Prince Rainier III was a great admirer and enthusiast of beautiful cars, and for more than forty years he built up a considerable and intimate collection of vintage vehicles, buying those he instantly fell in love with and any bargains he found. This is a collection that began at the end of the 1950s and includes more than 100 car models, as well as six carriages belonging to the princely family. The museum opened its doors in 1993, when the garage in the Prince’s Palace became too small to hold the sovereign’s extensive collection of cars. Among the models, the oldest car is a De Dion Bouton dating from 1903. The most recent? A Lotus F1 from 2013.
It is not a car museum, but a personal collection of vintage cars of all ages and countries. Popular or prestigious, they were important in their time and I liked them.
Prince Rainier III
Prince Albert II continued to add to the Private Collection begun by Prince Rainier III. Located on the Terrasses de Fontvieille, this 5,000 m2 exhibition, unique in the world, brings together nearly a hundred cars. Among the models and makes : DE DION BOUTON from 1903, the LOTUS F1 from 2013, the HISPANO SUIZA, ROLLS ROYCE, LINCOLN, FACEL VEGA, DELAGE, DELAHAYE, PACKARD, HUMBER, NAPIER, FERRARI, MASERATI, LAMBORGHINI, ALFA ROMEO, LEXUS… There are also racing cars that have featured in the Monte-Carlo Rally and the F1 Grand Prix de Monaco.
