Monaco

Tiny, tidy Monaco projects independence, wealth, and beauty

Hemmed in by France on three sides and facing the Mediterranean, Monaco staunchly maintains its independence. Even Charles de Gaulle couldn’t force the late Prince Rainier to do away with his tax-free policy (Monegasques do not pay taxes). Monaco, or rather its capital of Monte Carlo, has for a century been a symbol of glamour.

Monaco became property of the Grimaldi clan, a Genoese family, as early as 1297. With shifting loyalties, it has maintained something resembling independence ever since. In a fit of impatience, the French annexed it in 1793, but the ruling family recovered it in 1814, although the prince at the time couldn’t bear to tear himself away from the pleasures of Paris and travel to “dreary old Monaco.”

The second-smallest state in Europe (Vatican City is first), Monaco consists of the old town, Monaco-Ville, sitting on a promontory, the Rock, 200 feet high—the seat of the royal palace and the government building, as well as the famous Oceanographic Museum. Up from the port is Monte Carlo, once the playground of European royalty and still the center for the wintering wealthy, the setting for the casino and its gardens and the deluxe hotels.

© 2009, Wiley Publishing, Inc.