Travel to Monte Carlo
Flying to Monte Carlo
Monaco doesn’t have its own airport (other than a heliport). It's served by Nice, which is about 30 minutes away by car or train. Airlines operating direct flights to Nice from the UK include British Airways, easyJet and Norwegian. Delta offers direct flights from the USA. It’s possible to grab a bargain outside the school holidays, but during July and August you’ll pay considerably more.
Flight times
To Nice: from London - 2 hours; New York - 8 hours 10 minutes; Los Angeles - 13 hours 45 minutes (including stopover); Toronto - 9 hours 30 minutes (including stopover); Sydney - 24 hours 30 minutes (including stopover).
Travel by road
Monte Carlo might have a reputation for high speed, but don’t be fooled into thinking you can get away with impersonating Lewis Hamilton on the streets; the city’s speed limits are strictly enforced.
Speed limits vary depending on the weather. In dry conditions, the limits are 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas, 90kph (55mph) in non-built-up areas and 110kph (68mph) on urban motorways.
In wet weather, these lower speed limits apply: 80kph (50mph) in non built-up areas and 100kph (62mph) on urban motorways. These lower limits also apply to motorists who have held a driving licence for less than two years.
The legal age for driving is 18 years old. To drive in Monte Carlo, you must have a valid driving licence, insurance documents and vehicle documents. You must also carry a warning triangle, reflective jacket and fit snow tyres if driving in winter conditions.
Monte Carlo’s roads are busy but the city is well signposted and traffic moves slowly, which makes it easy to get around. As with the rest of continental Europe, traffic drives on the right.
Emergency breakdown services
Dépannage Hercule (tel: +377 9205 2660).
Routes
The A8 is the road that brings most of the traffic in and out of Monaco and Monte Carlo. From Monte Carlo, it heads west towards Nice and Marseille, and east towards the Italian border.
Between Nice and Monaco, there are also three more scenic roads: the Basse Corniche (Low Coast Road - Highway 98), along the sea, the Moyenne Corniche (Middle Coast Road - Highway 7), going through Eze Village, and the Grande Corniche (Great Coast Road), going through La Turbie and Col d'Eze (Eze Pass).
Coaches
There is no bus station in Monte Carlo as such; instead international buses stop at various points throughout the city.
Regular buses, run by French company Rapides Côte d'Azur (tel: +33 800 060 106, in France ; www.rca.tm.fr), connect Monte Carlo with Nice and other French destinations. Services run to many major French towns and cities as well as to the neighbouring countries.
Time to city
From Nice - 30 minutes; Milan - 3 hours 20 minutes; Toulouse - 6 hours; Paris - 9 hours.
Travel by Rail
Services
The lavish Gare de Monaco Monte Carlo is located in the heart of Monaco at avenue Prince Pierre. This underground station can seem confusing at first with its labyrinth of marble corridors and numerous lifts, but study the information posters and you’ll soon find the desired exit. If not, there should be someone on hand to help you.
The station services destinations along the French Mediterranean coastline as well as delving further north into the rest of France. To reach destinations in neighbouring Italy, passengers usually have to change at the Italian city of Ventimiglia.
The Nice to Moscow train, run by Russian Railways, calls at Gare Monte Carlo. The journey takes around 50 hours.
Operators
The company running most services to Monte Carlo is French state operator SNCF (tel: 3635, in France only or +33 892 353 535, in France; www.sncf.com).
Trenitalia (tel: +39 6 6847 5475, in Italy; www.trenitalia.com) runs trains from Italy.
Journey times
From Nice - 20 minutes; Genoa - 2 hours 50 minutes; Milan - 4 hours 30 minutes; Paris - 6 hours.
