5 Best Sights in Monaco

Perched dramatically on a cliff, this museum is a splendid Edwardian structure, built under Prince Albert I to house specimens collected on amateur explorations, including Jacques Cousteau–led missions from 1957 to 1988. The main floor exhibits the skeletons and taxidermy of enormous sea creatures, early submarines and diving gear dating to the Middle Ages, and a few interactive science displays. The main draw is the famous aquarium, a vast complex of backlighted tanks containing more than 6,000 species of fish, crab, and eel in pools running 100–450,000 liters.

In this impressive assemblage of Prince Rainier's vintage cars, you'll find everything from a De Dion Bouton to a Lamborghini Countach. Also on the Terrasses de Fontvieille is the Jardin Animalier (Animal Garden), a mini-zoo housing the Grimaldi family's animal collection—an astonishing array of wild beasts that includes monkeys and exotic birds.

Added to the city in the 1990s, this seawater-therapy treatment center stretches between the landmark Hôtel de Paris and its sister, the Hermitage, and can be accessed directly from either hotel. Within its sleek, multilevel complex you can pursue every creature comfort, from underwater massage and seaweed body wraps to a 50-minute Monte-Carlo Foot Cocooning Massage (€160) in one of the 37 treatment rooms—almost all with views over the port. This is also the only spot in Europe offering crotherapy, a treatment where you spend a couple of minutes in two cold chambers at -60°C and then -110°C, and is said to help with jet lag, sleep disorders, and anti-aging. You'll definitely want to indulge in the outdoor hot tub afterward and enjoy an elegant spa lunch at L'Hirondelle as you thaw.

Take the elevator down from Place des Moulins to the NMNM, which houses two museums, each of which hosts two exhibitions a year. One of the surviving buildings from the Belle Époque, Villa Sauber, with its rose garden, is in the Larvotto Beach complex, which has been artfully created with imported sand. The Villa Paloma (next door to the Jardin Exotique) was recently restored with fabulous stained-glass windows.

In the true spirit of the town, it seems that the Salle Garnier Opera House, with its 18-ton gilt-bronze chandelier and extravagant frescoes, is part of the casino complex. The designer, Charles Garnier, also built the Paris Opéra, so we are talking one fabulous jewel box. On display are some of the coast's most significant performances of dance, opera, and orchestral music.