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Paved in marble, the vast entrance hall is surrounded by 28 Ionic columns. The atrium links the casino with the Salle Garnier, and its grandeur gives a hint of what awaits within.

Named after the architect, the concert hall is lavishly turned out in red and gold, its walls adorned with frescoes and encrusted with bas-reliefs .

The wall painting in the White Room, Graces of Florence , depicts three muses said to represent 19th-century French courtesans, Cleo de Merode, Liane de Pougy and Otero.

The ceiling is the most noteworthy feature of the casino’s smoking room. It is decorated with voluptuous, cigar-smoking female nudes whose gaze, according to legend, follows you around the room.

This large room filled with roulette tables is the main gaming room. Its belle époque finery imitates the high style of the Italian Renaissance.

The opulent Salle Europe, where roulette is again the featured game, is lit by eight huge chandeliers of glittering Bohemian crystal.

The Salle Médecin, Salle de l’Empire and Salle Touzet are the casino’s private rooms. Behind closed doors the high rollers gather, in surroundings of gilded mahogany.

In summer, gaming moves to the Salle des Palmiers, a contemporary building with fine views of the sea from its lovely bars and terraces.

Opposite the casino are the magnificent flower gardens, immaculate lawns and lily pools of the Casino Gardens, sloping up towards Monaco’s most exclusive shopping area (see Casino Gardens, Monaco).

King Edward VII was a regular customer to the belle époque café in front of the casino, first known as the Café Divan. In the 1930s, while retaining its original façade, it was transformed into an Art Deco triumph and was lovingly renovated again in 1988 (see Café de Paris, Monte Carlo).