Monte Carlo Casino: What to Know Before You Go

The Casino de Monte-Carlo was designed by Charles Garnier, the same architect who built the Paris Opera, and completed in 1863. It looks the way it does because Garnier understood exactly what his client needed: an architectural statement of sovereign wealth that would be recognised as such from the moment you approach the Place du Casino. The ornate columns, the coloured glass ceiling of the Renaissance Hall, the bronze light fittings, the painted panels of nymphs – this is Second Empire architecture deployed without restraint, and it is completely unapologetic about it.

The principality of Monaco needs the casino for reasons that go beyond gaming revenue. When Charles III commissioned it, Monaco was nearly bankrupt and considering selling the territory back to France. The casino changed that.

Visiting

Entry to the main gaming rooms costs €17. You need a valid passport (ID alone is not accepted), must be at least 21 years old, and smart casual dress is required. Shorts and flip-flops will turn you away. There is a separate slot machine area with no dress code and no entry fee.

Most visitors come to look rather than gamble, and that’s entirely valid. The free areas include the atrium, the Cafe de Paris terrace, and the gardens in front of the building. The gardens give views back to the casino and out over the harbour.

The evening atmosphere is different from the daytime. During the day: serious players, tourists observing, croupiers working methodically. After 9pm, dressed up: it earns its reputation.

Around the Casino

The Oceanographic Museum (a short walk from the casino toward Monaco-Ville) is better than most visitors expect. Jacques Cousteau was its director for 32 years. The aquarium has tanks of impressive size with Mediterranean and tropical species. Entry €20; allow two hours.

Monaco-Ville (the old town on the rock above the port) has a daily changing of the guard at 11:55am (free from the square) and guided tours of the Prince’s Palace state apartments. The narrow lanes are genuinely old, unlike much of the surrounding principality.

Eating

Brasserie de Monaco on the port is the most honest recommendation: locally brewed beer, reliable French brasserie food, prices reasonable by Monaco standards (mains €20-30). For serious cooking, Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse at the Hotel de Paris has three Michelin stars; the lunch menu runs around €125 compared to €300+ for dinner.

Staying

The Hotel de Paris beside the casino is the right address in the principality (from ~€700 per night). A more practical approach: base yourself in Nice, 22 minutes by train (€4.50 each way), where three-star old town hotels run €60-100 per night.

The Monaco Grand Prix in May: roads close, prices triple, and normal atmosphere disappears. If you’re not there for the race specifically, avoid that week.