Sur le Rocher (old town)
The Royal Palace :Centre de presse de Monaco built on the site of an old fortress, it houses an Italian gallery, known as Hercules’ gallery, which runs alongside the great apartments, the Throne room, the Palatine Chapel, built in the XVII century, and the Main Courtyard, where concerts by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra take place every summer.
Monaco Cathedral : Built in 1875, it houses the tombs of the deceased Princes. Inside, an altarpiece can be seen by the painter from Nice, Louis Bréa, dating back to 1500. * The Chapel of Mercy : Built in 1639, it was the seat of the Brotherhood of the Black Penitents. A piece of particular note is a wooden sculpture of Christ by the Monegasque, François-Joseph Bosio, official sculptor to Napoleon I.
The Museum of the Chapel of the Visitation : In this XVII century baroque chapel, part of the collection of religious art belonging to Mrs Barbara Piasecka-Johnson can be seen as well as paintings by Rubens and Zurbaran.
The Museum of Napoleonic Souvenirs and the Palace’s Collection of Historical Archives : It contains a collection of more than a thousand objects from the First Empire and documents concerning the Principality’s past (Charta of Independence signed by Louis XII, a letter from Louis XIV etc.).
The Oceanographic Museum : This temple to the sea, inaugurated in 1910 by its founder, Prince Albert I, is known throughout the world for its collections and particularly for its aquariums including the famous "Shark Lagoon" opened in 2001.
