Laundry in Monaco: how residents actually get it done

The one thing to know first

Monaco has no self-service laundromat. Visitors arrive expecting a laverie on every corner, as in France or Italy, and find none: the Principality's laundry economy runs on the washing machine in your flat and on a handful of professional pressings, most of them family firms that have cleaned the wardrobes of Monte-Carlo for decades. Once you know this, organising your laundry is simple. This guide covers each option, what it costs and when to plan ahead. For the full address list by district, see Pressings in Monaco; for repairs and alterations, see Tailors and alterations.

Washing at home

Almost every apartment in Monaco, including furnished short-term rentals, has a washing machine or at least the plumbing for one, usually in the kitchen or bathroom rather than a separate utility room. Tumble dryers are rarer: flats are compact, and the climate dries a load on a rack or balcony in a few hours for most of the year. Two practical points:

• Furnished rentals. Make sure the machine is listed on the inventory signed at check-in. If it is, a breakdown is the owner's problem; if it is not, it may become yours. See Furnished rentals in Monaco.
• Detergent and supplies. Every supermarket in the Principality stocks the full French range (Carrefour at Fontvieille has the widest choice); see Supermarkets in Monaco. Prices are those of a French hypermarket.

Building regulations in many residences restrict hanging washing visibly from balconies facing the street; check the règlement de copropriété or ask the concierge before stringing a line.

The pressings

A Monaco pressing does three things: dry cleaning (nettoyage à sec), wet cleaning and ironing of shirts and household linen (blanchisserie), and usually small repairs. Three firms cover the Principality.

Net Express is the historic name, a Monegasque family business whose first shop opened in 1966. Boutiques in the Palais de la Scala gallery at 1 avenue Henry Dunant (+377 93 50 96 96, next to the Hôtel Hermitage) and in Le Continental on Place des Moulins (+377 97 70 25 41); directories also list a counter at 15 boulevard d'Italie. All open Monday to Friday 8:30–18:00 without a lunch break and are closed on Saturday, which catches newcomers out. Standard turnaround is four working days; a 48-hour express costs 50 % more. Collection and delivery are free within Monaco, booked online. Its seven-stage process, couture and wedding-dress cleaning, leather, fur, handbags, carpets and curtains make it the default for anything valuable. Website: net-express-monaco.com.

Monaco Pressing has two shops, at 9 rue Plati (+377 93 25 51 00) and 9 avenue des Papalins in Fontvieille (+377 92 05 74 80), and specialises in yachts, villas and private households: dry cleaning, wet cleaning, table linen, and a collection round that runs from Monaco to Nice. Contact: contact@monacopressing.fr, monacopressing.fr.

Pressing de Fontvieille sits inside the Centre Commercial de Fontvieille at 27 avenue Albert II (+377 92 05 70 30). It is the one with long hours, Monday to Saturday 8:30–20:00, and it combines dry cleaning, laundry and alterations under one roof, convenient when you are already doing the weekly shop at Carrefour.

A smaller independent, Press Net, trades at 1 avenue Saint-Laurent near the Larvotto end of Monte-Carlo.

What it costs

Net Express is the only Monaco pressing to publish a price list, which makes it the useful benchmark:

So a two-piece suit comes to 24 €, and a week of five shirts to 40 €. Those are Monte-Carlo prices, but collection is free and the work is done in the firm's own 2,000 m² plant rather than behind the counter.

The nearest laundromat

If you have no machine, the closest self-service laundry is Azur Laverie, 10 boulevard de la République, Beausoleil, open every day 7:00–22:30 (tel. +33 6 52 06 14 09). Boulevard de la République runs parallel to Monaco's boulevard des Moulins a little higher up the hill, on the far side of the border street, so from Place des Moulins or the Saint-Charles church it is a few minutes uphill on foot. Bring coins or a card as instructed on the machines; prices are not published. Other laundromats exist in Beausoleil and in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, but this is the one within walking distance of Monte-Carlo. See also Beausoleil for Monaco residents.

Yachts, villas and hotels

Crew laundry is a trade of its own. Both Net Express and Monaco Pressing collect from the ports and handle the volumes of guest linen a charter turnaround generates; book before the season, because the days around the Monaco Yacht Show and the Grand Prix are the busiest of the year. Hotel guests can use in-house laundry at every four- and five-star property, with same-day return at a steep premium; a pressing collection is far cheaper for anything more than an emergency shirt.

Planning around the calendar

• Grand Prix fortnight (late May into June): every pressing is saturated by teams, hospitality and crews. Drop evening wear in early.
• August: some counters shorten hours while the plant runs; allow an extra day.
• Gala season: the Rose Ball in March, the Red Cross Gala in July and National Day on 19 November fill the couture-cleaning diary; a 48-hour express exists but costs half again. See Dress codes in Monaco.
• Saturday: only Pressing de Fontvieille is open. Plan Net Express drops for weekdays.

Related reading

• Pressings in Monaco: addresses, hours and prices by district
• Tailors, alterations and formal wear
• Quick alterations before an event
• Your first month in Monaco
• Centre Commercial de Fontvieille