Monaco
Monaco has no freedom of panorama, requires government authorization for professional shoots, and operates a near-total drone lockdown: professional use only, with prior approval from the Direction de l'Aviation Civile.
Guidance, not legal advice
Drone Authority
Check the flight side
Photography access and drone permission are separate questions. Drone Authority covers the flight-law side for this country.
Permit
Conditional
Issuer: Prince's Government (filming authorization request via the Communication Department / Monaco Press Centre) for professional shoots
Cost: No permit for personal tourist photography; professional filming and photography require prior government authorization
Tourist photography is unrestricted in public areas. Any professional or commercial shoot in the Principality requires a prior authorization request (demande d'autorisation de prises de vues) to the Prince's Government; the Societe des Bains de Mer separately controls its properties, including the Casino de Monte-Carlo.
Drone / airspace
Effectively closed to hobbyists: only professional-use drones may fly, under an authorization and per-flight approval from the Direction de l'Aviation Civile (Law No. 1.458 of 2017 and Ministerial Decree No. 2021-532); remote-piloted aircraft over 100 g need a certificate of authorization
Flights within 150 m of the heliport are additionally restricted, and VLOS only. For detail, see Drone Authority.
Street / public space
Yes to photograph in public areas; publishing a recognizable person generally needs consent under the right to image, and Monaco's privacy enforcement is attentive
Monaco applies French-style image rights. Celebrity privacy is litigated here; commercial use of a person's likeness without consent is high risk.
Freedom of panorama
No
Law No. 491 of 24 November 1948 on the protection of literary and artistic works contains no panorama exception, so there is no statutory right to commercially exploit images of copyrighted architecture or public art. Much of the belle-epoque landmark architecture (Casino, Hotel de Paris) is out of copyright; modern developments are not.
Practical notes
- The Casino de Monte-Carlo bans photography inside the gaming rooms; the square outside is fine. SBM properties enforce their own image rules.
- During the Grand Prix (May) and major events, access, tripods, and rooftops are tightly controlled and commercial shooting without accreditation is unrealistic.
- The Rock (palace area) is fine for handheld tourist shooting; the changing of the guard draws crowds and police keep the plaza moving.
Sources
Keep shooting
Knowing the rules is half the job. The craft side: