Car Hire in Monaco

Found in the vicinity of France, Monaco is actually its own country, and at less than 2km square it’s actually the second smallest country in the world behind theVatican. As a sovereign state it also has its own flag, telephone code and even dialect, although it’s football team compete in the French league rather than an international league.

The country even requires students to study their own Monegasque language in school, and despite not being part of the EU, for customs purposes it is deemed to be part of the EU and France, and there are no passport checks at the border.

As a place to visit, it’s simply fantastic and one of the first things you might want to do is to hire a car and drive the streets that form the circuit of the Monaco Grand Prix, although don’t be too quick as the police like to sit along the route looking for people racing.

With a stunning casino, beautiful marina and a playground for the rich and famous you’ll love everythingMonacohas to offer.

Getting to the country is easy. Just fly into one of the local airports, Nice being the closest, and hire a car to drive the rest of the way, or catch the train along the coastal train route.

When hiring a car you should know that you can’t take your car into Monaco Ville unless you have either an Alpes-Maritimes number plate (06) or a Monaco registered car.

Things to do when hiring a car in Monaco

The Grand Prix

The Grand Prix is only held once a year, but is one of the most anticipated races of the F1 season, for the main reason almost the entire race is held on the streets which are closed for the event. Many just moor their boats in the harbour and watch from there, but there are grandstands where you can sit and watch.

During the off season you can drive most of the grand prix track which is very popular with F1 fans and tourists.

Palais du Prince

Home of the royal family, it’s been around since the 13th century, and is a fascinating tale of one upmanship from Grimaldi to Grimaldi with each trying to build a little extra to beat the one before. The palace is now a little strange looking but still a wonderful place to visit and they have around 15 rooms open all year round to the public, including the throne room.

Also worth watching, and free is charge, is the changing of the guard out the front.

Musee Oceanographique

Created byPrince Albertin 1910, this museum hangs onto the edge of a cliff and is world renowned. With a 7.5m long piece of coral reef to view and hundreds of other fish and predators in the water as well you won’t get bored. You will wonder how they manage to pump quarter of a million litres of fresh sea water in every day though.