What’s the difference between Monaco and Monte-Carlo?

Monte-Carlo is the most famous of the Principality of Monaco’s districts. It is named after Prince Charles III, who was behind its construction in the nineteenth century.

Monte-Carlo is one of the nine districts that make up the city state of Monaco. Originally, this district covering around 80 hectares accounted for 21% of the Principality’s territory and was known as the Spélugues plateau, after the Monegasque name for the caves located there. It was an arid, wild place where olive and carob trees grew alongside a handful of fruit trees and a few vines. In the nineteenth century, it was renamed Monte-Carlo in honour of Prince Charles III, who had initiated the complete transformation of this part of Monaco.

With its luxurious gardens, its roads, its gas lighting and the imminent arrival of the railway, the district’s appearance changed dramatically. It needed a new name, since Spélugues was the target of mockery – some people associated the name with the German word Spelunke (a dodgy bar) or the old French spélonque (a rough area).

By an ordinance issued on 1 July 1866, the Spélugues district officially became Monte-Carlo (Mount Charles).

2019 saw the arrival of One Monte-Carlo as a new addition to the premium commercial and residential district.

Designed by urban architect and Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Sir Richard Rogers, the complex offers 1,445 m² dedicated to business tourism and events, 37 luxuriously appointed apartments and a dozen high-end stores in the very heart of the city.