Football
Monaco's premier league football (US: soccer) club is the ASM or Association Sportive de Monaco. Their home ground is the Stade Louis II stadium, in Fontvieille, at the western end of Monaco.
The Monegasque team play in the French Ligue 1 and are consistently one of the top teams.
The players are roughly half French and half international. Their recent successes have included runner-up in the UEFA Champions League 2004 and winner of the French League 2003. They finished 3rd in the league in both 2004 and 2005, and have been languishing just above the middle of the table ever since. Lyon have dominated the league in recent years with straight wins from 2004 on.
Team colours are red and white. The team attracts a lot of support from Monaco, obviously, but also from France, and the stadium is well attended for high profile matches. Average attendance is about 10,000 supporters. For a Brit the crowd atmosphere may seem a little subdued on the whole. But there was no shortage of celebrations when Monaco won the French League in 2003 and as they progressed through the final stages of the Champions League in the 2004 season.
Getting there
As with any football game, the further away you park, the less hassle you face, in terms of parking and traffic jams. Many park their cars as soon as they enter Monaco (from the western, Nice, end), in a car park or on or beside the pavement.
Walking down to the match is very quick - it's about 1000 steps in a series of winding sets of stairs that lead down to Fontvieille. Takes ten minutes, follow the crowds.
The way up is a slightly different matter. There are many staircases in Monaco and they all look pretty similar to the uninitiated. So try to remember the name of a building, staircase, car park or road near your car before you head off, so you can ask someone later. If you don't fancy the 30 minute aerobic workout, use the lifts and escalators.
If you're arriving by plane or train see the transport page.
Monaco's premier league football (US: soccer) club is the ASM or Association Sportive de Monaco. Their home ground is the Stade Louis II stadium, in Fontvieille, at the western end of Monaco.
The Monegasque team play in the French Ligue 1 and are consistently one of the top teams.
The players are roughly half French and half international. Their recent successes have included runner-up in the UEFA Champions League 2004 and winner of the French League 2003. They finished 3rd in the league in both 2004 and 2005, and have been languishing just above the middle of the table ever since. Lyon have dominated the league in recent years with straight wins from 2004 on.
Team colours are red and white. The team attracts a lot of support from Monaco, obviously, but also from France, and the stadium is well attended for high profile matches. Average attendance is about 10,000 supporters. For a Brit the crowd atmosphere may seem a little subdued on the whole. But there was no shortage of celebrations when Monaco won the French League in 2003 and as they progressed through the final stages of the Champions League in the 2004 season.
Getting there
As with any football game, the further away you park, the less hassle you face, in terms of parking and traffic jams. Many park their cars as soon as they enter Monaco (from the western, Nice, end), in a car park or on or beside the pavement.
Walking down to the match is very quick - it's about 1000 steps in a series of winding sets of stairs that lead down to Fontvieille. Takes ten minutes, follow the crowds.
The way up is a slightly different matter. There are many staircases in Monaco and they all look pretty similar to the uninitiated. So try to remember the name of a building, staircase, car park or road near your car before you head off, so you can ask someone later. If you don't fancy the 30 minute aerobic workout, use the lifts and escalators.
If you're arriving by plane or train see the transport page.
