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World Rally Championship 1999 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo: Toyota Corolla, Rallye Monte-Carlo

Motorsport · World Rally Championship · Monaco

Rallye Monte-Carlo

· 95th edition Confirmed · Monaco and the French Alps (Alpes-Maritimes, Hautes-Alpes)

The World Rally Championship's January opener, run on mountain roads above the Riviera and finishing in Monaco; first held in 1911.

An event page tells you when it happens (with how sure we are of the date), why it matters, how the week around it feels, when to arrive and leave, where people stay, how access works, and which events come before and after it on the circuit.

Dates · 95th edition ConfirmedThe club states that the 95th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo will run from Monday 18 to Sunday 24 January 2027, subject to FIA approval. The seven-day window is longer than the four-day competitive weekend of recent editions and appears to cover the full operational programme; the club says the detailed route will be published in the following weeks. · 94th edition ExpectedNot yet announced. Projected from the 2026 dates (January 22–25); the organizer's pattern usually holds.
DestinationMonaco, Monaco · Monaco and the French Alps (Alpes-Maritimes, Hautes-Alpes)
CategoryMotorsport · World Rally Championship
Importance48 Regional · Circuit Score, editorial and provisional
International drawInternational
AccessOpen
Typical stay3-4 nights
Best arrivalWednesday
Best departureMonday
Typical timingthe second half of January; the opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship
OrganizerAutomobile Club de Monaco · since 1911
Official siteacm.mc/en/epreuves/rallye-automobile-monte-carlo/ ↗
CalendarAdd to calendar (ICS) · Plan a trip around it
Spectateurs au Rallye Monte-Carlo 2019 2019 Rallye Monte-Carlo, Service park 2019 Rallye Monte-Carlo, Service park Citroën C3 WRC de Sébastien Ogier au Rallye Monte-Carlo 2019

The Rallye Monte-Carlo is the oldest event in the Automobile Club de Monaco's calendar and the least Monegasque of them. Competition happens on public roads in the Alpes-Maritimes and the Hautes-Alpes, where January delivers dry asphalt, black ice and snow on the same stage, so tire choice decides results here more than anywhere else.

The modern rally runs over four days in the second half of January, opening the championship. Recent editions have based their service park inland and returned to Monaco for the finish.

01Why it matters

This is the event that made Monaco a motoring destination before the Grand Prix existed; Prince Albert I created it in 1911 to show what motor cars could do. In our reading its value today is contrarian: the one Monaco fixture where access costs nothing.

02The week around it

Monaco is quiet in January and stays quiet: the working center is inland, and the principality supplies the ceremonies and the paperwork. The interesting logistics belong to the mountain towns, where every room near the service park is taken by teams and media.

03When to arrive

Wednesday for the opening night stages, Thursday if the weekend will do. Following stages needs a car, winter tires and patience.

04Where to stay

Base in Monaco or on the coast at Nice or Menton, comfortable and out of season, and drive up to the stages; or base inland near the service park, which cuts the driving but means small hotels booked far ahead.

05Access and hospitality

Roadside spectating within marshalled zones is free, which is the essential fact about this event. The club publishes stage timings, access routes and closure times, some stages carry paid parking, and the ceremonial start and podium are public.

06Where the social activity happens

The service park, busy with teams working in the open; Casino Square and the Port Hercule quayside for the ceremonies; and the villages along the Turini route.

07Getting there

Commercial aviationNice Cote d'Azur (NCE) for the Monaco end; Grenoble or Lyon can be closer to inland stage bases.
RailMonaco-Monte-Carlo station for the ceremonies; the stages are not reachable by rail.
CarEssential. Winter equipment is required by law in the mountain departments.
Private aviationNice Cote d'Azur; January traffic is light.
HelicopterThe Nice to Monaco shuttle runs year round.
MarinasPort Hercule is quiet in January.

08Practicalities

DressGenuine winter clothing, waterproof boots and a headlamp. Spectators regularly stand for hours in freezing conditions after dark.
WeatherJanuary in the southern French Alps: cold, often clear, with snow and ice on the higher cols and dry asphalt in the valleys.
Getting aroundPlan around closures rather than distances. Stage roads shut long before the cars run and reopen only after the sweeper passes.
HotelsCoastal hotels are in low season and easy to book. Inland accommodation near the service park is the constrained resource.
RestaurantsMonaco and the coast operate normally; in the mountains, carry food to the stages.
Reservation timingInland hotels as soon as the route is published, in the autumn; coastal hotels weeks before.
TicketsWatching from marshalled roadside zones is free. Some stages carry paid access published each year; the 2027 route was unreleased in September 2026.
HospitalityNo organizer hospitality of the kind sold at Formula 1 rounds. Specialist operators sell guided spectator packages independently.

09History

Built around the concentration run, in which competitors set off from cities across Europe and converged on Monaco, a format that survived until 1997. The rally has opened the World Rally Championship from 1973 to 2008 and again since 2012, and its reputation rests on the Col de Turini stage.

10Who is there

Rally specialists who travel for it every year, manufacturer teams and their tire partners, regional French spectators in large numbers, and a small Monaco contingent.

What else is happening

Overlap finder →

Within reach

  • 15 Jan → Jan 19, 2027
    Milan · Italy · Fashion Milan Fashion Week Menswear Autumn/Winter 2027-2028 · · Autumn/Winter 2027-2028 Confirmed · 237 km
    Significant
  • 29 Jan → Feb 6, 2027
    Gstaad · Switzerland · Cultural Festivals Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad 27th edition · · 27th edition Confirmed · 304 km
    Regional
  • 12 Jan → Jan 15, 2027
    Florence · Italy · Fashion Pitti Immagine Uomo Pitti Uomo 111 · · Pitti Uomo 111 Confirmed · 307 km
    Significant
  • 15 Jan → Jan 17, 2027
    Wengen · Switzerland · Ski Lauberhorn Races 97th International Lauberhorn Races · · 97th International Lauberhorn Races Confirmed · 321 km
    Notable

The circuit continues

St. Barts, MY Southern Cross III, St. Barts New Year's Eve GustaviaSt. Barts New Year's EveDec 26 – Jan 2 Monte CarloRallye Monte-CarloJan 18–24, 2027Here DAVOS/SWITZERLAND, 22JAN07 - The making of... Impression of the new Media Center of the Annual Meeting 2007 of the World, World Economic Forum Annual Meeting DavosWorld Economic Forum Annual MeetingJan 18–22, 2027 Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel, Hahnenkamm Races KitzbühelHahnenkamm RacesJan 18–24, 2027

Dates on record

EditionDatesStatusSourceVerified
2027 · 94th edition · 94th edition ExpectedNot yet announced. Projected from the 2026 dates (January 22–25); the organizer's pattern usually holds. pattern —
2027 · 95th edition · 95th edition ConfirmedThe club states that the 95th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo will run from Monday 18 to Sunday 24 January 2027, subject to FIA approval. The seven-day window is longer than the four-day competitive weekend of recent editions and appears to cover the full operational programme; the club says the detailed route will be published in the following weeks. Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo - Automobile Club de Monaco ↗ 6 September 2026
2026 · 94th edition · 94th edition CompletedDates as published in the Automobile Club de Monaco's own event calendar. Wikipedia records that the 2026 rally ran a super special stage inside Monaco itself for the first time since 2008. Automobile Club de Monaco - event calendar ↗ 6 September 2026
Confirmed means the organizer or governing body has published the dates. Expected and Historical pattern are estimates from the event’s usual timing and can move. Date pending means nothing reliable can be said yet.

Related events

Monaco 2015 podium, Monaco Grand Prix Monte Carlo Monaco Grand Prix Jun 3–6, 2027 Automobiles in Paris, Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Monte Carlo Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Apr 1, 2028 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix Race Day 2016, Monaco E-Prix Monte Carlo Monaco E-Prix May 15–16, 2027 Images supported by Wikimedia France, Atget, Rétromobile Paris Rétromobile Jan 27–31, 2027 St Moritz, winter evening, with frozen Lake St, White Turf St. Moritz St. Moritz White Turf St. Moritz Feb 7, 2027

Sources

  1. Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, Automobile Club de Monaco official accessed 6 September 2026
  2. Automobile Club de Monaco - event calendar, Automobile Club de Monaco official accessed 6 September 2026
  3. Monte Carlo Rally, Wikipedia encyclopedia accessed 6 September 2026
Last verified: 10 September 2026 · Confidence: HighReport an error on this page