Invitations
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ADMISSION FEES
First Salons : individual rate 10 € / person ; group rate 7 € / person (admission free for the guide).
Salons Privés : additional 10 € / person.
OPENING TIMES
As soon as the salons open.
CONDITIONS
No gambling permitted if no identity check has been made ; identity card or passport obligatory, minimum age 18 years. Solely for groups who come for the visit accompanied by a professional guide.
CONTACT FOR GUIDES
If a guided tour is required with the assistance of a guide employed by the Casinos de Monte-Carlo, a fee of 45 € must be paid to the “Service du Patrimoine Historique”. Telephone : +377 98 06 14 90.
CONTACT FOR GROUPS
Les Casinos de Monte-Carlo - Direction des Jeux - Place du Casino - 98000 Principality of Monaco
Telephone : + 377 98 06 23 10
HISTORY
Casino de Monte-Carlo
It’s hard to believe that in the mid-19th century, this prestigious square now known throughout the world was just a wild plateau beneath which, said the old folk, there were underwater grottos. A man of great vision, François Blanc, founder of the “Société des Bains de Mer”, transformed it completely in just under three years, by building the Casino and, a few dozen metres away, the Hôtel de Paris. Just opposite the hotel, horses and carriages found shelter in the stables.
The square was transformed, a fountain gushed from a central island, palm-trees arrived from Bordighera. All that was missing was a café worthy of the name : it was built in 1868 and named the Café Divan. The Place du Casino had thus found its definitive layout.
Atrium
In 1878, architects Charles Garnier and Dutrou were presented with a challenge : that of building in Monte-Carlo, in accordance with the wishes of Marie Blanc and in record time (seven months) an opera-house and a new Casino. Mission accomplished, and acclaimed with all due ceremony by all the celebrities who flocked to attend the inauguration. Entrusted with the work on the Atrium, Dutrou produced a magnificent vestibule whose columns supported a balustraded gallery while waiting for the gallery’s two large panels, designed by Jundt, to arrive and add the final perfect touch. As soon as one enters the Casino, you find a bright room playing host to 90 slot-machines, all extremely sohisticated and entertaining. In particular, visitors find here the famous progressive Luxor Palace machine.
Salon Europe
Historically, this was the first of the gaming rooms to be opened in Monte-Carlo. Rebuilt at the end of the 19th century by Henri Schmit, the Salon de l'Europe won the day over the former Salle Mauresque designed in 1878 by Charles Garnier. Today, it still boasts its original frescos insired by the seasons and the idyllic nature which surrounded Monaco, its sculptures and allegorical paintings, its early 20th-century carpet, all lit by eight magnificent chandeliers. These chandeliers of genuine Bohemian crystal each weigh over 150 kilos.
Salle Blanche
It was originally intended to be a conversation parlour, but due to the Casino’s success, the Salle Blanche designed in 1903 soon discovered its vocation for gambling. Which seems logical in the very year in which Camille Blanc announced that "never before had the Casino welcomed so many visitors in the winter season ". The Salle Blanche offers original (and surprising) decoration : in the features of the "Grâces Florentines" painted by Gervais, one easily recognises Cléo de Mérode, La Belle Otéro and Lyane de Pougy, very famous courtisanes of the day and regulars in the gambling rooms. Renovated in 1991, the Salle Blanche has since accommodated slot-machines.
Salles Touzet
There are two of them, their decor blending in delicate harmony and showing off to fine effect precious wood and huge paintings of pastoral scenes. Inaugurated in 1890, a blessed year which enabled the fairy called electricity to cast her glow for the very first time on Monaco’s gaming rooms, these rooms dreamt up by architect Jules Touzet were not fully decorated when players took possession of the premises. They assumed their final allure a few sculptural enhancements later, in 1891, and were refurbished in 1988 without their overall spirit being altered.
Salle Médecin
The Salle Médecin constitutes the eastern side of the Casino, reached via the restaurant "Les Privés" built on its terrace, where large picture windows look out towards the magnificent Cap Martin. The Salle Médecin, which owes its name to Monaco architect François Médecin, is also known as the Salle Empire because of its mahogany panelling chiselled in gold and the drapes that adorn it. Inaugurated in 1910, the year when Massenet’s "Don Quixote" was staged for the first time in Monaco, this room formerly hosted a private club intended to shelter the biggest gamblers from prying eyes. Nowadays, the three "Super Privés", luxurious little adjoining rooms, fulfill this delicate assignment.
