Five-star hotels near Monaco: Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

Between Monaco and Menton

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin lies between Monaco and Menton and borders the Principality: its old village is 2 km from Monaco and 6 km from Menton. The commune covers 9.33 km², and INSEE counted 12,037 residents in 2023. It has several distinct parts: the perched old village; the Cap Martin headland, lined with villas; and Carnolès, the eastern district, where the schools are.

The place is old. Conrad I, Count of Ventimiglia, founded Roquebrune around 970, originally as Roccabruna, to protect his western border, and the town dates the castle above the village to the same period. The modern resort came later: the area became fashionable in the 1920s and 1930s, and in 1929 Coco Chanel bought a plot in the commune and had her villa, La Pausa, built there.

The contrast between those two eras is what makes the commune worth more than a night on the way to Monaco. In one day you can climb through vaulted medieval lanes and then walk a shoreline path past a UNESCO-listed cabin by Le Corbusier.

Roquebrune village and its castle

The old village is perched more than 200 m above the sea, and its steep lanes, stone stairways and vaulted passages still reflect a defensive layout. At the top is the castle, which the town describes as one of the oldest keeps still standing in France. A visit covers more than 1,000 years of history, from the lords of Ventimiglia to the Republic of Genoa and the Grimaldis, and from the ramparts the view reaches across the bay of Monaco, Cap Martin and the beaches of the Golfe Bleu.

The village's other landmark is its thousand-year olive tree, which the town puts at about 1,800 to 2,200 years old. The church of Sainte-Marguerite holds a reproduction of Michelangelo's Last Judgement.

Reaching the village is part of the outing. The town lists ZEST bus lines 21 and 24, stopping at Le Lavoir, and a footpath, the chemin de Menton, that climbs from the centre of Carnolès. Allow for stairs: the lanes are steep, and the town advises comfortable shoes and, in summer, water.

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin hotels: The Maybourne Riviera

The Maybourne Riviera is at 1551 route de La Turbie. The hotel describes its modernist architecture as emerging from the rocky peninsula of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, and every suite and studio has a private balcony with sweeping views of the Mediterranean. The Atout France register records 65 rooms, which matches the 65 suites and studios the hotel announces, and its five-star classification is recent, dated 13 May 2026. Three rooms are adapted for guests with reduced mobility.

Surrenne Riviera, the hotel's wellbeing club, is presented as a wellbeing and longevity destination, and guests have full access during their stay. Daily English breakfast is served in the suite or studio or at the Riviera Restaurant, a panoramic sea-view dining room with seasonal Mediterranean cooking. abc kitchens riviera by Chef Jean-Georges is on the top floor, and La Môme Riviera is the hotel's beach club and restaurant beside the sea.

In-room dining runs around the clock. Wi-Fi, soft drinks and snacks from the minibar, and a programme of activities and masterclasses are included. A complimentary shuttle runs to and from Monaco and to the private beach club, where sun loungers are included in the summer season, subject to availability.

Cap Martin and the Sentier Le Corbusier

The Sentier Le Corbusier follows the coast of Cap Martin for about 2 km, a balcony above the Mediterranean between rocks, pine woods and turquoise coves. The town grades it easy to moderate on a maintained path and allows an hour to an hour and a half, depending on pace; it can be reached on foot directly from Roquebrune-Cap-Martin station.

The path passes Cap Moderne, the group of buildings that made this shore a reference in 20th-century architecture. Villa E-1027 was designed between 1926 and 1929 by the Irish designer Eileen Gray with the architect Jean Badovici. Next to it, Le Corbusier built his Cabanon in 1952: 14 m² that became a worldwide reference for minimal living. The Étoile de Mer, a former bar-restaurant, dates from 1949, and the Unités de camping, experiments in compact housing, complete the ensemble. The Cabanon was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016 as part of the architectural work of Le Corbusier.

The town calls the path practicable all year, with spring and autumn offering the best light and temperatures. Visiting the buildings themselves is a separate matter, covered in the questions below.

Hotels near Monaco: staying on the French side

For travellers looking at hotels near Monaco, hotels in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin put the Principality on the doorstep while keeping a French address, a castle village and a cape of its own. By train, Monaco-Monte-Carlo is the next station west of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin on the coast line. On foot, the town describes the Sentier Le Corbusier as linking Roquebrune-Cap-Martin to Monaco. If you are weighing addresses on both sides of the border, our guide on how to compare five-star hotels before booking sets out what to check.

The commune is also the meeting point of the coast roads. The three Corniches link Nice and Menton: the Basse Corniche along the shore, the Moyenne Corniche slightly inland and the Grande Corniche along the upper slopes. The Moyenne and Grande Corniches rejoin the Basse Corniche at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, which then continues to the Italian border at Menton.

Westwards, beyond Monaco, the railway and the Basse Corniche lead to the Greek-style Villa Kérylos in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild gardens in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and, further on, Nice and its airport. Our French Riviera page gathers the five-star hotels along the whole coast.

When to go: the Passion procession and the summer season

Roquebrune keeps a religious tradition more than five centuries old. On the afternoon of 5 August each year a procession presents the main scenes of the Passion in six tableaux, in fulfilment of a vow made in 1467 during an epidemic of plague. It is a date worth knowing if you plan a stay in early August.

Summer is also the season of the sea: the listed hotel's beach club includes sun loungers for guests in the summer season, and the Cap Moderne buildings open to guided visits from spring to autumn. In hot weather the town advises walking the coastal path in the cooler hours of the day.