Grocery shopping in Monaco: how it works and how to spend less

The shape of the problem

A newcomer's grocery bill in Monaco is usually high for one reason that has nothing to do with the Principality's reputation: they shop in the wrong format. Monaco has a single hypermarket, tucked into the Fontvieille Shopping Centre, and a dozen small neighbourhood stores everywhere else. Small stores cost more per item in every French town; here they happen to be the ones nearest to most flats.

The retailers themselves are ordinary. Every supermarket in the Principality belongs to a French group — Carrefour, Système U, Spar, Intermarché or Casino — and sells its usual ranges at its usual catalogue prices, with French VAT (5.5% on most food, 20% on alcohol and non-food). The store map is in Supermarkets in Monaco: which store for which shop; this page is about how to use it well.

Five habits that lower the bill

1. Do the big shop at the hypermarket. Carrefour Fontvieille (27 avenue Albert II) is the only place in Monaco with hypermarket pricing, own-brand depth and multipacks, and it opens Monday to Saturday 8am–9.30pm and Sunday 8am–7pm. Bus lines 3, 4 and 6 stop outside; the 580-space car park is free for the first hour. Use the neighbourhood stores for top-ups, not for the weekly trolley.

2. Buy produce at the markets, before noon. The Marché de la Condamine and the Marché de Monte-Carlo are where residents buy fruit, vegetables, fish and cheese. Both open every day of the year; produce stalls trade until 12pm (Condamine) and 1pm (Monte-Carlo). The Mairie's official trader list labels each fruit-and-vegetable stall as producteur or revendeur — buying from a grower is the market's real price advantage. Both markets deliver free to Monaco residents, Monday to Saturday 7.30am–2pm (Condamine +377 93 30 63 94, Monte-Carlo +377 93 25 46 45). Note that the Condamine hall interior is closed for works until early 2027; the traders are on the square.

3. Use the loyalty cards you already have. French Carrefour, U, Intermarché and Casino cards work in the Monaco stores, and the promotions in the French catalogues apply here too.

4. Order online for the heavy things. Marché U at 7 boulevard d'Italie runs the Principality's only supermarket Drive (order on coursesu.com, collect at the store, free customer parking) and a home-delivery service on a chosen slot, paid on delivery. Water, drinks and household bulk are the obvious candidates.

5. Cross the border only for what Monaco does not have. Picard (rue du Marché, Beausoleil), a Monoprix or a discounter — none exists in the Principality. For everything else the same chain charges the same price on either side, and the walk or drive costs you time rather than saving money.

Sunday and the small print

• Sunday. Carrefour Fontvieille (8am–7pm), Carrefour Market on boulevard Albert Ier and Intermarché Express (morning) open; the Spar in the Métropole is closed and the two Marché U stores publish Monday-to-Saturday hours only. The markets open every day.
• Bags. Single-use plastic carrier bags have been banned in Monaco since 2016; bring your own.
• Payment. Cards and contactless everywhere, including most market stalls.
• Organic. Côté Bio (8 rue de Millo) and Solis Bio at the Condamine market, plus the "bio" ranges of Carrefour and U. Expect the usual organic premium, not a Monaco one.
• Italian products. Marché U's Il Bel Paese range and the Italian counters at both markets; Ventimiglia's Friday market is the classic day trip for Italian groceries.

What a realistic budget looks like

We do not publish a euro-per-month figure, because the honest answer depends almost entirely on the split between hypermarket, market and convenience shopping described above rather than on Monaco itself. If you shop the way this page suggests, plan on a French Riviera grocery budget; if you shop entirely in the nearest neighbourhood store, plan on a Paris-centre one. Where groceries sit inside a full household budget — rent, charges, transport, dining — is covered in the cost of living guide and the budget tips.

Related pages

• Supermarkets in Monaco: which store for which shop
• Supermarkets in Monaco: the complete list
• Markets in Monaco · Condamine Market
• Food delivery in Monaco