The number 1 thing on my to-do list for our trip to Monaco? Touring the Prince’s Palace! I love a good palace tour, but this one exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend it for your trip to the Principality of Monaco, whether you’re visiting solo or bringing the little ones with you! Here are the best tips for your visit to the Prince’s Palace.
Buy Your Tickets Online in Advance
I’m often very hesitant to book tickets to anything in advance. Things happen, travel is prone to the unexpected, and I am violently opposed to a down-to-the-minute itinerary. Sometimes it takes longer than you think it will to get to a place. The nice thing about tickets to the Prince’s Palace, however, is that you don’t have to select a time, just a day. So you have the whole day to work it into your flexible schedule. Plus, as of July 2025, the tour was only €10! Check out their website here for the most up-to-date prices, procedures, and tickets: Prince’s Palace of Monaco.
More here: What to Know Before You Visit Monaco
Make a Plan Around the Changing of the Guard
If you want to see the Changing of the Guard, it happens daily at 11:55am. Get there no later than 11:30 to get a good view (earlier is better, but no need to arrive at 9:00am). If you’re more interested in avoiding crowds, however, plan to start your tour around 11:30, so you’re on the tour while the changing of the guard is going on. You won’t have to be in the crowd watching it, and there will be fewer people on the tour with you as well.
There will be an influx of people going through security into the Palace immediately after the changing of the guard, so be aware of that, or plan to get lunch and come back an hour or so later to take the tour. Alternatively, start your tour around 10:00am and be done in time for the changing of the guard.
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Get the Audio Guide
This is included in your tour, so you may as well take the device with you when offered, even if you think you won’t like it (like me). It comes in 11 languages, and it’s easy to use. Most miraculously, however, is the fact that it’s not boring and not too long. It was informative without making me lose interest due to a monotone narrator or super long explanation of every detail. I thought it was great, and it really did add to the experience of the Prince’s Palace tour.
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Take Your Time
Every royal family has an interesting history and “stuff” dating back centuries. Monaco’s history goes back more than 700 years, and there is an American actress in the lineage: Princess Grace Kelly. Take your time looking through the Crown Jewels, the throne room, the hallways, the Grace Kelly exhibit. I love finding little details and personal items from royalty. They’re just like us, after all, only they have more jewel-encrusted belongings, like these beautiful purses that belonged to Princess Grace.
Keep reading: What to Do with a Baby in Monaco
Ask Questions
There were, predictably, plenty of uniformed people in each room and throughout the Palace. They are there to keep things in order, but also to answer questions. If you’re wondering about something, ask! You’re only here once. Don’t go home wondering.
More here: Three Things Single Parents Need to Know about Traveling with Their Kids
Take Photos
Yes! You can take photos on the tour. And you should do so. The Prince’s Palace was honestly one of the most pristine royal residences I’ve ever toured, not dark and dank like so many others. There was something interesting everywhere we looked, and I’m glad I took so many photos to help me remember. And my daughter will get to see them one day as well.
Read on: How to Take Better Travel Photos
Don’t Skip the Monaco Cathedral
After your tour, take a walk around the cliffside trail and the old town, then stop into the Monaco Cathedral (Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate). Members of the Grimaldi Royal family are buried here, including Princess Grace. This is also where she and Prince Rainier III were married in 1956. The wedding was attended by over 600 people, many of them famous actors from her Hollywood life.
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Get Lunch or a Snack in the Old Town
I know, I know, it’s “touristic.” But it’s also convenient, options are varied, and the streets and alleys are charming. We got gelato at a little shop near the Cathedral after our tour (summer in Monaco is prime gelato weather). I went back later for a full meal and was not disappointed. I got the most “touristy” thing on the menu, and it was delicious. Don’t miss a meal in the old town!
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Want more? Check out my dedicated Monaco Page!
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