Access Monaco A country you can walk across.
Monaco from above
PRINCIPAUTÉ DE MONACO

Monaco is smaller than Central Park, and it goes upwards.

Two square kilometres, about thirty-nine thousand people, and roughly a fifth of the ground taken from the sea. The whole country is a twenty-minute walk end to end — but it is stacked in layers up a limestone cliff, and the way you actually get around is a network of free public lifts cut through the rock.

Tobi 87, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
2.1 km²the whole country
1297the Grimaldis arrive
17sights, one page each
~20%of the land is reclaimed
freethe public lifts
20 minto walk end to end

What Monaco is

Monaco is a sovereign state of about 2.1 square kilometres on the Mediterranean coast, wedged between France and the sea. It is smaller than Central Park, and around thirty-nine thousand people live in it.

The Grimaldi family have held the rock since 1297, when François Grimaldi took the fortress dressed as a Franciscan monk. That makes it the longest-ruling dynasty in Europe, and it is why a country this size exists at all.

What is genuinely unusual is the shape. Monaco is vertical — it climbs from the harbour to the corniche in terraces, and it moves people between them with a network of free public lifts cut through the cliff. And when it ran out of ground it made more: roughly a fifth of the country was reclaimed from the sea.

Monaco at a glance

CountryThe Principality of Monaco — a sovereign state, not part of France
SizeAbout 2.1 km². Smaller than New York's Central Park
PopulationAround 39,000, of whom a minority are Monégasque citizens
LanguageFrench is official. Monégasque is taught in schools; Italian and English are common
CurrencyEuro (€) — though Monaco is not in the European Union
BorderIn Schengen, so no check. You will cross into France without noticing
Getting aroundOn foot, using the free public lifts. There is no metro and you should not drive
MayThe street circuit closes large parts of the country for weeks

Start here

Twelve sections as twelve levels of the rock, each carrying a lozenge of the Grimaldi shield — because in this country an address is as much a height as a street.

+140 mLES ASCENSEURSGetting AroundFree public lifts and escalators through the cliff — the most useful thing to know here.free+120 mLE ROCHERThe RockThe old town on the promontory, where cars mostly cannot go.car-free+95 mVOIRLandmarks & SightsSeventeen places, one page each, with the walk from the palace.17 sights+80 mLES GRIMALDIThe PalaceHeld by one family since 1297 — taken by a man dressed as a monk.1297+65 mJARDINSMuseums & GardensAn institute in a cliff, a cactus garden over a cave, a Japanese garden by the sea.check the day+50 mPORT HERCULEThe HarbourThe inlet the whole country grew around, and the only part always here.free+40 mTERRE GAGNÉEMade GroundA fifth of Monaco did not exist a lifetime ago. It was built out into the sea.~20%+28 mLE CIRCUITThe StreetsThe famous street circuit is ordinary public road for fifty weeks a year.shut in May+15 mLA MERThe SeaA country that feels like a building site is entirely about the water.public beach+8 mMANGERFood & DrinkBarbagiuan, socca and chard pastry — Ligurian food, and the good version is cheap.the market+3 mJOURSItinerariesHalf a day to two — and the honest advice about the rest.½ · 1 · 20 mSORTIESDay TripsMonaco is not France, but France is ten minutes by train.by train

All seventeen sights

Palais PrincierPalais PrincierMonaco-VilleMonaco-VilleCathédrale de MonacoCathédrale de MonacoMusée OcéanographiqueMusée OcéanographiqueJardin ExotiqueJardin ExotiqueJardin JaponaisJardin JaponaisRoseraie Princesse GraceRoseraie Princesse GracePort HerculePort HerculeFontvieilleFontvieilleLarvottoLarvottoThe Garnier BuildingThe Garnier BuildingOpéra de Monte-CarloOpéra de Monte-CarloChapelle Sainte-DévoteChapelle Sainte-DévoteThe Street CircuitThe Street CircuitCollection de VoituresCollection de VoituresFort AntoineFort AntoineStade Louis IIStade Louis II