Restoration and extension of Villa Sauber: A key milestone for the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco

This major project, which will run from September 2026 to September 2029, will take the museum to a whole new level: the Villa’s floor area will increase from around 600 m² to over 4,000 m². This major extension, together with the restoration of the existing building, will provide the ideal setting to showcase the museum’s collections, which will now be on permanent display, and to revitalise the programme with major temporary exhibitions.

Much more than just an exhibition space, the future Villa Sauber is designed as a cultural ecosystem open to all. A true hub for gathering and sharing, the venue incorporates new communal spaces: a library and educational workshops, an auditorium, a café and a redesigned landscaped garden.

A public space accessible to all during the museum’s opening hours, this garden plays a vital role in the project: it acts as a genuine link between the Villa and its extension. Built in stages, it will feature a stone forecourt, a central clearing, an orangery, as well as rose bushes and jasmine. An exotic wooded edge will frame the classical garden and create a green filter that screens out the urban surroundings.

With a view to starting work next September, teams from the Urban Planning Department have already begun salvaging trees and plants from the existing garden for replanting. Most of the citrus trees have been replanted on the central reservation of Avenue Princesse Grace and in the gardens of the Fairmont terraces.

The project also includes improvements to accessibility for people with reduced mobility, with the provision of accessible footpaths between Avenue Princesse Grace and Boulevard Larvotto. Throughout the works, the walkway will remain open to the public, apart from three brief closures, each lasting two weeks.

The installation of the storage facilities for the New National Museum of Monaco beneath Mareterra Hill, scheduled to begin in 2028, will further this new momentum, ensuring that the national collections are now housed within Monegasque territory.