The Monaco Royal Family's car collection is exactly the sort of unabashed showmanship you want to see from a prince

It was one of those rare days on the Côte d’Azur, one where the sun was less on offer, and intermittent sprinkles of rain splashed beach plans. What was one to do between a gluttonous hotel breakfast and a rosé-soaked lunch? Visit the car collection of His Serene Highness The Prince of Monaco, naturally.

A stone’s throw from the central casino, it’s one of the hidden gems of the principality, and one known only to locals, frequently visiting loyalists or those, like me, forced to get creative with their free time. I entered reluctantly, wishing I was instead drifting along a coast, but I left with a newfound love for an overt display that is, well, exactly the sort of unabashed showmanship you want to see from a prince, and one that so many deign to attempt in replicating without such a storied history.

The collection is situated down the hill from the Hotel de Paris, past the Thermes Marins Spa, the Yacht Club de Monaco, and the holy trinity of Prada, Hermès, and Gucci. Here, in this ‘deeper cut’ of the city, one can find an affordable deli sandwich or a slice of pizza, still with a view of the glittering Mediterranean, as well as the marina where the royal family’s sailing yacht, Tuiga, is often moored. During the Monaco Grand Prix, it’s also the site of one of the most exciting straights in the race. Under the simple banner ‘La Collection’ is the museum, where more than 100 automobiles sit idly by and await our prying eyes.

Collected since the 1950s when Prince Rainier III began setting his sights on building his stable of toys, they come in all shapes, sizes, and colours, and even a few small airplanes. Blue chip Panhards and Ferraris sit merrily alongside humble expressions like Fiats and Citroens, all with incredible tales of acquisition or provenance, but it all sat housed in the depths of the palace. That was until 1993, when the collection first saw the light of day, owing to the fact that it had grown too large for the palace’s private garage and was therefore moved to the Terrasses de Fontvieille, before moving to its current state-of-the-art location in Port Hercule in 2022.

It all began with the De Dion-Bouton Type R, purchased by the family in the late-1950s, but dating back to 1903. At first blush, it appears to be more old-time jalopy (complete with an ‘Awooga!’ horn) than a functioning automobile, but it does indeed run. Its wooden wheels are covered in solid rubber tires that must make for a precarious ride, and it fits four passengers not-so-comfortably. Though it mostly acts as a historical showpiece to display the early origins of the automobile, it was driven in the London-to-Brighton rally back in 1968 by Rainier III. He was, of course, accompanied by his wife, Princess Grace Kelly, sporting a striking fur chapeau.

Like the De Dion-Bouton, many of the trophy pieces within the collection are so rare, that driving them is usually out of the question, and looking at them as a commoner is nothing short of a gift. Take, for example, the Bugatti Type 35, which won the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix in 1929. Since winning the race, the car has only been driven a handful times. The same model without such an illustrious provenance usually sells for at least €2 million, and it’s just one of the many, many Monaco Grand Prix specimens on display — but this one truly takes the cake.

There are plenty of novelty automobiles too. There is the art car by Jean-Pierre Rives, a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud speckled in Mondrian-style technicolor frames; a devil-may-care paint job for such a car. There is the otherworldly Lexus LS Landaulet hybrid, built for the 2011 royal wedding of Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock, custom fit by Carat Duchatelet with a bulbous glass sunroof for maximum visibility of the newlyweds. There is also the Renault Floride in ‘Borneo Green’, which was gifted to Princess Grace in 1959. The same model in white was given to Brigitte Bardot, and a third was later revealed to have been offered to Elizabeth II, though she declined and asked that it be donated to a British charity instead.

Yet it’s the black 1956 Chrysler Imperial limousine, complete with winged taillights, that usually garners the most attention on the average day, as it is one of a handful of custom-built American cars that had been shuttled overseas for use by the royal family. When it came to the Chrysler, Rainier III made a trip specifically to New York to take delivery of the car, and it just so happened to be in the ‘Mechanic Atelier’ during my visit. Yes, within the bounds of the shimmering museum showroom is an equally striking garage built in true Monegasque splendor. It’s not without the usual fumes of petrol and paint, but it's quite sleek and overseen by a staff of full-time (and quite dashing) mechanics whose sole mission is to keep every car in working order, should the royal family have the urge to take one for a spin. This includes my personal favorite in the garage, the 1971 Lotus Seven IV, a lowriding two-seater that would feel right at home on the set of Miami Vice. It was an ideal set of wheels for a young Prince Albert, and it is displayed alongside an archival image of him sporting tinted shades and a blazer embroidered with the palace crest.

Markedly more analogue, and therefore not requiring any intervention from the mechanics, is a horse drawn carriage that is surrounded by some exceptional royal lore. It was, per museum placards, a ‘surreptitious presentation’ to Princess Grace. With the 25-year-old starlet in town for the Cannes Film Festival, she had her first meeting with Rainier III, the man who would later become her husband and allow her to ascend to the role of HSH.

It is said that the carriage was just one part of his effort to impress the silver screen fixture. During a tour of the palace, she was also shown around the family’s private gardens and zoo, which included a few once-injured lions and tigers rehabilitating in luxury and deeply attached to the prince, so much so that he was able to reach his hand into their cages and pet them as he wished. How’s that for a first date?

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The collection is situated down the hill from the Hotel de Paris, past the Thermes Marins Spa, the Yacht Club de Monaco, and the holy trinity of Prada, Hermès, and Gucci. Here, in this ‘deeper cut’ of the city, one can find an affordable deli sandwich or a slice of pizza, still with a view of the glittering Mediterranean, as well as the marina where the royal family’s sailing yacht, Tuiga, is often moored. During the Monaco Grand Prix, it’s also the site of one of the most exciting straights in the race. Under the simple banner ‘La Collection’ is the museum, where more than 100 automobiles sit idly by and await our prying eyes.

Collected since the 1950s when Prince Rainier III began setting his sights on building his stable of toys, they come in all shapes, sizes, and colours, and even a few small airplanes. Blue chip Panhards and Ferraris sit merrily alongside humble expressions like Fiats and Citroens, all with incredible tales of acquisition or provenance, but it all sat housed in the depths of the palace. That was until 1993, when the collection first saw the light of day, owing to the fact that it had grown too large for the palace’s private garage and was therefore moved to its current location in the Terrasses de Fontvieille.

It all began with the De Dion-Bouton Type R, purchased by the family in the late-1950s, but dating back to 1903. At first blush, it appears to be more old-time jalopy (complete with an ‘Awooga!’ horn) than a functioning automobile, but it does indeed run. Its wooden wheels are covered in solid rubber tires that must make for a precarious ride, and it fits four passengers not-so-comfortably. Though it mostly acts as a historical showpiece to display the early origins of the automobile, it was driven in the London-to-Brighton rally back in 1968 by Rainier III. He was, of course, accompanied by his wife, Princess Grace, sporting a striking fur chapeau.

Like the De Dion-Bouton, many of the trophy pieces within the collection are so rare, that driving them is usually out of the question, and looking at them as a commoner is nothing short of a gift. Take, for example, the Bugatti Type 35, which won the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix in 1929. Since winning the race, the car has only been driven a handful times. The same model without such an illustrious provenance usually sells for at least €2 million, and it’s just one of the many, many Monaco Grand Prix specimens on display — but this one truly takes the cake.

There are plenty of novelty automobiles too. There is the art car by Jean-Pierre Rives, a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud speckled in Mondrian-style technicolor frames; a devil-may-care paint job for such a car. There is the otherworldly Lexus LS Landaulet hybrid, built for the 2011 royal wedding of Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock, custom fit by Carat Duchatelet with a bulbous glass sunroof for maximum visibility of the newlyweds. There is also the Renault Floride in ‘Borneo Green’, which was gifted to Princess Grace in 1959. The same model in white was given to Brigitte Bardot, and a third was later revealed to have been offered to Elizabeth II, though she declined and asked that it be donated to a British charity instead.

Yet it’s the black 1956 Chrysler Imperial limousine, complete with winged taillights, that usually garners the most attention on the average day, as it is one of a handful of custom-built American cars that had been shuttled overseas for use by the royal family. When it came to the Chrysler, Rainier III made a trip specifically to New York to take delivery of the car, and it just so happened to be in the ‘Mechanic Atelier’ during my visit. Yes, within the bounds of the shimmering museum showroom is an equally striking garage built in true Monegasque splendour. It’s not without the usual fumes of petrol and paint, but it's quite sleek and overseen by a staff of full-time (and quite dashing) mechanics whose sole mission is to keep every car in working order, should the royal family have the urge to take one for a spin. This includes my personal favorite in the garage, the 1971 Lotus Seven IV, a lowriding two-seater that would feel right at home on the set of Miami Vice. It was an ideal set of wheels for a young Albert II, and it is displayed alongside an archival image of him sporting tinted shades and a blazer embroidered with the palace crest.

Markedly more analogue, and therefore not requiring any intervention from the mechanics, is a horse drawn carriage that is surrounded by some exceptional royal lore. It was, per museum placards, a ‘surreptitious presentation’ to Princess Grace. With the 25-year-old starlet in town for the Cannes Film Festival, she had her first meeting with Rainier III, the man who would later become her husband and allow her to ascend to the role of HSH, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco. It is said that the carriage was just one part of his effort to impress the silver screen fixture. During a tour of the palace, she was also shown around the family’s private gardens and zoo, which included a few once-injured lions and tigers rehabilitating in luxury and deeply attached to the prince, so much so that he was able to reach his hand into their cages and pet them as he wished. How’s that for a first date?