Monaco rallied from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Chelsea and cruise into the Champions League final 5-3 on aggregate.
The French team will meet Portugal's Porto in the May 26 final in Gelsenkirchen, Germany but Chelsea had looked the more likely winners when they roared into a 2-0 lead through goals by Jesper Gronkjaer and Frank Lampard to level the tie at 3-3.
The semi-final on Wednesday turned in first-half injury time when Monaco pulled a goal back through Hugo Ibarra, and Fernando Morientes equalised on the hour to effectively settle the outcome.
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Needing three goals to progress Chelsea wilted and Monaco eased through the closing minutes to leave the London club's expensively assembled squad without a trophy this season.
"It was important to score in the first half because to finish the first half 2-0 down would have been difficult for us," Monaco coach Didier Deschamps told Sky Sports.
"We're a team that likes attacking and with a striker like Morientes it's very important. For a big game you need a big player and he's a big player.
"He played for many years at Real Madrid and he's the best player in my team. He has got a very good mentality and set an example for my younger players."
Chelsea ultimately paid the price for rash substitutions by coach Claudio Ranieri in Monaco, which turned a probable 1-1 draw into a 3-1 defeat, and the Italian looks certain to lose his job as billionaire owner Roman Abramovich continues to search for a winning formula at Stamford Bridge.
"The first half was amazing," Ranieri said. "We had the match in our hands and we conceded a goal at the end of the first half.
"The match could have finished 6-2 or 6-3. It was a great performance by Chelsea only the result was against us."
Chelsea, missing French internationals Marcel Desailly and Claude Makelele through suspension, showed plenty of courage but only briefly looked like overturning the deficit.
They hit the accelerator from the start, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen providing the threat up front and Lampard pulling the strings in midfield.
ATTEMPTED CROSS
The hosts went ahead after 22 minutes when Gronkjaer's attempted cross from the right flew into the top corner of the net for a freak goal.
Chelsea kept up the pressure and could easily have scored again, Gudjohnsen unaccountably heading Hasselbaink's cross on to the bar from point-blank range and goalkeeper Flavio Roma producing a stunning save to keep out a neat volley from Lampard.
Morientes struck the post from close range and the striker missed a simple chance to equalise but Chelsea were dominating and deservedly doubled their advantage a minute from halftime.
Mario Melchiot exchanged passes with Gudjohnsen and his layoff found the surging Lampard who struck the ball sweetly into the corner from 10 metres.
Monaco were stunned but deep into first-half stoppage time they struck a decisive blow.
Midfielder Jerome Rothen found space down the left and his cross was headed against the post by Morientes to be turned over the line by Ibarra from point-blank range.
Monaco were lifted and they effectively settled the tie on the hour when Morientes, on loan from Real Madrid, played a neat one-two with Lucas Bernadi and smashed the ball under Carlo Cudicini into the net. The goal consolidated his position as the Champions League's leading scorer this season.
Monaco became the first French side to reach the European Cup final since Olympique Marseille, with Deschamps playing in midfield, won the competition in 1993.
The final brings together two relatively small European clubs who have eliminated some of the continent's elite sides, with Porto claiming the scalp of Manchester United and Monaco knocking out Real Madrid.
"I didn't think it was possible (to win the Champions League) at the beginning of the season but now we have got a 50-50 chance with Porto," Deschamps said.
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