The church was originally built in 1070 but has received multiple restorations until 1870, making this church a historical artifact. The church is just as impressive on the inside as on the outside, so take a look inside if you can.
From this church, just keep taking the stairs upstairs until you stumble upon the Monaco Train Station again. Let's hope you will not be standing there at rush hour during the summer months.
Eglise Saint-Dévote
I would advice everyone to go to Monaco early so that the rush hour that starts at 4PM can be avoided. The train station is warm and stuffy during the summer. During rush hour you will experience the exact same inside of the train (if there is still room for extra people).
7. Google Maps link
Here is the Google Maps link for the file with all the mentioned locations inside. I hope you enjoy your visit!
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