What to do in Monaco in August 2023? 5 unusual ideas for outings
Enjoy cliffside movies on Le Rocher © All rights reserved
Are you living in Monaco, or visiting this month? Monaco Tribune invites you to take a look at the Principality from a different angle.
During August, the pace in the Principality gradually slows down a little. The major summer events are over, appointments are fewer and farther between, and it’s holiday time for most people! To mark this unique month, Monaco Tribune has put together an equally unique guidebook!
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1. Discover the Casino’s heritage
At first glance, going to the Casino de Monte-Carlo might not seem like much of an original idea. Although it is no doubt Monaco’s best-known building, it is possible to see it from another angle. Monaco Tribune recently published several articles on the cultural heritage of the Société des Bains de Mer, including the Casino. In particular, we revealed the secrets of its paintings. Its Belle-Époque façade and refined gaming rooms feature many works of art. These are mostly paintings, and you have to look up to see them, on the ceilings! The large, colourful canvases were produced between 1863 and 1910. The styles and influences have a common them, that of the female form. Come and see!
2. Watch frescoes being restored
It’s a very unusual activity and one that we rarely get the chance to observe. Until October, a number of conservation and restoration specialists will be paying close attention to the ceiling in the Throne Room of the Prince’s Palace. High up on the scaffolding, centimetre by centimetre, they are touching up the different frescoes, featuring several mythological scenes. In total, some twenty specialists are working on a five-day rota. These works of art date back to the Renaissance, and watching them being restored, in real time, is a real treat!
Practical details:
- Online ticketing
- Tours are available until 15 October 2023
3. Watch a film at the open-air cinema
While most of France is experiencing rain and cool temperatures, in the south we’re still enjoying the sunshine and temperatures are easing off. Perfect conditions to settle down in one of the few hundred seats at Monaco’s Open Air Cinema, on a cliff overlooking the sea and opposite Monaco’s prison, in an original setting. The August programme is packed, with one screening a day in the original language, with subtitles. On the big screen, our editorial team recommends Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s latest film about the creation of the first atomic bomb in the 1940s. A Nolan masterpiece, and as luck would have it, the film is playing five times this month. There is also Barbie, Mission Impossible and The Haunted Mansion. You can see the full programme here.
Practical details:
- Chemin des pêcheurs car park, exit level 2, 98000 Monaco
- ‘Doors’ open: 8: 45 pm –Showtime: 9: 30 pm – Film starts 10: 00 pm
- Normal price: €11.50 / Students: €9.00
4. Find some pop-up bars
When the – well-renowned – hotels in Monaco create bars specially for the summer season, they provide unique venues to enjoy a drink. This August, you can check out the Mada Lounge, an extension of the Mada One; the Crystal Lounge at the Hôtel Hermitage, which is taking up summer residence in the Jardin Excelsior; the Lounge Solaire, launched by Veuve Cliquot, has set up home in the Square Beaumarchais at the Hôtel Hermitage; the Latino Lounge at the Hôtel Métropole and the Malizia Mar. This is the restaurant/bar’s third summer season on the Quai Casiraghi.
Several restaurants and brands recently opened in and around Monaco. In the case of Roquebrune Cap-Martin, the Pirate is renamed Loulou Pirate; the legendary Stars’N ‘Bars is now Conscientiae; the African Queen is back after several months of work and Monaco Tribune picked out the best seafood restaurants in the Principality !
5. Play an escape game
Monaco boasts a number of escape games, where total immersion, teamwork and sleuthing skills are the order of the day. From Monaco Station to the Oceanographic Museum, by way of the Promenade Honoré II, Monaco Tribune has found four game venues in the Principality. Head back in time to the 1900s in Monaco and then in New Jersey in the roaring twenties, on board the PLM EXPRESS, which will be arriving for the first time in Monte Carlo Station on 19 October 1868 or on a liner, the Princess Alice II, in 1901. There’s something for everyone! Ideal for spending some time with the family. Prices are around 30 euros for an hour’s play.