Monaco · Sugar on the Riviera
Monaco
Two square kilometres, three palace hotels and a chocolate house that has supplied the princes since 1920. Monaco eats its pastry on terraces above a harbour full of yachts, and it eats it well.
The pastry of Monaco is the pastry of the Société des Bains de Mer: the Hôtel de Paris, the Hermitage and their kitchens, where the dessert trolleys of the Belle Époque never quite went away. The Hôtel Métropole next to the casino gardens added the Riviera’s most elegant afternoon tea, and the Chocolaterie de Monaco, purveyor to the Prince since 1920, sells its bars and pralines a few steps from the palace on the Rock.
What makes Monaco different is the light. Tea is taken on a terrace facing the Mediterranean, the tarts are lemon and orange blossom rather than chocolate and caramel, and the local sweet, the fougasse monégasque with aniseed and orange flower water, tastes of the hills behind the city. Maison Mullot on the rue Grimaldi has baked it for the Monégasques for a century.
Prices follow the principality: high, but with a service that makes them feel earned. Come in late spring, when the terraces open and the Grand Prix has not yet closed the streets, and keep the afternoon for the Métropole and the early evening for a walk up to the Rock with a bar of Chocolaterie de Monaco in your pocket.
Sweet profile
- Afternoon tea
- €75
- One pastry
- €8
- Box of chocolates
- €36
- Sweet Index
- 72
Jacket for the palace salons; the principality dresses up.
April to June and September, when the terraces are open and the streets are not.
Guide prices per person or piece, editorial estimates in euros as of 2026.
A sweet day in Monaco
From the first croissant to the last truffle
April to June, September
- 08:00Croissant on the port
A café on the Port Hercule with a croissant and the yachts waking up.
- 10:00Maison Mullot
Fougasse monégasque and a tarte au citron from the boulangerie-pâtisserie on the rue Grimaldi.
- 13:00Lunch light
A salad in La Condamine; the afternoon deserves an appetite.
- 16:00Tea at the Métropole
Afternoon tea in the lobby salon by the casino gardens: the most elegant table in the principality.
- 18:00The Rock
Chocolaterie de Monaco near the palace for pralines and a bar of the Prince’s chocolate.
- 21:00Dessert at the Hôtel de Paris
A soufflé or a Grand Marnier crêpe in one of the SBM dining rooms, then the casino square.
Districts
Monte-Carlo
The casino square with the Hôtel de Paris, the Hermitage and the Métropole: the palace kitchens within two hundred metres.
Monaco-Ville, the Rock
The palace, the cathedral and the Chocolaterie de Monaco: the old town where the local sweets live.
La Condamine
The market hall and the rue Grimaldi with Maison Mullot: everyday Monaco, at Riviera prices.
The addresses
6 addresses in Monaco
HotelMonaco · Place du Casino
Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo
The Riviera’s palace
HotelMonaco · Square Beaumarchais
Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo
Under the Eiffel dome
HotelMonaco · Avenue de la Madone
Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo
The Riviera’s afternoon tea
Afternoon teaMonaco · Avenue de la Madone
The Lobby, Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo
The Riviera’s four o’clock
BoutiqueMonaco · Rue Grimaldi, La Condamine
Maison Mullot
The Monégasque bakery
ChocolatierMonaco · The Rock and the Métropole gallery
Chocolaterie de Monaco
Purveyor to the Prince
One dessert, one house
Signature Desserts: Monaco
Good to know
Tips for Monaco
- Afternoon tea at the Métropole is served in the lobby; ask for a table by the windows onto the garden.
- The fougasse monégasque is a Christmas and celebration bread, but Maison Mullot bakes it year round.
- Chocolaterie de Monaco has a shop on the Rock and a boutique in the Métropole shopping gallery; the Rock shop is the atmospheric one.
- During the Grand Prix week in May the whole principality is closed, priced up or both. Avoid it unless you are here for the race.
- Dress properly. Monaco is the last place in Europe where a jacket at tea is still unremarkable.
Frequently asked questions
Is there afternoon tea in Monaco?
Yes. The Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo serves the principality’s reference afternoon tea, and the SBM palaces serve pastry in their bars and salons through the afternoon.
What is the local pastry of Monaco?
The fougasse monégasque: a flat sweet bread with orange flower water, aniseed, red and white pralines and nuts, the colours of the principality.
Where do I buy chocolate in Monaco?
Chocolaterie de Monaco, founded in 1920 and purveyor to the Prince, on the Rock and in the Métropole gallery.
