Monaco is a gorgeous little country to the south of France, along the coast. It is sandwiched between France and the Mediterranean Sea, and is only 14km away from the Italian border. It’s also the second smallest country in the world (after the Vatican City), with almost 39,000 residents in an area of 2.08 km². However, as well as being one of the smallest, it is also one of the wealthiest and most expensive countries in the world. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible to visit on a budget though! We did a Nice to Monaco day trip on a budget and had an amazing time exploring.

There are two ways to get from Nice to Monaco and back again. The first way is by bus from Rue Bavastro which is just outside of old town Nice. Take the number 600 bus heading to Gare Routiere and ride it 56 minutes to Princesse Antoinette SNCF. To ride the bus you’ll need to get a Ticket Azur for €2.50. You can either buy this on the bus with cash, at ticket machines, or from certain stores. The ride is quite slow and twisty as it follows the coastline but has some beautiful views!

The other way to get between the two cities is by TER train. The ride only takes 20 minutes and trains are every 15 minutes or so during the summer season. To ride the train, you can either buy your tickets online or buy them from ticket machines at the station. There aren’t a huge amount of ticket machines at the station and as each transaction requires personal information for each traveller, the queues can be quite long. However, as you have to buy tickets for specific trains, if you do buy tickets online make sure you know which train time you can make before buying them.

Tickets are €5.90 per person each way, but for how quick and easy it was, we thought it was worth it over the bus. The trains are long and double decker so even in peak season, you should be able to get on one quickly (but you may have to stand).

If you’re interested in doing this day trip as part of a tour, Get Your Guide have a couple of different options available, including ferry options and trips to other nearby towns too!

Once in Monaco, there is so much to see on a budget while admiring all the extravagance of the city.

The famous Monte-Carlo casino is a great place to start on your Nice to Monaco day trip. Opened in 1865, the casino also includes an opera house and the national ballet company of Monaco. Interestingly, citizens of Monaco are forbidden to enter the gaming rooms at the casino. This was introduced by Princess Caroline, who intended the casino to be used by foreigners only. The casino was also a filming location for two of the James Bond movies.

If you’d like to visit, the front of the casino can be found at the Place du Casino. Here is where you’ll get the famous view with the sculpture and the palm trees in front of the building. There is also a car park out the front where you’ll likely see some very expensive and fancy cars.

If you just want to go inside to say you’ve done it, you can see the entry hall, the shop and one of the restaurants all day completely for free. If you want to see more, you can buy tickets to visit from 10am to 1pm with the last entry at 12:15pm. This costs €20 which includes an audio guide. Also from 2pm the gaming rooms and bars will open, which you can enter for a fee.

If you choose to visit either for free, for a tour, or to enter the gaming rooms, do keep in mind there is a dress code. This differs depending on which area you visit so make sure to check their website before you go.

This is just a silly thing we thought we could do just to say we’ve walked the length of an entire country. Being only 4km long, it only takes an hour to walk from side to side so is very doable. It’s super anticlimactic when you do reach the border, with only a Monaco flag to signify you’re leaving the country. We used it as a way to see Monaco, opting for paths along the coast and stopping along the way. Some of our favourite stops were Larvotto Beach, the Princess Grace Japanese Garden and the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. We also enjoyed looking at all the incredibly expensive yachts in Port Hercule.

It really is a great way to see the country and is something fun and unique to do on your Nice to Monaco day trip.

If you’d like a more relaxing time for your Nice to Monaco day trip, some time at the beach would be wonderful. There is one main beach in Monaco called Larvotto Beach, an artificial pebble beach. Around 400m long, the beach has some private sections belonging to beach side restaurants. However there is also lots of public space to set up your own umbrella and towel too. The water is beautiful and clear and also has a net to stop anything nasty getting in. Above the beach is a shaded promenade with some restaurants and on one side is also a playground.

Right next to Larvotto Beach is Le Méridien Beach, a private beach for the Le Méridien Beach Plaza hotel right behind it. However a little walk along back into France is Plage du Pont de Fer. This is a little private beach with a small public section on the France/Monaco border that’s usually a bit quieter than Larvotto.

Visiting some beaches is a lovely way to spend a couple of hours in Monaco, taking advantage of that beautiful Mediterranean water.

Even though Monaco is a tiny country, it is split into nine different sections or wards. Some of those sections are Monte-Carlo, Larvotto, La Condamine and Monaco-Ville or Monaco City. One of our favourite parts of Monaco was visiting Monaco City (also called “The Rock”). It’s absolutely worth some of your time here. You can find it up on a hill on one of the headlands around Port Hercule. It can be accessed via a winding staircase or there’s also the number 2 bus that heads up the hill.

Monaco City is one of the traditional parts of Monaco with cute pedestrian only streets. Wandering down Rue Basse, Comte Félix Gastaldi and Emile de Loth was one of our favourite parts of Monaco. The cute little streets have heaps of souvenir stores, gelato shops, restaurants and cafes. This would also be a great area to stay in if you’re spending any nights in Monaco.

As well as the cute streets, there’s also lots of great landmarks to see here. The main one is the Place du Palais or the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. It’s located in the main square and has a changing of the guard every day at 11:55am. You can also do tours of the palace for €10 and tickets can be bought here. Also up on the rock is the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate which you can enter for free and the Chapel of Mercy. Lastly there’s the Oceanographic Museum that you can buy tickets to by itself or in a combined ticket with the Palace.

As you can see there’s lots of great things to see and do in Monaco City!

We say this is a bonus because this is something we didn’t do but something you might be interested in! Obviously one thing that Monaco is super famous for is Formula One. Over 3km of the streets of Monaco form a circuit used in the Monaco Grand Prix every year. You can easily walk this track yourself and if you’re a mega fan there’s also a guided walking tour where you can learn more during your walk.

A Nice to Monaco day trip really is super easy and is definitely worth doing. We caught the train which was very straightforward, then spent the day exploring while spending as little as possible. A great way to save money is by simply wandering around, and walking from each end of the country is quite cool. There’s also lots of free things to do like visiting the casino, going to the beach and walking around Monaco City. There is more than enough to do for a day and is a great way to tick another country off your list!

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