Overland Travel Across Borders: A Tale of Two Frontiers
The Main Roads: Avenue Prince Pierre to Beausoleil and Moyenne Corniche
These are the ones you will actually drive or ride. The busiest is the tunnel and avenue system around Place du Casino; you slip from Monaco-Ville into Beausoleil or Roquebrune-Cap-Martin without slowing down. Up top, the Moyenne Corniche (D6007) crosses the border markers every few hundred metres as it winds above the sea. Buses 100 and 110 from Nice to Menton cross Monaco multiple times and never stop. The train from Nice to Ventimiglia runs through Monaco-Monte-Carlo station and treats the principality like any other French stop. Cyclists on the coastal path simply pedal past the stone “PRINCIPAUTÉ DE MONACO” markers and keep going. Police on both sides wave at each other and ignore tourists.
The Footpaths and Helicopter Hop
Dozens of stairways and footpaths and garden paths link the two countries. The Sentier du Bord de Mer starts in Cap-d’Ail France and ends inside Monaco in ten minutes. From La Turbie village above you can walk down the ancient Roman road straight into Monaco’s exotic garden. The only “official” crossing that still feels like a border is the heliport pad; French gendarmes glance at your passport if you arrive by helicopter from Nice airport, but that is more for flight rules than immigration. Locals joke that the only real border control is the price of coffee: it doubles the moment you sit down in a Monégasque café.
Drive, walk, cycle, or take the train. The border exists only on maps and in the sudden jump in parking fees. One minute you are in the world’s second-smallest country, the next you are back in France buying cheaper baguettes.