Museum / Gallery Sights in Monaco — 14 of Our Favourites

The museum's coin and bank note section displays important and valuable numismatic samples of the Principality dating back to 1640.

There is also a shop selling coins and stamps from Monaco, as well as a range of souvenirs.

Best known for being the author of Les Enfants Terribles and Beauty & The Beast, much of the museum's Jean Cocteau collection belongs to American business and Cocteau fan Séverin Wunderman. The collection contains approximately 1000 works by Cocteau including pencil, pastel and watercolour designs.

There are a number of collections housed within in the building, as well as temporary exhibitions by various artists.

The museum is equally popular for its impressive architecture, designed by Rudy Riccioti; clean, modern, bright and airy. It stands in contrast to the older more traditional museum nearby, which is included in the admission fee.

The Musee Jean Cocteau has a café with indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a gift shop selling various books and prints.

Jean Cocteau participated in the restoration of the building, which became his last work of art. He designed mosaics, as well as the new windows on the first floor.

The museum opened in 1966, three years after Cocteau's death, and showcases ceramics, drawings, tapestries, watercolours and pastels made by him.

Built on the side of the mythical Rock of Monaco, the Oceanographic Museum has been watching over the oceans for over a century. Founded by the Prince Albert I, great grandfather of H.S.H. Prince Albert II, it was designed as a Palace entirely dedicated to Art and Science.

Albert II was fascinated by anthropology and human palaeontology, oceanography is finally caught his interest. He built the Oceanographic Institute in 1906 to promote the development of oceanography and make accessible the results of scientific campaigns, including his own.

This museum also houses an aquarium, with over 6,000 species of fish, as well as the shark lagoon, a giant aquarium with sharks, the turtle island on the museum's panoramic terrace and even a tank where you can stroke a sea star, feel a sea urchin or touch a baby shark.

There are more than a thousand objects and documents relating to the First Empire: objects belonging to the Emperor Napoleon I, garments of the King of Rome and religious souvenirs from Saint Helena.

A wide mezzanine contains memorabilia relating to the history of the Principality: the Charter of Independence of Monaco signed by King Louis XII of France, a letter written by Louis XIV to Prince Antoine I, a collection of Monaco coins and a complete collection of stamps and past uniforms of the Prince's Guards.

There is a guided audio tour available, in 11 languages, that talks you through the exhibition. It lasts for around 30 minutes.

Along with numerous temporary exhibitions there are also permanent collections, one of which is the museum of dolls and puppets.

Past exhibitions have included 'Gilbert & George Art Exhibition', 'Princess Grace: More than an Image', 'Kees Van Dongen, L'Atelier' and more recently 'Portraits d'Interieurs'.

For more information on current exhibition or information on each villa please visit the website directly.

Musee National Automates et Poupees
This museum of dolls and puppets is every little girl's dream housed in a lovely Garnier Villa (Villa Sauber). There are over 400 dolls here dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.

Closed until June 2018 for renovation works.

Split over three floors this museum covers all aspects of life in Monaco over the years. You can see traditional clothes, furniture and household items, as well as religious paintings and military artefacts. There is also a display of traditional musical instruments.

Go behind the scenes at a traditional French parfumerie and learn the secrets of how the most beautiful scents are made into perfumes, soaps and lotions.

Regular workshops are held where you can learn how to blend scents and create your own perfume.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to purchase their favourite scents at factory prices from the museum shop.

Founded by Prince Albert I in 1901, the museum aims to conserve relics of our past that have been excavated in and around the Principality of Monaco.

Located in the Exotic Garden, the museum houses evidence of human life from the ice age and through all the major stages in the evolution of the human race. The museum also works as a research centre, carrying out excavation work and studies.

There are regular seminars and lectures that you can attend, please visit the museum website for details of upcoming events.

Free guided tours are available in all European languages​​. Open daily from 08:30 to 18:30 (closed from 12:00 to 14:00 for lunch in November to January). They offer free guided tours throughout the year, which must be requested and reserved in advance.

This museum houses over 100 vintage vehicles including a De Dion Bouton from 1903 and an American post-war 1953 Cadillac. A fitting reflection of the Principality.

The collection also includes: Renault 12cv 4 cylindres Torpedo 1911, Panhard Levassor 1913, Ford T 1924, Peugeot Quadrilette 1921, Lincoln 1928, Citroën Kégresse, Ford A 1930, Hispano Suiza 1928, Delage 1934, Packard 1935, Cadillac 1653, Chrysler Imperial 1956, and some of the most prestigious models from Maserati, Jaguar, Mercedes and Rolls Royce.

Founded in 1989 to showcase the history and heritage of the Roya valley, it became a museum museum focused mostly on industrial heritage in 1991. It now houses exhibits of hydropower and transportation.

The collection comprises lots of interesting locomotives, railcars, trams, postal vans and other vintage vehicles.

This hilltop bunker has been lovingly restored and maintained by a group of local history enthusiasts and is available to visit in July and August.

Guides are available to talk you through the structure, it uses and some of the exhibits which include a lot of the machinery and engines and a power generation plant, which are in remarkably good condition.

Call to arrange a visit on 06 75 97 76 33.

The fort, or bunker, was part of the Maginot line of French defences against the Germans, and this section lies in an Alpine extension of that line sometimes called the Little Maginot line.

A large exhibition space has been built inside the fort that you can come and look at.

Adult price for entry is 6 euros and 5 euros for children.