I'm not going to tell you where to have dinner on the 31st. There are a hundred lists for that, and most of them are fine. What they leave out is the part that decides how your night ends: the forty minutes after the fireworks, when you find out whether your plan for getting home was a plan or a hope.
What happened last year in Monaco
The main event is free and run by the Mairie de Monaco on the port, inside the Christmas village. For 31 December 2025, two DJ stages ran from 21:00 to 02:00, with fireworks over the harbour at midnight. Place du Casino ran its own countdown under the illuminations, and the Café de Paris terrace offered a set-menu evening for those who wanted a table instead of a dance floor.
The format isn't new. The same port-and-fireworks night was held for the arrivals of 2024 and 2025 as well, so the shape of the evening is predictable. The details for 2026–27 are published by the Mairie in December on its own page. Until then, treat last year as the template, not the promise.
What happened last year in Nice
No municipal fireworks. For 31 December 2025 the city's programme focused on the illuminations and the Christmas village, which closed early, at 19:00 on the 31st. The Métropole offered a free New Year's show at the Opéra de Nice.
In practice, Nice's New Year is informal: the Promenade and the Vieux-Nice fill up towards midnight, restaurants and hotels run their own dinners, and there is no single event everyone walks out of at the same moment. That turns out to be an advantage.
Nice has had a new municipal team since 2026, so I wouldn't assume last year's choices carry over in either direction. Check nice.fr in December. If a display is announced, everything below gets harder, not easier.
Why getting back is the real problem
Four things fail at the same time, and each one on its own would be manageable.
The last train leaves before the fireworks
On the standard timetable, the last train from Monaco towards Nice leaves a little after 23:00. I haven't found any record of special late trains on recent New Year's Eves. If the region adds any this year, they'll appear on TER Sud in December.
One more thing to watch: the night works on the Nice–Ventimiglia line, with no trains from 22:00 to 06:00 Sunday to Thursday, are scheduled to end on 11 December 2026. They have been extended before. Check the week you travel, not the month before.
There is no Uber in Monaco
Foreign ride-hailing platforms are prohibited in the Principality. An app can drop you in Monte-Carlo. It cannot pick you up there. I've explained the whole situation in Is Uber reliable in Nice?. On New Year's Eve that rule stops being a detail and becomes the whole evening.
In Nice the apps work. But New Year's Eve is the textbook case of demand outrunning the cars on the road, and app prices follow demand.
The number of taxis is fixed
Monaco caps its taxi fleet at 95 vehicles. After midnight on the 31st, every one of them is busy, and the queue is simply the queue. There is an official Taxi Monaco app, which helps you book. It does not create more cars.
In Nice, taxis run on regulated metered fares, which makes them the honest option on a night like this, when you can find one.
The roads around the port are closed
For last New Year's Eve, a government order closed the area from 18:00 on the 31st to 08:00 on the 1st: no traffic, no parking and no pedestrians in the bus lane of boulevard Albert Ier, on route de la Piscine and on the quai Albert Ier. The same closures were ordered in previous years.
In practice, no car reaches the quay. You walk out of the perimeter first, and only then does any car become useful. It's the same logic as a Grand Prix weekend, which I cover in Monaco Grand Prix 2027, on a smaller scale.
What actually works
Ranked by how little can go wrong.
- Sleep where you celebrate. If the fireworks are the point, stay within walking distance of them. A room in Monaco for one night costs more than the ride home. It also removes the ride home.
- Or celebrate where you sleep. If your hotel is in Nice, the Promenade at midnight and a walk back is a perfectly good New Year. Travelling to Monaco buys you roughly ten minutes of fireworks; decide whether that's worth the return trip before you commit to it.
- Book the car before you book the table. A licensed driver, a written booking, a pickup point agreed outside the closed perimeter and a realistic time, not 00:05. For a pickup inside Monaco, a French-registered private hire car needs a permit from Monaco's police, and the booking has to be declared in advance, so ask. How to check a driver's licence is covered in How to choose a private driver in Nice.
- If you're staying in Monaco, the night buses. The CAM runs night lines inside the Principality, and for New Year's Eve 2023 it added extra late departures. I haven't seen confirmation for recent years; check cam.mc in December. These buses stay inside Monaco. They won't get you to Nice.
What I'd avoid
- A cash ride from a stranger at 1am. New Year's Eve is the best night of the year for unlicensed drivers, because it's the night the legal options run out. No licence, no insurance that covers you, no record of who drove you.
- Driving yourself. Closed roads, a packed Basse Corniche, and the one night of the year when police checks are guaranteed.
- "We'll figure it out at midnight." At midnight there is nothing left to figure out. There are only the options you booked.
Before you plan around last year
What to check in December
- Monaco programme — mairie.mc
- Road closure order — Journal de Monaco, usually published mid-December (last year's was dated 17 December)
- Trains — TER Sud
- Nice programme — nice.fr
- Nice trams and buses — Lignes d'Azur
- Monaco buses — cam.mc
I'll update this page once the 2026–27 details are out.
Questions I get about New Year's Eve on the Riviera
Are there fireworks in Monaco on New Year's Eve?
Yes. Monaco's fireworks at midnight over Port Hercule are a fixture. For the 2025 edition, the Mairie also ran a free party in the Christmas village on the port, with two DJ stages from 21:00 to 02:00. The 2026–27 programme is published on mairie.mc in December.
Are there fireworks in Nice on New Year's Eve?
Not in 2025: the city's programme for 31 December focused on the illuminations and the Christmas village, with no municipal display. Nice has had a new municipal team since 2026, so check nice.fr in December for this year.
Is there a train from Monaco to Nice after midnight on New Year's Eve?
On the standard timetable, no: the last train from Monaco towards Nice leaves a little after 23:00. I haven't found any record of special late trains on recent New Year's Eves. Check TER Sud in December in case the region adds any.
Can I use Uber in Monaco on New Year's Eve?
No. Foreign ride-hailing platforms are prohibited in Monaco, on New Year's Eve like any other night. An app can drop you there but cannot pick you up. The options for the return are Monaco's taxis, capped at 95 vehicles, or a licensed car booked in advance.
Which roads close in Monaco on 31 December?
For last New Year's Eve, a government order closed the bus lane of boulevard Albert Ier, route de la Piscine and the quai Albert Ier to traffic, parking and pedestrians from 18:00 on the 31st to 08:00 on 1 January. The order for this year is usually published in the Journal de Monaco in mid-December.
What's the easiest way to get home after midnight?
Not needing to. Stay within walking distance of where you celebrate, or celebrate near where you're staying. Otherwise, book a licensed car in advance with a pickup point outside the closed area and a realistic pickup time.
Spending the holidays on the coast?
The rest of the winter — villages without the queue, the Christmas markets, a ski day, the February carnivals — is in Winter on the French Riviera. For a day out around the holidays, tell me your dates and I'll tell you straight what's open.