We visited Monaco as a family in June 2014 with M (who was 4 at the time) during our first Disney Cruise. Our port of call was the charming French bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer which we explored after our whistle-stop visit to Monaco.
I'm a planner (especially on cruises, where we're limited to a few hours to explore) and decided on our first visit to Villefranche to visit the neighbouring country of Monaco, traveling with M we decided on short visits to each stop so not to overwhelm!
The easiest way to get there is by train - they run every 30 minutes and the journey takes around 20-24 minutes. According to thetrainline.eu, the current cost (in 2017) is €3 single for adults and €1.50 single for children.
The Cruise Ship tenders at Villefranche and you disembark the tender boat near the restaurant at the bottom of the map. The walk to the train station (Gare) is around 0.4miles and takes 10 minutes (ish!).
The journey was pleasantly uneventful and we soon found overselves in Monaco armed with a plethora of printed maps, timetables and plans!
Leaving Monaco station from the exit marked Place Ste Devote you arrive at one of the public bus stops. The buses were very easy to use, tickets can be bought from the conductor onboard and then must be validated using the machine on the bus. Bus journeys are currently €2 each (with under 7s going free).
Taking either Bus One or Two (both going to Monaco-Ville) to the last stop will take you to the Oceanographic Museum (€11-16/adult and €5-8/children).
We spent around 45 minutes exploring the different levels of the aquarium and museum and thoroughly enjoyed our time there - the cherry on the top of the cake being the rooftop playground where we spent another 30 minutes playing, enjoying the views and, of course, enjoyed the ice creams from the cafe!
A picturesque walk through the nearby Saint-Martin Gardens took us to the Prince's Palace, which we admired from the outside. A brief stop for (another) ice cream and we headed back to the bus stop.
A picturesque walk through the nearby Saint-Martin Gardens took us to the Prince's Palace, which we admired from the outside. A brief stop for (another) ice cream and we headed back to the bus stop.
Taking the bus to Casino Square, we took in some of the famous sights (again, all from the outside being conscious of not wanted to overdo the first port day) - the Monte Carlo Casino & Cafe de Paris, the array of supercars parked around Casino Square. We walked a small stretch of the Grand Prix circuit which took us back down the hill to the train station.
With trains leaving back to Villefranche every 30 minutes, we didn't have to wait long to get back to the Disney Magic.
We ended up spending around 3 hours exploring Monaco, which was perfect with a 4 year old and seemed to hit the balance just right between seeing the sights and keeping everyone interested.
Total cost: Around €60/£50 including ice creams!
