Fontvieille

Fontvieille is a whole district of Monaco built on ground that was not there in 1970: some twenty two hectares reclaimed from the sea below the Rock to give a country of two square kilometres somewhere to expand. It holds a marina, a park, the football stadium, several museums and a heliport. The reclamation is the point, and the principality has done it repeatedly since. Monaco has grown by around a fifth since the 1860s entirely through reclamation, and a further extension off Larvotto was completed in the 2020s.

History

Fontvieille was built almost entirely on land reclaimed from the sea on the southwest side of the Rock. Work began in 1966, the district was designed by the architect Manfredi Nicoletti and developed under the Italian engineer Gianfranco Gilardini, and in 1981 Crown Prince Albert laid its cornerstone; it is closely linked with Prince Rainier III, remembered as the Builder Prince (Wikipedia, Fontvieille, Monaco).

What's there

• The reclaimed ground - twenty two hectares built out into the sea.
• The marina - the harbour created within the new district.
• The park - the green space laid out on the made land.
• The museums - the stamp, car and other collections in the district.

When to go

April to October is the pleasant season. The district works year round. The Grand Prix closes parts of Monaco in May.

What to expect

It is a modern district of apartment blocks and infrastructure rather than a place of character. The museums are individually small. Everything is charged separately.

Nearby

The Rock is northeast, and the Rose Garden is within it.

Key facts