The stretch of Avenue Princesse Grace between the SeaClub (Sea Club) and the Monte‑Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort has become a canvas for a subtle but significant shift in mobility and urban design. Roads? Yes, but not just roads. It’s mobility re-imagined.
A lane less travelled for a while
From 13 October 2025 until 19 December 2025, traffic along this key portion of the avenue has been restricted to a single lane, operated on an alternating basis. For drivers accustomed to smooth flow through this luxury strip, it will require a little patience. Authorities are encouraging a detour via the parallel Boulevard du Larvotto to ease delays.
Why this disruption? Because the work is foundation-setting for the way the principality manoeuvres its mobility future: wider pavements, continuous cycle paths, new charging points for electric taxis and buses, a “green wall” and additional green spaces tucked into this densely built-up zone.
But it’s more than just roadworks
At the recent EVER Monaco mobility & energy transition forum (October 2025), Prince Albert made plain that the principality intends to press ahead towards greater carbon-free mobility and not coast on past laurels.
So the works on Avenue Princesse Grace are far from cosmetic. They’re part of the broader shift from “bling boulevard” to “mobility boulevard”.
What to expect
Here are some of the tangible changes:
Wider sidewalks + continuous cycle paths: The redesign aims to encourage walking and cycling
Electric taxi and bus charging infrastructure: By installing charging stations for electric taxis and buses, Monaco is making its public transport and ride services part of the low-carbon future.
Tree-lined green wall and new green spaces: Amid the high-rise residential towers and luxury hotels, green pockets will soften the built environment and offer fresher air in one of Europe’s densest places.
Parking reconfiguration: Forty-five two-wheeler (motorcycle/scooter) spaces will be moved to the nearby Testimonio car park, freeing up public space and reducing clutter on the avenue.
Bus manoeuvre improvements: The roadway near Sea Club is being widened so that buses can still operate efficiently — turn and stop — even during future phases of work. This safeguards public transport service reliability.
For motorists, cyclists and pedestrians: a short-term nuisance, long-term payoff
Yes, the alternating traffic means slowed journeys and perhaps a moment’s frustration if you’re used to gliding along. But the authorities urge using the Boulevard du Larvotto detour and adjusting times accordingly. Over the long term, the payoff is a neighbourhood that moves more fluidly, welcomes softer forms of mobility, and contests congestion rather than being hamstrung by it.
A neighbourhood in transition
It’s worth remembering where this is: Avenue Princesse Grace sits in the Larvotto ward of Monaco, a stretch renowned worldwide (indeed cited as one of the most expensive streets globally) for its luxury residences and sea-edge allure. What we’re seeing now is an overlay of urban-mobility ambition atop that luxe base: small but meaningful reinventions of how space is used, how people move and how the city treats its public realm.
