Drivers in Monaco are running out of places to fill up, with Fontvieille’s Esso station set to close permanently on Monday, August 31, becoming the second petrol station in the wider area to shut its doors in recent years, following the 2023 closure of the Total station on Cap-d’Ail’s Moyenne Corniche.
The station, located on Avenue des Castelans at the foot of Stade Louis-II, has been a fixture of the neighbourhood for close to five decades, opening around the same time Fontvieille itself first took shape as a district. No official reason has been given for the closure.
News of the shutdown first reached customers through a simple notice taped to the pumps, rather than any formal announcement. The employee who has managed the shop for the past 40 years said the decision had felt inevitable for some time, and confirmed he intends to retire once the station finally closes. He described having grown used to disappointed regulars asking why the station was closing, many of whom, he said, had relied on it precisely because of how convenient it was.