Monaco Top Cars Collection

The Top Cars Collection on Port Hercule holds around a hundred vehicles assembled by Prince Rainier III over decades, running from Belle Époque and vintage machines through the mid-century cars the princely family used to Formula One cars that ran in the Monaco Grand Prix. The De Dion-Bouton that the family bought in 1903 and Grace Kelly's Rolls-Royce are among them. The collection was opened to the public in 1993 and moved in 2022 from the Terrasses de Fontvieille to a new building on Port Hercule, inside the Grand Prix circuit.

History

Prince Rainier III built up his car collection over thirty years and opened it to the public in 1993, when it had grown too large for the palace garage; it was first shown at the Terrasses de Fontvieille and moved in 2022 to a new building on Port Hercule, inside the Grand Prix circuit (Wikipedia, Car Collection of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco).

What's there

• The Formula One cars - the machines that ran the Monaco Grand Prix.
• The princely cars - the vehicles the Grimaldis actually used.
• The Belle Époque machines - the earliest cars in the collection.
• The 1903 De Dion-Bouton - the family's first motor car.

When to go

Year round; the collection is indoors. It keeps set hours and closes on some days. Grand Prix week is busiest.

Before you go

The collection moved premises and the display has changed; some cars are rotated out. It is a car museum and holds little for anyone not interested. Two hours covers it.

Nearby

Port Hercule and the Grand Prix circuit are around it.

Key facts