Best Time to Visit Monaco

Geographical location

The Principality of Monaco is located in Western Europe between the French city of Nice in the west and the French-Italian border, which is only 6 miles away.

The 203 hectare city state is located on the French Mediterranean coast and is the second smallest state in the world after the Vatican. With over 18,200 inhabitants per square kilometre, Monaco has by far the highest population density of any country in the world.

In comparison, the Federal Republic of Germany has about 225 inhabitants/km², Austria about 100 inhabitants/km².

The length of Monaco’s narrow coast is about four kilometres. Monaco is surrounded by the French communities of Cap-d ?Ail, La Turbie, Beausolei and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. The entire area of the state lies on the edge of the sea alps.

The Prince’s Palace is 62 metres high, while the highest elevation of the Monegasque national territory is 164.4 metres in the Jardin Exotique district. The highest point in the Monaco area is the 1148 meter high Mont Agel.

Monaco is not far from the international airport Nice Côte d`Azur. The onward journey to Monaco (about 19 miles) can be by bus, train, taxi, rental car or extravagantly by helicopter.

Climate in Monaco

The location of the Principality directly on the coast gives Monaco a typically mild Mediterranean climate. Thus the summers are dry and warm as expected, the winters remain mild but rather humid. The climate in summer is mainly determined by the Azores high. In winter rainy winds from the west are typical. Monaco’s well-protected location through the Maritime Alps is a great advantage because extreme weather conditions are rare.

The temperatures in summer are usually not unbearably high, rarely the thermometer shows more than 30 °C. In July and August, the average daily maximum temperature is between 24 °C to 26 °C. In winter there are sometimes temperatures below zero degrees Celsius, but snow is the exception in Monaco. The average day temperature in January and February is 8 °C.

Even in the dark winter month of December, 136 hours of sunshine are counted on average. In addition, there are only six rainy days in December. Most rainy days are in March, October and November. The fewest rainy days (2 to 3) are in the summer months of July and August.