Where to See Art in Monaco

Art is a big theme in Monaco. The streets and gardens are good places to see fountains and sculptures, and many of the buildings have incredible art on the walls.

All around Monaco, the Rainier III Sculpture Path allows visitors to walk through public areas of the Principality to discover an open-air museum of more than 200 sculptures. Visitors can locate the works on an interactive map and obtain more information on the sculptures and the artists using QR codes placed nearby.

Here are the best places to see art in Monaco:

Monaco’s Art Fairs & Festivals

Each year in the springtime, Monaco hosts several large art fairs. Check out our guide to Monaco’s Art Festivals and Fairs for all the details, dates, schedules, and more.

New National Museum of Monaco

These two luxurious properties are part of the ‘New National Museum of Monaco’ (NNMM), and home to incredible displays of art:

Villa Paloma

This art museum is located between Parc Princesse Antoinette and the Museum of Anthropology . Explore the villa and view the rotating modern art exhibits in this glamorous and historic 4-story hilltop house. Part of the ‘New National Museum of Monaco’, Villa Paloma has sweeping Monaco views from its outdoor lounge, which is a great place to sit and read. The gardens have a terraced Italianate look, surveying city and sea.

Villa Sauber

Villa Sauber is worth visiting for its renaissance architecture and pretty garden lounge alone. But the art’s nice too! Villa Sauber is one of the last Belle Epoque villas in Monaco. At the beginning of the 1900s, it belonged to the Blanc family who played a fundamental part in the development of the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) and the Casino of Monte-Carlo.

The Casino of Monte Carlo

The walls and ceilings of the Casino de Monte Carlo are a sight to behold. When you first enter, you’ll notice the turn-of-the-century paintings which adorn the Main Salon. The two large panels in the gallery were produced in 1878 by the Alsatian artist Gustave Adolphe Jundt (1830 – 1884). Jundt was renowned for works full of poetry but small in size, Charles Garnier nevertheless showed no hesitation in entrusting him with a large-format decorative piece. The artist was more used to painting landscapes of northern regions where cold, damp nights leave a cottony cloak in the mornings on the surface of the earth, than Mediterranean scenery, thus he waited for the moment when the sun was about to disappear. The picturesque cut-out of Menton and the red rocks seen through the branches of tall olive-trees with their gnarled trunks serve as a backcloth for olive-picking on Cap-Martin, with charming girls in costumes (that are hardly Mediterranean — they remind us much more of the girls in Alsace with whom the painter was familiar). The second painting, La Pêche à Monaco, is a view of the Principality towards Cap d’Ail and Nice.

The Casino de Monte Carlo is filled with similarly fascinating stories about the art it holds, most dating back to the late-1800’s.

Want more? Check out our guide to the best art museums on the French Riviera.