Can I walk everywhere in Monaco?

Yes. The whole city-state can be crossed on foot in under an hour, and the climbs between the harbour, the Rocher and Monte-Carlo are eased by public lifts and escalators set into the cliffs and buildings, signposted from the street. The Rocher is reached on foot by the old ramp from Place d'Armes or by a lift from the harbour side.

Do I need a car in Monaco?

No. Walking, the lifts and the city buses reach every district, and the train covers the coast in both directions. A car is useful only for the corniche roads and the hill villages behind the coast, and in Monaco it is left in a public car park.

Getting around

Getting Around Monaco: by Rail Along the Coast, Then on Foot

Monaco has no airport: travellers fly into Nice Côte d'Azur, about 30 kilometres away in France, and finish the journey along the coast by train, bus, car or helicopter. The railway runs close to the sea for most of the way, and once in Monaco the city-state is crossed on foot.

Updated 2026-10-09

The Coastal Railway

The railway along the Riviera is the simplest way in: trains run from Nice to Monaco-Monte-Carlo in about twenty minutes, much of the way within sight of the sea, and continue to Menton and over the border to Ventimiglia in Italy. The line makes the towns of the coast the usual bases for a day in Monaco. From the airport, trams and buses reach the trains in Nice. Monaco's station lies underground, cut into the rock beneath the city, and its long passages and lifts come out in La Condamine and higher up towards Monte-Carlo.

By Road and by Air

An express bus runs from the airport along the motorway to Monaco, and drivers take the A8 or one of the three corniche roads that follow the coast at different heights. The quickest arrival is by helicopter, a flight of about seven minutes from Nice airport to the heliport at Fontvieille. Drivers leave the car in one of the public car parks, since the city's streets, the Grand Prix circuit among them, are short, steep and busy.

Buses and Boats in Town

City buses link the districts, from the station and the harbour up to Monte-Carlo and the Rocher, and a small boat crosses Port Hercule between its two quays. In the warmer months, boats along the coast link the harbour with neighbouring towns of the Riviera.

Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.