Monaco: Six Attractions and Natural Wonders

The world's second-smallest country

Monaco, wedged onto a sliver of the French Riviera between the Alps and the Mediterranean, is the world's second-smallest country (after Vatican City) and its most densely populated — about 38,000 people in barely two square kilometres, kept afloat since the 19th century by a casino that saved the ruling Grimaldi family from bankruptcy and, since then, by finance, real estate, and glamour rather than gambling revenue alone (Monégasque citizens are in fact barred from the casino floor). It has been ruled by the same family for over 700 years.

The six below can be covered in a single dense day, on foot or by the free public lifts and escalators that climb the principality's steep terrain. It is mild year-round; the Grand Prix in May is the busiest and most expensive time to visit.

1. The Prince's Palace

The Prince's Palace, on the rocky promontory of Monaco-Ville, has been the seat of the House of Grimaldi since 1297 — one of the longest-ruling dynasties in Europe. State apartments are open to visitors in summer, and the daily changing of the guard at 11:55am is a reliable free spectacle. The old town around it keeps narrow medieval lanes largely untouched by the modernity of the rest of the principality.

The palace square gives sweeping views over the harbour and coast.

2. The Casino de Monte-Carlo

Opened in 1863 to rescue the Grimaldi family's finances after they lost territory to France, the Casino de Monte-Carlo became so profitable that Monégasque citizens have paid no income tax since 1869 — and are themselves banned from gambling inside it. Its Belle Époque gaming rooms, designed in part by the architect of the Paris Opéra, can be toured by paying visitors outside gaming hours, even without playing a hand.

The surrounding Casino Square, with the Café de Paris and Hôtel de Paris, is Monaco's most photographed corner.

3. The Monaco Grand Prix circuit

Since 1929, Monaco has hosted the most prestigious race on the Formula 1 calendar, run not on a purpose-built track but through the ordinary streets of the principality — past the harbour, through the famous Casino Square hairpin, and into a tunnel beneath the Fairmont hotel. Even outside race week, you can walk or drive the circuit and recognise its landmarks, with kerbstones and barriers left permanently in place at some corners.

Hotel and viewing prices during the May race weekend are among the highest of any sporting event in the world.

4. The Oceanographic Museum

Built into the cliff below the palace, the Oceanographic Museum was founded in 1910 by Prince Albert I, an avid marine explorer in his own right, and later directed for three decades by Jacques Cousteau. It holds a large aquarium of Mediterranean and tropical species, historic exploration equipment, and whale skeletons, and its rooftop terrace gives one of the best views in the principality.

It remains a working research institution as well as a museum.

5. The Cathedral of Monaco

The Cathedral of Monaco, a white Romanesque-Byzantine church completed in 1875, holds the tombs of Monaco's princes, including Rainier III and his wife, American actress Grace Kelly, whose grave remains a point of quiet pilgrimage for visitors. Its position on Monaco-Ville puts it a short walk from the palace and the Oceanographic Museum.

6. The Jardin Exotique

The Jardin Exotique, terraced into a cliff on the western edge of the principality, has grown a striking collection of cacti and succulents from arid regions worldwide since 1933, with paths giving some of the most dramatic photographic views over Monaco's high-rises and harbour below. A cave (Grotte de l'Observatoire) and a small anthropology museum are included in the same ticket.

It is a short bus ride from the centre and less crowded than the harbour-side sights.

Monaco is compact enough to see everything in a single busy day, though most visitors base themselves nearby on the French Riviera (Nice, Èze, or Menton) and treat Monaco as a half- or full-day excursion.