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Where to Eat, Stay, and Play in Monaco This Summer

Something’s shaking in Monaco, and it’s not James Bond’s Vesper martini or casino dice. The micro-nation synonymous with snobbery, supercars, billionaires, superyachts, and cheesy excess of all stripes is getting, well, a little less cheesy. New noteworthy chefs are arriving. Art exhibitions are popping up filled with works that aren’t necessarily destined for a Swiss vault. And although Monaco isn’t known for its architecture, new refurbishments are making sure the historic principality is looking its best in time for the summer season. Here are the places worth dashing off to on your next visit to the Côte d’Azur.

Where to Stay

The exterior of Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo
Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo is an old standby for a very good reason.

Monaco occupies a space smaller than Central Park, and that means there isn’t much room for new hotels. But Monte Carlo’s two oldest addresses haven’t lost any of their shine. Hôtel de Paris is the place to see and be seen, whether it’s dining at the now iconic Michelin-starred Le Grill where Dominique Lory recently took the reins (the soufflé is still the dessert to order) or lingering (or posing) over cocktails at Le Bar Américain.

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The lobby of Hôtel de Paris
Step in the grand lobby of Hôtel de Paris and head for the Le Grill where Dominique Lory is in the house.

The belle époque masterpiece Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo tends to pull in a crowd who appreciate its original features and grandeur—have breakfast beneath a Gustave Eiffel verrerie. If you prefer a more low-key vibe then just steps away is the Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo, hidden at the end of a leafy green driveway and favored by high-profile clients looking for more privacy and less paps. It’s also the only independent five-star hotel in Monaco and boasts a Karl Lagerfeld–designed pool, the only Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant in the South of France, and one of only three Givenchy spas in the world. Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel is technically outside of the principality in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, but just a few minutes drive away from the buzz of Place du Casino. Opened in 1929, the laidback hotel has retained its retro seaside vibe and comes with an Olympic-sized pool fit for a prince (this is where the Grimaldi children learned to swim) and perhaps the most exclusive beach club on the Riviera, if not in all of Europe.

Where to Eat and Drink

The pool at Nikki Beach
Nikki Beach is the place to see and be seen with a glass of rosé.

The new star of Monaco’s multi-Michelin-star restaurant scene is Yannick Alléno, who has opened an outpost of his Paris restaurant Pavyllon at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo back in April 2022. The exceptional menu has already gained the restaurant its first star, and its setting gives you one of the best sun-soaked views over Port Hercule and the Rock in Monaco. Back at the Hotel Metropole, chef Christophe Cussac is finally putting his name on a restaurant after nearly two decades at the hotel. The previously two-starred Restaurant Joël Robuchon Monte-Carlo is set to relaunch on June 8 as the Mediterranean-inspired Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac, taking its name from the hotel’s 1920s restaurant of the same name, which drew an aristocratic crowd during the Roaring Twenties. But it’s Monaco’s long-standing only three-Michelin restaurant, Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse at the Hôtel de Paris, which is still the ultimate evening out. Chef Emmanuel Pilon, who started his Ducasse career at the restaurant, has now returned to take the chef’s Naturalité concept into its next chapter.

But if party you must, Nikki Beach, Monte-Carlo’s only rooftop pool open to the public, will be hosting a series of events throughout summer to mark the group’s 25th anniversary. Expect DJ sets, live cooking sessions with an as-yet-to-be-named Michelin-starred chef, and a yachting-inspired supper club series to tie in with Monaco Yacht Show.

The legendary Café de Paris is also set to reopen in its prime Place du Casino spot after a refurbishment. It’s the best bar in town for people watching, so make sure to get there in time for apéro hour if you want to snag a seat to watch the “evening show” of sequins and sports cars.

What to See

Art fans are well catered for this summer. Scratch beneath the diamond-encrusted surface and there are rich cultural offering—which might surprise many. Case in point, the Francis Bacon MB Art Foundation. While it functions mainly as a research center used by visiting academics and is emphatically not a museum, the foundation does hold rotating exhibitions to showcase some of the 3,000 or so pieces in the privately owned collection and offers a look at Bacon’s years in Monaco, bien sûr. Guided tours take place on Tuesdays and the first Saturday of the month, by appointment only. But this summer’s blockbuster exhibition at the Grimaldi Forum will celebrate the 140th anniversary of Monet’s first visit to Monaco and will showcase a selection of works usually hidden away in private collections. The Villa Paloma is exhibiting Humanoids by American artist George Condo, the man behind the often-pixelated album cover of Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Later in the season Villa Sauber will look closer to home with an exhibition centered around Santo Sospir and Jean Cocteau. Come evening, if you fancy more than a flutter, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, and Salle des Étoiles will all be putting a show this summer with a program that includes the likes of Sting and Dita von Teese.

An exterior of the  Prince’s Palace of Monaco
Newly discovered frescos give visitors a new reason to visit the Prince’s Palace.

Meanwhile, recently discovered ceiling frescoes and new iconography, which were hiding away for centuries behind layers of plaster, are turning the Prince’s Palace of Monaco from a mere tourist attraction into a significant piece of Renaissance heritage. While you are there, take a peek at the splendor of royal life. Racing fans will appreciate the Cars Collection of H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco, which shows off Prince Rainier III’s envy-inducing car collection, including everything from historic royal carriages to “Italian Beauties” to an exact replica of the sky-blue Sunbeam Alpine driven by Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, the ultimate ride for cruising around the Côte d’Azur.

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