In Monaco, a quiet revolution is taking shape: the bicycle. At the recent EVER Monaco forum, an event now marking its 20th year gathering minds on sustainable mobility and energy innovation, Céline Caron‑Dagioni, Minister of Equipment, Environment and Urban Planning (in charge of mobility) unveiled what might appear a simple measure, yet in Monaco’s context feels rather heroic: dedicated bike-parking zones within existing public car parks.
Carving out space in Monaco’s tightly-packed urban fabric
The Principality, compact though it may be, faces outsized mobility challenges. Its streets are narrow, parking scarce, tunnels numerous. The government has been advancing a mobility plan that leans heavily on public transport, park-and-ride strategies and “soft mobility” (walking, cycling, e-bikes) rather than simply adding more car space.
Building dedicated bike infrastructure in car parks is part of that shift. By offering secure, subscription-accessible fenced areas, both for muscle-powered and electric bicycles, at three central locations (the existing tunnel-adjacent Louis‑II car park, and soon the La Colle car park and the Stade Louis‑II car park) the authorities are signalling: bikes matter here too.
Moreover electric-bike charging stations will be part of the plan, recognising that many of those who’ll swap four wheels for two still want power assist.
The Challenge and Monaco’s scale advantage
In a territory where every square metre must pull multiple duties, finding space is a puzzle. Yet Monaco’s size also offers agility.
By relocating some car-park subscribers the government freed up room to deploy these bike-solutions. The metaphor of moving the pieces around the board is apt.
From idea to implementation
The Louis-II car park’s bike area is already underway under the tunnel. Infrastructure installation is forthcoming at La Colle and Stade Louis-II car parks.
Subscription models and pricing details are under development for next year. The State is currently working on the tariff structure.
Bigger picture: part of a layered strategy
This initiative is not an isolated gesture. It slots into Monaco’s broader mobility strategy: The newly built Les Salines car park, for example, is a paradigm of mixed-use mobility: 1,790 parking spaces, 100 electric-vehicle charging points and dedicated zones for bikes including e-bikes.
The forum itself, EVER Monaco, has pivoted in its 20th edition away from prototypes and toward real-world infrastructure and mobility systems.
Officials are also wrestling with how to ensure incentives don’t tip into unintended consequences, such as free EV charging stations being used opportunistically by non-residents.
What to watch for
How affordable will subscription rates for bike-parking be, and how accessible to non-residents or cross-border workers?How well will the bike zones be fenced, lit, monitored, and integrated into the larger parking/transport network?
Will this stay limited to a few central car parks or spread broadly across Monaco’s 40+ parking facilities?
Of course a lot depends on the uptake by residents and workers: will this entice more people to switch to cycling/e-cycling, reducing car congestion and emissions?
Imagine!
Imagine this: beneath the tunnel, the usual noise of engines gives way to the click-click of bikes being locked. E-bikes in the corner, silently waiting. The marker of change. A subscription card slides open a small gate. Pedal-powered freedom!
In Monaco, the bicycle is no longer just a tourist ride through Larvotto or a fleeting MonaBike station stop. It’s being woven into the infrastructure, the parking system, the recurring fare systems. It’s a small gesture perhaps, but in Monaco’s dense chessboard of urban mobility, even small moves count.
