In this Iconic Riviera guide, we will give you a run-down of the different modes of transportation you can take as you travel to and around the Principality of Monaco. Situated along the French Riviera at the foot of the Maritime Alps, Monaco is about 30-minutes from the Nice airport.
We’re not going to sugar-coat it: Monaco is a tough and confusing place to get around. It’s like a multi-level maze, and even locals have trouble finding the elevators and getting around by foot. To make matters (much, much) worse, it’s not possible to hail an Uber while in Monaco.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Monaco’s Public Elevators & Walking
It’s a confusing maze for walking, but so long as you’re staying in the Condamine, Monte-Carlo or Larvato areas, you can walk pretty much anywhere you’re going within 20 to 30 minutes. Note that staying in Fontvieille or a the far east border of Larvato typically adds about 20 minutes to your walk when going to Monte Carlo.
Since Monaco is so steep, there are many “ascenceurs publiques” to help make it easier to get around. In fact, the Principality has 79 elevators, 35 escalators, and 8 travelators. Knowing where the public elevators are will save you some sweat and get you to your destination faster.
They are a bit hidden, and a bit maze-like, but you can download and print a map of every “Ascenseur Public” here or see all the elevators on this map. If you’re staying in Monaco for any length of time, it would be worth the time to learn their locations and destinations.
Monaco by Air
Nice Airport
The closest airport is the Nice-Côte-d’Azur airport, which is a 30-minute drive.
To get to Monaco from the airport you have four realistic options: an official French taxi at a regulated flat rate of 95 euros, an Uber at roughly 60 to 75 euros, the train at around 6 euros a head (you first need to reach Nice St-Augustin station , a seven-minute walk from Terminal 1 over the footbridge), or the Zou! Express 80 coach at 21.40 euros a head.
An Uber is what most locals take from the airport, because it is usually the fastest and simplest — a ride that starts in France and ends in Monaco is allowed, even though Uber cannot pick up inside the Principality. That said, if you land in rush hour, take the train or the helicopter instead: traffic into Monaco in the morning, and out of it in the early evening, can add an hour or more to the trip.
Helicopter
The Monaco Heliport is served by Monacair, which runs a scheduled shuttle to and from Nice airport. The flight takes seven minutes, there is a departure roughly every half hour through the day, and the fare is about 195 euros per person. That includes a chauffeured transfer at the Monaco end, so you are dropped at your hotel rather than left at the heliport. Private charter costs a good deal more.
Monaco’s Car / Ride Options
If you have a car, then the main highway is the fastest way to arrive. However, we recommend you take the scenic route closest to the water, as it is much more picturesque.
What Kind of Car to Rent
There is a Hertz, Budget, Sixt and Avis in Monaco, so if you’d prefer to pick up your rental in Monaco, you can. If you decide to drive, we recommend renting a small car. Top-to-down is the way to go, if you can score a convertible Fiat 500 (after all, it’s the city of the Grand Prix and where some of the James Bond movies were filmed). Smaller cars are much easier to maneuver and park on the narrow and windy streets –and parking garages– of the French Riviera. If you’re going to go on day trips to some of the French resort towns, then you’ll definitely need a small car to get through the tiny medieval roads.
However, unless you have a specific need for a car – for example, mobility/disability problems, renting in a remote rural location, or planning on touring the back-country – it is generally a mistake to rent a car in Monaco for local travel. The French Riviera has some of the worst traffic and one of the highest traffic accident rates in France, and the toxic mix of French car driving enthusiasm with many powerful motorcycles and youths on small scooters makes holiday motoring often an unrewarding experience.
There’s lots of beautiful places to visit in the surrounding area (like Èze, Villefranche, Antibes, Nice, etc.), so having a car can be useful. That said, the roads can be narrow, dangerous, and intimidating to many drivers, and the train can get you to most places.
Parking
Once you are in Monaco, the first hour in any of the public car parks is free — that has not changed for 2026. After that the rates build up gradually: about 2.90 euros at an hour and a quarter, 4.50 euros at an hour and a half, 7.40 euros at two hours, 11.90 euros at three and 15.50 euros at four, with a 24-hour cap of 24 euros. Between 8pm and 8am it drops to 20 cents per quarter of an hour in most car parks.
This is a really useful map of Monaco — the parking section allows you to check real time availability of parking spaces by car park.
Be aware that parking a car in many areas of Monaco is notoriously difficult, and equally so in many surrounding towns. Along the French Riviera, people park everywhere, between trees, poles and sometimes even on sidewalks. They routinely bump each other in order to get in and out of tight spaces.
Ride-Share
Uber
Uber is easy, safer, more affordable, and better in every way than regular taxis, but unfortunately (and this is many residents and tourists biggest annoyance with living in or visiting Monaco) Uber is banned from operating in Monaco (due to the local taxi lobby).
The one exception is that a ride which starts in France may drop you off in Monaco, so you can Uber in from the airport. You just cannot order one from inside the Principality: for that you have to walk over the border into Cap d’Ail or Beausoleil. Even then it can take a while, as there are not many cars in this part of the Riviera and you may be waiting for one coming down from Nice. If you know the day and time you are leaving, schedule the pickup in the app in advance.
It’s worth the walk to the border though, as if you find yourself in a situation where you miss the last bus or train in Monaco, taking a taxi back can be quite expensive, costing around €100. By opting for Uber instead, you can expect to pay around €40 for the same trip.
Monaco Taxi
Monaco’s taxis are a headache. Within the Principality there is a flat fare of 18 euros for a ride you hail on the spot and 25 euros if you book one ahead, with an extra charge per minute once you are stuck in traffic. Longer trips are expensive: expect around 100 euros to Nice airport, against roughly 40 for the same run in an Uber picked up over the border. Many drivers prefer cash, service and waiting times are inconsistent, and they are often late when booked through the Taxi Monaco app. They can be hailed at hotels and at the ranks in places like Casino Square, but we usually prefer to walk.
Free Late-Night Taxi
The Be Safe association is organizing a free night bus for partygoers who’ve had too much to drink. Be Safe Monaco provides breathalyzer self-testing kits and gives a free ride home to night-owls in Monaco who find they’ve exceeded the drink-drive limit.
It is a summer-only service. In 2026 it ran from 1 July to 31 August, Wednesday to Sunday, from midnight until half past five in the morning, in partnership with Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, which provides the drivers for the electric shuttles. The on-demand service picks people up from nightclubs and other venues in Monaco and drops them home within the Principality, free of charge. Outside those months it does not operate, and the following summer’s dates are usually announced in June.
The association can be reached at bsafe@monaco.mc, and posts each season’s details on its Instagram and Facebook pages.
Mobee
If you are staying more than a few days, you can also rent a tiny electric car called a Mobee. They work on the free-floating principle, so you pick one up and leave it at any public car park in Monaco, and both parking and charging are free. The fleet was expanded in the summer of 2026 to around forty vehicles, adding Fiat Topolinos alongside the original Renault Twizys, and it is available around the clock. Book pay-as-you-go through the app, or take a subscription from about nine euros a month that halves the trip price.
Monaco by Bus
Airport Bus
From the airport, take the Zou! Express 80 coach, which has replaced the old #100. It picks up at both terminals and sets down at several points in Monaco, including Place d’Armes, the farmers’ market square in the Condamine, as well as the station, the Casino and Larvotto. The fare is 21.40 euros and the run takes roughly 35 to 55 minutes depending on where you get off. Check the airport bus website and schedule before you travel, as times change with the season.
Local Monaco Bus
Within Monaco, the bus is the best way to get around.
Monaco’s bus network is run by CAM, and it is cheap, accessible and spotless. A single journey costs 2 euros in cash on board, or 1.50 euros with a contactless bank card or the Monapass app, and a 24-hour pass is 5.50 euros. Daytime lines run from about 7am until around 9pm, and two night lines, N1 and N2, carry on until about 1.30am, and until 2.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Paying the driver in cash is the most expensive way to travel. Buying from the ticket machines at the stops, or tapping a contactless card or the app, works out cheaper, and there are multi-trip, weekly and monthly passes cheaper still. You pass the ticket or card over the reader as you board, and that is all there is to it. Changing lines costs nothing extra as long as the changeover takes no longer than 30 minutes.
There are maps, live arrival time screens, and automated ticket machines are at each stop, and the buses stop at all major tourist destinations. The Monapass app is the best way to get tickets, schedules and maps, but you can also check out this useful map of Monaco that shows all the bus stops and places to buy tickets.
Tourist Bus
A hop-on hop-off red tourist bus called Le Grand Tour loops around the main sights of the Principality, running along the water and up the Rock. Buses go every 30 minutes between 10am and half past five, there are twelve stops, and the full circuit takes about an hour if you stay on board. A day pass is 25 euros for adults, 22 for students and 8 for children aged four to fourteen, and is valid until 6pm.
Monaco by Train
Train is the best, fastest, and easiest way to travel along the French Riviera. With stops in every seaside town, and lovely views along the way, it’s the area’s preferred mode of transportation. All trains in France and Monaco are operated by the French-owned SNCF.
The Local Train
The central station in Monaco is Gare de Monaco , in the middle of Monaco, with an exit in Port Hercule.
The Regional Express Train, or TER, connects most towns, including Grasse, Cannes, Nice, Monaco, to Ventimiglia, San Remo and Turin in Italy. In the other direction, you can take this train to Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Lyon, and other destinations in France. Here’s a map of the destinations.
Trains between Nice and Monaco are frequent — around sixty-five round trips a day, roughly every fifteen minutes at peak times on weekdays. The journey takes about 22 minutes and a one-way ticket is 6.10 euros, less with a Zou! discount card or travelling as a group of five or more. Most stations are within walking distance of the town centre, or have a bus link. Buy from the machines at each station, and stamp a paper ticket in one of the validation machines before you board.
The train is not available late at night and in the very early morning, so check the schedule online if you’re a night owl. Tickets are cheap and you can buy them online, at the console in the station, or (usually) on the train.
The airport is not served by its own station, but Nice St-Augustin is a seven-minute walk from Terminal 1 over the footbridge, and the free tram links both terminals to it. From there the coastal line reaches Monaco in a little over half an hour. Not every service runs straight through, so check the board — otherwise change at Nice-Ville.
High-speed TGV Train
There is no direct high-speed train to Monaco. To reach Paris you take the TER to Nice-Ville, about twenty minutes, and pick up a direct TGV from there: roughly eight run each day and the fastest does Nice to Paris Gare de Lyon in 5 hours 42 minutes. Allow about six and a half hours door to door. Through tickets start at around 75 euros if you book well ahead, and cost a good deal more at short notice.
Monaco’s Bikes
Monaco ‘s mode of transportation includes an electric bicycle rental system called MonaBike. You can grab a bike at any of the many stations around the Principality and with a fully charged battery.
There are around 350 bikes across 49 stations. Each has 60 km of range and assists you up to 25 km/h, quietly and without vibration. A single half-hour trip costs 1 euro, a 24-hour pass 3 euros and a week 8 euros, with a small surcharge if you keep a bike out longer than half an hour. You sign up online to use it, then manage your account and find available bikes through the Monapass app.
Monaco by Sea
The transportation system in Monaco also includes access through the sea. The two ports are Port Hercule and the seaport in Fontvieille, where seasonal ferries provide services going to nearby towns like St-Tropez and Nice.
The Boat Bus
A small solar-powered shuttle known as the Bateau Bus crosses Port Hercule, linking Quai Rainier Ier at the end of Quai Antoine Ier, below the Rock, with Quai des Etats-Unis on the Monte-Carlo side. It runs from 8am to 8pm, roughly every twenty minutes, and the crossing itself takes only a few minutes. It is part of the CAM network, so a bus pass covers it; otherwise it is 2 euros paid to the skipper, or 1.50 euros by card or through the Monapass app. It does not run in rough weather, or during big events such as the Grand Prix and the Yacht Show.
Maritime Shuttle
This one has been “coming soon” for years and still is not running. The plan is a fast boat linking Port Lympia in Nice with the port of Cap-d’Ail on Monaco’s Fontvieille border, about 15 kilometres in roughly 35 minutes. Two rounds of tenders failed: the Métropole insists on fully decarbonised vessels and the technology cannot yet guarantee a reliable service in open sea, with suitable boats not expected before about 2027. In January 2026 the project was relaunched on a different premise, aimed at summer visitors rather than commuters. No start date has been announced.
Monaco One (for Locals)
This option is only for those lucky few who have a boat in the Monaco port, or in Ventimiglia’s (Monaco-managed) port. The Monaco One catamaran links Port Hercule in Monaco to the port of Cala del Forte in Ventimiglia, Italy in just 15 minutes at 45 knots. It takes up to 12 passengers on board in perfect comfort. Trips must be booked in advance by calling +37797773009. It is available every day of the week, and bookings may be cancelled up until two hours before the booked departure time.
Monaco’s Transportation ‘Monapass’ App
Download the Monapass app (on iPhone and Android) to make getting around a lot easier. Buses, electric bicycles and public road parking are covered in the app, allowing you to find maps, subscription choices and payment options, as well as real-time traffic information and route suggestions.
The app is free to all and users can now use it to access their MonaBike (bike share) account and current tickets, as well as convert their CAM (bus) subscription into a digital pass. Single-trip tickets can also be paid for on the app.
Up-to-the-minute information directing users to the nearest means of transport, including transit timetables and the closest bike stations, are available, as well as the means to pay for road parking on the spot.
For CAM (bus) users, this app allows them to integrate flawlessly into CAM’s new ticketing system. In addition to being able to make payments on the app, the new system allows for contactless debit card payments to be made on the bus, gives the best prices based on former trips made, and for Pass Sud Azur holders, a “zonal multimodal subscription” for the French Riviera and Monaco, which was launched in 2020, to easily purchase and validate their ticket in the Principality.
Other destinations: If you’re planning on going to other destinations, be sure to read the guide to transportation for that town/city (click on the town in the menu and you’ll see it listed). Enjoy your trip to Monaco!
