10 Best Shopping Experiences in Monaco

Le Metropole Shopping Center is all about luxury living, which is obvious when you see its lavish furnishings of crystal chandeliers, Italian marble floors, and upscale brands. With 80 shops selling everything from gourmet food and beauty treatments to designer clothes and exclusive timepieces, you’ll find most of your shopping needs met under the highly ornate ceiling.

A good spot to escape the summer heat and humidity, you’ll also find a handful of swanky restaurants inside. Great if you need refuelling while you shop. With lots of high-end boutiques and exclusive brands available at Le Metropole Shopping Center, it should be no surprise that things aren’t cheap here. Even if a wild shopping spree isn’t on your itinerary, the window-shopping alone may well make a trip here worthwhile.

While Fontvieille Shopping Centre maintains some of the elegance you’d expect from a location such as Monaco, there’s plenty of more practical offerings here too. On the one hand, you’ll find the private collection of antique cars of H.S.H. Prince Rainier III. On the other, you’ll find lots of everyday shopping, there’s a large Carrefour supermarket here to buy groceries and everyday items at very reasonable prices.

The McDonald’s on the 2nd floor offers some great views of the marina and its yachts, as well as the Prince's Palace of Monaco. This is a good spot to enjoy the contrast of some cheap fast food while simultaneously savouring the trappings of wealth that Monaco has become so widely known for. 

La Condamine Market manages to maintain a warm Provençal feel to it amid all the Monaco opulence and has done since it was established some 140 years ago. This market is an excellent spot to sample distinctively Monegasque fare, including socca, fougasse, and barbagiuans. It’s no surprise then that the food hall here is a favourite spot for lunch among the locals. Besides the indoor food hall and the fruit, vegetable, and meat stalls, you’ll also find stalls of fresh flowers perfuming the air.

In recent years, several bars and restaurants have set up in the food hall after the bustle of a day’s market trading has ended. This has ensured the area remains vibrant throughout the evening as locals and visitors descend for food and drinks.

The Florentine fashion house, Steffano Ricci, is best known for its refined Italian tailoring. That’s not all you’ll find on offer though, as a trip inside its Monaco boutique will reveal. As well as finely crafted suits, you’ll find all sorts of accessories including belts, cufflinks, wallets, and footwear. The store also sells high-end home furnishings and even has a department dedicated to kitting out superyachts – which is great if you’ve brought yours with you.

Located in the Fairmont Hotel, Steffano Ricci has more of the feel of a private gentleman’s club than a clothes shop. The company prides itself on providing the highest levels of customer service to go along with the hefty price tags of its luxury items.

Sabrina Monte-Carlo is a locally owned design studio offering unique tableware, furnishings, furniture, fabrics, and other accessories. The studio specialises in both indoor and outdoor decorations. It has kitted out everything, from Mediterranean villas and chalets to superyachts and private jets.

With a further 3 showrooms in the region showcasing the brand’s flair for interior and exterior decoration, Sabrina’s is a treasure trove of items and materials as well as a great source of expertise coming in the form of its well-trained and very experienced staff. There is a very chic Mediterranean vibe here. Take note of the unusual opening hours.

Les Grands Chais Monégasques is something of a local landmark, as it's the oldest wine cellar in Monaco. It supplies many of the most prestigious restaurants in town. Besides selling wine, the cellar also hosts wine tastings in its elegant surroundings. 

Les Grands Chais Monégasques has a gift shop offering bottles from most of the big-name wine and champagne producers, as well as many of the smaller ones. It isn’t only wine and champagne represented here though – the cellar also stocks a very fine collection of whiskies, too. 

Monte Carlo Market is a farmers market selling all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as dairy and baked goods. While this is predominantly a street market, you’ll also find a grocery store, a pasta outlet, a bar, and a butcher’s shop. There are occasionally flowers and plants for sale here too.

This fairly small market is located near Saint-Charles Church on Avenue Saint-Charles. The number of vendors and types of products being sold greatly depends on the time of year. Despite its modest size, Monte Carlo Market brings a much-welcomed dash of colour and life to this part of town.

Chocolaterie de Monaco is a paradise for chocolate lovers. With confectionery skills honed over a century, these chocolatiers serve up a vast array of deliciously sinful cocoa-based indulgences. The Viennois hot chocolate comes highly recommended. Aside from chocolates, you can also sample from a broad range of premium loose-leaf teas which makes for an effective way to cleanse the palate between sweets.

You’ll find a great selection to choose from – Chocolaterie de Monaco also has some very attractive boxed chocolates which make for great souvenirs to take home, or as gifts for family and friends.