Welcome to the World      

      Search | Sitemap | Advertise | Text Version

Buses run from all over Monaco to the surrounding French countryside. The train station, in La Condamine, runs a frequent service to Nice, 20 minutes away, and it's an easy day trip. If you want to arrive in style, Air Monaco will bring you by helicopter from Nice airport.

Money & Costs

Currency:

French franc (FF)

Meals


• Budget: US$8-10

• Mid-range: US$10-80

• Top-end: US$80 and upwards
  
  Lodging
  

• Budget: US$35-45

• Mid-range: US$45-150

• Top-end: US$150 and upwards

Monaco is not a budget destination - over 75% of its hotel rooms are classified as four-star deluxe. There is one hostel and no cheap hotels, although you might get away with paying around US$20 a night for half a double room. However, accommodation in this price range is very scarce, and you'll need to book ahead. If you manage to snap up one of these rooms and you can restrain yourself from splurging at the Casino, you should be able to scrape by on about US$40 a day. Buying your food at the supermarket in the Fontvieille shopping centre is one way to save a few precious francs.

Realistically, most visitors to Monaco will need around $100 a day. This will pay for your mid-range room, a couple of meals and maybe a turn or two on the roulette wheel. On the upside, there's not much more than a day's entertainment in Monaco, so chances are you won't be staying overnight anyway.

Although Monaco's currency is the French franc, there are a few Monégasque coins in circulation, but they're not much use outside the country except as desperate last-minute gifts for your little brother. This is a nation that wants you to spend, spend, spend, and consequently they're falling over themselves to change your hard-earned foreign currency into casino-country cash. Whatever you've got, you shouldn't have too much trouble changing it - there's a plethora of banks around the Casino in particular.