Cinema in Monaco: the back story

About Cinema in Monaco: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Monaco Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Monaco is small, but it has a soft spot for the movies. Its cinema sits inside the Théâtre Princesse Grace, named after the Hollywood star who married the Prince of Monaco in 1956, and every summer a huge open-air screen goes up at the foot of the Rock.

From Hollywood to the Principality

Grace Kelly was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars when she filmed To Catch a Thief on the Riviera in 1954. Two years later she married the Prince of Monaco and gave up acting, and the Principality has kept a special place for her ever since. The theatre on avenue d’Ostende carries her name: the Théâtre Princesse Grace.

A cinema in the theatre

Monaco’s indoor cinema, the Cinéma des Beaux-Arts, is inside the Théâtre Princesse Grace at 12 avenue d’Ostende. It shows new releases all year, some in French and some in their original language with French subtitles, marked “VO STF” in the listings (cinemas2monaco.com).

Every summer a huge open-air screen goes up at the foot of the Rock, with the sea a few steps away.

Films under the stars

In summer the Monaco Open Air Cinema sets up on the Terrasse du Parking des Pêcheurs, on avenue de la Quarantaine. Its organisers call the 220 m² screen the largest open-air screen in Europe; there are about 500 cushioned seats and a bar for drinks and snacks, and the films are shown in their original language with French subtitles. For 2026 a new 4K laser projector was installed, and the season ran until 6 September (Monaco Life).

Our tips

For an evening at the Open Air Cinema, arrive early to choose your seat and bring a light jacket, as the breeze off the sea can be cool late at night. Both cinemas share one website, cinemas2monaco.com, with the week’s programme and the version of each film.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Cinema in Monaco: the back story before you go.