Research by the Surface Nanoscience group led by Professor Castell and collaborators at the French National Center for Scientific Research as reported in in Physical Review B, presents a new structure of Nb2O3 monolayer with a honeycomb lattice. The structure is stabilized by a strong interaction between the Nb2O3 film and the Au(111) substrate. High-resolution STM images, supported by simulations, are able to discriminate between Nb atoms adsorbed in fcc or hcp hollow sites on the Au(111) substrate. This two-dimensional oxide enriches the family of oxide monolayers of M2O3 stoichiometry on metal substrates and raises the enticing prospect of the creation of mixed cation AxB2-xO3 (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 2) honeycomb structures.