Prince's Palace of Monaco

The majestic Prince’s Palace in Monaco was built in the 12th century as a Genoese fortress. What might surprise you about this palace is that it is fairly low key, compared to some of the other royal architectural feats of Europe such as the Palace of Versailles. This is because, while the rest of Europe was decorating its royal seats, Monaco was fortifying. This wise policy kept Monaco protected for centuries and was proven to have been incredibly sensible by one particular event at the end of the 18th century – the fortifications were relaxed and Monaco was immediately invaded and stripped of all its wealth.

With very little land available and no other alternative palaces, the Monaco Prince’s Palace is one of the most unique in that it has been constantly in use by the royal family for seven centuries. In many ways, the Palace has been as much of a representation of the fortunes of Monaco as the city and people themselves and wings have been added or restructured depending on the funds that have been available. Nevertheless this is certainly no pauper’s palace and is a fascinating place to visit particularly when you consider that the royal family still lives there.

Today the Palace is home to Prince Albert II but during the summer it’s possible to visit the state rooms, which are opened to the public. As well as being a functioning royal residence the Prince’s Palace is also the setting for summer concerts in the courtyard and during important events, such as a birth or death, the palace courtyard is opened to citizens and the Prince makes an address. During a visit to the Palace you can see the spectacular Empire-style royal throne in the Throne Room, the stunning Italian woodwork of the Mazarin Room and the beautiful frescoes of the York Room.

The palace is open from April 2nd to October 31 between 10am and 6pm everyday (last entry at 5:30 PM). Tickets cost 8 Euros for adults, 4 Euros for
children (8-14 years old) and students.

Photo Panorama schloss monaco.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panorama_schloss_monaco.jpg Author Berthold Werner  Licensed under public domain