Why Monaco’s elite are escaping across the border for weekend retreats

Monaco’s residents are finding their perfect escape just over the border. With space at a premium in the principality, wealthy buyers are snapping up French Riviera villas for weekend retreats, private gardens, and the lifestyle they can’t get in Monte-Carlo...

At almost €53,820 (£46,970) per square metre, it would be fair to say that the greatest luxury in Monaco’s property market is space. And – even with a limitless budget – buyers looking in the principality will find it near-impossible to secure a large private villa and grounds in a market dominated by heavily overlooked apartment blocks.

The solution? Many residents who move to Monaco for its tax haven status find themselves buying a home just over the border into the South of France to create a two-tier lifestyle.

Princess Grace was an early adopter of the trend; the Hollywood princess spent much of her downtime away from Monaco, relaxing at Les Moulins du Villars, a country house inland, while Sir Roger Moore left the UK in 1978 to live in Monaco, with a second property in the South of France.

When Alexander Kraft, CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty France – Monaco, moved to Monaco two decades ago, the principality did not allow residents to own property in France. That rule was later relaxed, and he bought a country estate to supplement his Monaco apartment.

Today he estimates that a quarter to a third of residents do the same. “Monaco is usually quite empty at the weekends because the residents want to get away for more space and a change of scenery,” he says. “It’s like people from London going to the Cotswolds, or to the Hamptons from New York.”

Usually, says Kraft, residents start by renting a Monaco property. If they like the lifestyle, they go on to buy and renovate an apartment. The French home is the final piece of the jigsaw. “They want big acreage and all the amenities – swimming pool, horses, tennis courts,” he says.

Marie-Claire Sangouard, managing director of Engel & Völkers Côte d’Azur, finds that many people buy a second property just a few kilometres across the border into France to make commuting easy, particularly if they have children at one of the principality’s outstanding schools. “They do it just to have a garden, for less noise – there is a lot of construction work in Monaco, which is uncomfortable – and for space,” she says.

The trend is so marked that Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, 13 kilometres west of the principality, is even nicknamed the garden of Monaco, she says. Other popular options are the resort towns of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin or Cap-d’Ail, both a 20-minute drive from Monte-Carlo.

The vast majority of Sangouard’s buyers opt for a villa of 232 square metres or more, and would expect to pay from €4 million in sophisticated Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, or from €2 million in one of the smaller towns.

Alex Balkin, head of French Riviera for Savills, said Monaco residents want a bolthole that represents a change from life in the principality and tend to have a budget around €5 million.

“You don’t get much bang for your buck in Monaco, and it is a bit vertical,” he says. “They are used to having bigger places with a lot of space, so Monaco can feel a bit claustrophobic. They want space, peace and greenery.”

Most second homes Balkin sells are within an hour’s drive, which makes the Var region, between Marseilles and Cannes, the go-to option. “They go to places with less urban feel,” Balkin says.

To qualify for Monaco residency – and its tax advantages – means spending at least 183 nights per year there, but this leaves plenty of time for weekends and holidays at a countryside escape.

First published in the October 2025 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.