The world’s second-smallest country, Monaco, officially increased in size by six hectares in December 2024, when sovereign Prince Albert II cut the ribbon on Mareterra.

This new Renzo Piano-designed pedestrianised neighbourhood – billed as Monaco’s first eco-district for its cutting-edge environmental initiatives – has risen from the Mediterranean Sea to add two waterfront residences, including one designed by celebrated Italian architect Renzo Piano, plus a handful of ultra-exclusive villas to the Principality’s landscape.

Mareterra is widely considered the most expensive real estate development anywhere in the world, with per-square metre prices starting at around €100,000 (£84,143) and apartments generally starting at €10m.

More widely, Monaco makes frequent appearances on “world’s most expensive” lists, including a recent ranking of The World’s Most Expensive Cities by investment migration firm Henley & Partners.

Mareterra is a new district reclaimed from the sea (Photo: Xavier Duvot / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas/Getty)

If you have cash to splash, there’s no shortage of ways to do it in the principality. A three-night package at this weekend’s Grand Prix could set you back between £5,600 (staying at the Holiday Inn in Nice) and £16,500 at the four-star Fairmont Hotel.

But if you don’t, it doesn’t mean there’s an invisible barrier at the border blocking you from even entering. Living just down the road from Monaco, and having been one of the 26,000 people who work in Monaco but live in France, I know from experience you don’t need a billionaire budget to enjoy it.

For example, there’s no cost to walk around Mareterra. That’s exactly what I’m doing this blue-sky spring afternoon. I follow a shaded nature trail planted with Mediterranean pines and insect hotels that gently loops through the centre. Along the route, I admire Quatre Lances, a monumental sculpture by Alexander Calder, a favourite of Prince Albert’s mother Grace Kelly.

La Grotte Bleu is filled with seawater underneath the development (Photo: Hufton+Crow / Mareterra)

I scratch my head at two of the more unusual attractions, a dimly-lit room that opens onto the 12m-deep hollow, seawater filled foundations of La Grotte Bleue (Blue Grotto) over which the neighbourood sits, and a meditation space that pops with pink and purple crystals.

Across the wider city-state, eight restaurants hold a collective 13 Michelin stars, yet, at the other end of the scale, the Marché de la Condamine is the best covered food hall on the Côte d’Azur.

It’s my go-to spot for lunch, served with a side of local gossip around buzzy communal tables. A good tip is to be guided by the longest queue – usually snaking outside the door for fresh pasta at Maison des Pâtes (starting from €7.90/£6.70).

Another favourite is bite-sized barbajuans, a fried ravioli filled with cheese and Swiss chard that’s considered Monaco’s national dish. They cost around €1.40 (£1.20) a pop at A Roca.

When you’re counting your coins, lunch is the best meal of the day in Monaco. Plenty of high-end restaurants, like the sleek Beefbar in the pretty port of Fontvieille, offer set menus at midday if you’ve got some wiggle room to splurge – usually two courses plus a glass of wine for around €30 (£25), a price that wouldn’t cover the main course in the evening.

You can claw back some of the spend by sipping a Made-in-Monaco beer with the afterwork crowd during Happy Hour (6-8pm) at Brasserie de Monaco, a microbrewery on Port Hercules, when a pint costs €4.50 (£3.80).

Monaco’s main attractions, including a tour of the Casino de Monte-Carlo (€19/£16), a glimpse of the recently-uncovered Renaissance frescos inside the staterooms of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco (€10/£8.40) and the excellent Oceanographic Museum (€22.50/£19), offer entry fees comparable to most big city destinations.

But what about experiencing a bit of Monaco glitz for less? A signature “La Condamine” cocktail at Le Bar Americain, the moody lounge bar inside the legendary Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, will set you back €35 (£30). However, you can buy an entire bottle of the key ingredient, L’Orangeraie, a zesty orange liqueur made from bitter oranges harvested in Monaco, direct from La Distillerie de Monaco, for around the same price.

If budget wasn’t a consideration, I’d book an indulgent day at the Thermes Marins de Monaco (€240/£200) for a massage, pool access and lunch. But it’s hard to resist the €6 (£5) for a sunlounger and an umbrella at the Stade Nautique Ranier III (entry €12/£10), an outdoor, Olympic-sized pool where Monegasques learn to swim in the shadow of the superyachts in Port Hercules.

Rainier III Nautical Stadium is a relative bargain to visit (Photo: Dukas/Universal Images Group/Getty)

I would also splurge on the seven-minute helicopter transfer from Nice Côte d’Azur airport to the principality with Blade (€195/£164), although the coastal views from the train journey are some of the best in the world, and at €5.90 (£5), come at a fraction of the cost.

Sleeping is where spending power comes into sharp focus. Monaco has a ban on subletting, including Airbnb and just one two-star hotel, the Hôtel de France (doubles from €135/£114), while three-star hotels command what feel like four- or five-star rates.

But Monaco’s tiny size means that staying outside in places like pastel-pretty Menton, just a stone’s throw from the Italian border and around 10km north of the principality, is no hardship. The train takes no more than 20 minutes from the French Riviera town, which has a broad choice of cosy two- and three-star places to stay, such as the Hôtel Lemon (doubles from €100/£84).

My last money-saving tip is Carlo, a home-grown Monaco app that offers five percent cash back at participating merchants, including a significant proportion of shops and restaurants in the principality. Download the app and register your card details in advance, and then use it to pay as you spend. Watch the pot accumulate, and make sure you spend it before you leave.

Something for free in Monaco? There’s no better feeling.

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