10 Best Nightlife Experiences in Monaco

The opulent Monte Carlo Casino is an iconic gambling and entertainment complex and one of Monaco’s best-known landmarks. With its stunning marble and bronze, it’s no wonder that this building has been a popular setting for many Hollywood movies, including Ocean’s 12 and several James Bond films. The casino offers gamblers an array of games to chance their hand at, including various types of roulette, blackjack, stud poker, craps, and slot machines.

You’ll need to pay an entry fee and produce photo ID to gain admission here and while there isn’t a specific dress code, jackets are recommended for men. Audio tours are also available if it’s the history of the place you're most interested in. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the occasional celebrity or two.

The La Note Bleue is a bar that offers a more relaxed alternative to the pounding beats of Monaco's nightclubs. Essentially a jazz lounge and restaurant, the bar offers regular concerts and live music performances throughout the week. The chilled atmosphere attracts both locals and tourists to enjoy a cocktail and soak up the sophisticated, but laid-back ambience.

There’s food available here too, with the tapas coming highly recommended to savour as you sip. There’s also an outdoor terrace, where you can enjoy the views out over the Mediterranean. You’ll find an adjoining private beach out front which is a great place to work up your thirst earlier in the day.

The legendary club Jimmy’z Monte Carlo has been something of a Monaco institution for over 40 years. If electronic dance music is your thing, this place may be worth putting on your itinerary. Some of the world’s biggest name DJs have played here, including Mark Ronson, Robin Schulz, and FatBoy Slim. As well as the large dance floor, there is also an outdoor bar and seating area where you can catch your breath and enjoy a spot of people watching.

This recently renovated venue bills itself as ‘the VIP’s favourite club’ and drink prices reflect this. You may spot some famous show business faces here, especially during its parties hosted during the F1 season. Entry here is selective, so be prepared to run the gauntlet of the bouncers at the door who determine who gains admission.

The Living Room is a club that combines some eclectic elements mixing a disco vibe with the decor of an English tea room. It's a sophisticated nightspot aimed squarely at the ‘beautiful people’. There are live DJs playing through the wee hours setting the mood in these sophisticated surroundings. The venue can be quite exclusive and entry isn’t guaranteed, so it’s best to look the part if you want to be in with a fighting chance here.

Outside, there’s a terrace set amid some beautiful gardens, as well as a piano bar if you’re looking for more of a chilled vibe to your evening. There’s a light menu available here too, should you find the expansive array of cocktails and champagne don’t quite sate the appetite.

La Rascasse is a popular venue for revellers who like their music loud and their dancing lively. It's something of a legend of Monaco’s party scene. A bar during the day, the venue transforms into a raucous club in the evening and stays open well into the wee hours.

The bar takes its name from the fact that it’s situated inside the final corner of the Monaco Grand Prix track, known as ‘Rascasse’. On F1 weekends, the bar attracts the fans with its party atmosphere and superb viewing balconies which offer fantastic views over the action below. Switching gears from bar to club later in the evening, the festivities often run right through to dawn the following day.

Blue Gin is a lounge bar that offers some fantastic Mediterranean views from its heated seaside terrace, earning it the nickname ‘The Waterfront’. This late-night bar is located in the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort and is well known locally for its delicious cocktails.

If the sea air isn’t to your taste on the terrace, step inside for the bar’s dimly lit and cosy interior. With a resident DJ providing laidback vibes, this is a good spot for some late evening snacks and to chill in an intimate atmosphere, especially if you are seeking refuge from the clubs!

Fort Antoine Theatre, originally built as an 18th-century fortress, now delivers drama of a different sort to audiences of up to 350 people. It’s worth a visit here at any time for a look at the fort’s military architecture. Day or night you’ll enjoy some stunning and very photogenic views of the sea, nearby city, and expansive sky overhead. Even so, it’s on the long summer evenings that this place really comes alive. During July and August, the theatre presents both contemporary and classical plays in what is surely one of the more unique stage settings around.

Situated near the port, Fort Antoine theatre is also located near both the Old Monaco Museum and Monaco Cathedral, so catching an evening play here could be the perfect ending to a long day of culture.

L'Opéra de Monte-Carlo is Monaco’s Opera House whose opera season runs from October through to April. That's when it brings a bit of high culture to a city famous for its high life. The Opera House doesn’t just bring opera to Monaco’s nightlife scene though. It’s also the venue for performances by Les Ballets de Monaco, as well as the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Known locally as the Salle Garnier, after the architect that designed it, the building is a neoclassical marvel well worth a visit in its own right, even if there isn’t a show on at the time. Tickets are available from the Opera House’s box office and, when there’s no performances or rehearsals on, tours can also be arranged.