Monaco cityMonaco

Monaco's story begins with a rock. The steep headland that now carries the palace was a sheltered anchorage for Phoenician and Greek sailors, and a cult centre for Hercules Monoikos, the god who gave the harbour its name, Port Hercule. Genoa took the site in the 12th century and built a fortress; in 1297 a Genoese exile, Francesco Grimaldi, dressed as a monk, was let in at the gate and seized the Rock with his men. The family has held it, with interruptions, ever since, and the red-and-white diamond pattern on their arms is still on the palace flag.

For the next five hundred years the Grimaldis survived by careful alliances. They played France, Spain and Savoy against each other, sometimes as clients, sometimes as protected princes, and sometimes under occupation. The French Revolution ended their independence, and Monaco was annexed to France until 1814. After the Napoleonic wars the Congress of Vienna put the principality under the protection of the kingdom of Sardinia, and in 1861 a treaty with France gave up the towns of Menton and Roquebrune in return for money and a confirmation of sovereignty. That left the state at about its present size, roughly 2 square kilometres.

The loss of Menton and Roquebrune, which grew lemons and olives, meant that Monaco lost most of its farmland and had to find a new income. Prince Charles III, together with his mother, backed a gaming concession, and in 1863 the casino opened on the hill later named Monte-Carlo in his honour. The railway reached the coast in 1868, and the visitor trade took off. Within a generation gambling paid for public works, and citizens stopped paying direct income tax, a feature that still defines the state.

The 20th century tied the principality more closely to France. A 1918 treaty said that Monaco's policy should match French interests, and in 1962 a new constitution under Prince Rainier III created a parliament (the National Council) and gave citizens more rights. The wedding of Rainier to the American film actress Grace Kelly in 1956 put the state on the world's front pages, and their son, Albert II, became prince in 2005. Monaco joined the United Nations in 1993 and the Council of Europe in 2004.

Today about 39,000 people live in the state, but only about a fifth hold Monégasque nationality. Most residents are foreigners, drawn by the tax rules, the safety and the ease of business. The old town, the cathedral and the palace still frame the identity of the place, and the annual National Day on 19 November brings the Monégasques to the palace square and the cathedral in traditional dress.

Most visitors start on the Rock, Monaco-Ville, the old town that sits on a limestone headland 60 metres above the sea. It is small enough to walk end to end in fifteen minutes, but its lanes, ramps and stairs are steep, and everything is built of pale stone. The main square, Place du Palais, is where the guard changes at 11:55 each day and where the prince's palace faces the harbour across a line of old cannons.

The palace has been rebuilt many times. Its core is a 13th-century Genoese fort, and later rulers added wings in Renaissance and baroque style. The State Apartments, open to visitors in season, hold the Throne Room, the Mazarin Gallery and the Hall of Mirrors, and the courtyard has a horseshoe double staircase. The palace flag flies when the prince is in residence. Ticket hours change every year: check the official site before you plan a visit inside.

The cathedral, dedicated to Notre-Dame-Immaculée, was built in the 1870s on the site of an older church. It holds the graves of the princes of Monaco, including Rainier III and Princess Grace, whose slabs lie behind the altar. Nearby, the Saint Martin gardens run along the cliff edge with sea views, sculptures and shade. On the far side of the Rock, the Oceanographic Museum, opened in 1910 by Prince Albert I, clings to the cliff over the sea; Albert was a marine scientist and led expeditions to study the ocean, and Jacques Cousteau directed the museum between 1957 and 1988.

The lanes between these landmarks hold small shops, old houses with painted shutters and cafés with a view. Many of the buildings are lived in, so keep your voice down, and do not enter courtyards. The Rock is best in the early morning, before the cruise groups arrive, and again in the late afternoon.

Getting there is a short climb from the harbour, or a ride on the public lifts and escalators. Tour buses use the narrow Avenue Saint-Martin, so on busy days the pavement can feel crowded; plan a morning start and leave by about 11:30, when the guard change draws the crowd.

The casino was designed by Charles Garnier, the architect of the Paris Opera, and the resemblance shows: gilded ceilings, marble columns and a theatre wing in the same style. The gaming rooms sit behind an atrium that anyone can enter by day, while the private salons ask for a passport, an entry fee and appropriate dress. Monégasque residents may not play, a rule intended to protect the local population.

Casino Square is a stage. The Hôtel de Paris, the Café de Paris and the casino face one another across a small plaza, and in the evening the luxury cars in front are as much a draw as the buildings. It works better as a place to walk than as a place to eat: prices are high and the tables are close to the traffic.

The Grand Prix has run through the streets since 1929, and the circuit remains one of the tightest in motor racing. The track passes through Casino Square, down to the hairpin at the Fairmont hotel, through a tunnel and along the harbour front before climbing back up. It is about 3.3 kilometres long, and the modern race is held in late May or early June. Outside race week you can walk much of it on ordinary pavements, but it is public road, so stay off the tarmac.

Monte-Carlo is also home to the opera, the ballet and the Grimaldi Forum, a modern concert and congress building on the sea. The Opéra, inside the casino complex, seats about 500 in a bright, ornate hall. Big concerts and dance seasons bring evening crowds, and it is often easier to get a seat than a table nearby.

If prices worry you, treat Monte-Carlo as a walk and a coffee, and eat elsewhere. The market square in La Condamine and the restaurants on the harbour front cost about half as much as the casino terraces, and Nice, 20 minutes away, is cheaper again.

Monaco has little flat land, so gardens have been built on slopes and on land reclaimed from the sea. Fontvieille, on the western side, was created from about 1970 by pushing the shoreline out into the sea; it is now flat, modern and home to a football stadium, a heliport, a small harbour and the Princess Grace Rose Garden.

The rose garden opened in 1984 in memory of the princess, and it holds thousands of rose bushes of several hundred varieties, laid out in beds with a statue at the centre. The best months are May and June, but the garden is calm and shady all year. It is free, flat and suits families.

Above Fontvieille, on a steep cliff at Moneghetti, the Exotic Garden opened in 1933. It is a hillside of cacti and succulents from Mexico, South Africa and elsewhere, arranged on terraces with views over the port and the sea. A guided descent into the Observatory Cave, a limestone grotto with stalactites, adds a cooler contrast. The garden is steep, with many steps, so it is a morning or late-afternoon visit, not a midday one in summer.

Other green spaces include the Saint Martin gardens on the Rock and the Japanese garden at Larvotto, a designed Zen garden by the sea. Together they give Monaco a surprising amount of shade and quiet for a state so small.

For a longer walk, follow the coast path west toward Cap-d'Ail, where the state ends in a few hundred metres and the path continues as a French coastal trail. Check the condition of the path before you go: sections have closed after storms. A picnic from the Condamine market is the best kind of lunch here.

The gardens are also the best answer to the state's heat. Shade is scarce on the streets but plentiful under the trees of Saint Martin and Fontvieille, and benches are frequent. Carry water on the Exotic Garden slope, wear shoes with grip on the stone steps, and treat the gardens as a slow afternoon after a museum morning rather than a rushed tick on a list.

Monaco's cooking is Ligurian and Provençal, with Monégasque touches. Fried, salty snacks come first: barbagiuan, pastry parcels stuffed with chard and ricotta, are the national dish and are served at the National Day celebrations. They are sold at the market and in bakeries by the piece or in a small box.

The coast shares socca, a chickpea pancake baked in a wood oven, with Nice, and pissaladière, an onion tart with anchovies and black olives. Fougasse, a flat bread often scented with orange blossom or olives, is sold in bakeries in the morning. Stocafi, a stew of stockfish with tomatoes, olives and peppers, is the traditional dish of the Rock's families; it is a heavy dish best eaten at a proper restaurant.

For a light lunch, go to the Condamine market, where counters and small cafés sell these things at lower prices than the terraces. Buy fruit, cheese and bread from the stalls and eat in the Casino gardens or the Saint Martin gardens. In the evening, the harbour restaurants near Port Hercule offer seafood and grills; ask the price of fish by weight before ordering, since a whole grilled fish can cost more than the rest of the menu together.

Café culture follows the French pattern: a coffee at the counter costs less than at a table, and lunch menus are much cheaper than dinner. Dinner rarely starts before 20:00, and reservations are wise in summer and in race week. Wine is usually from Provence or nearby Liguria; rosé is the default choice on a hot evening.

For a splurge, several hotel restaurants hold Michelin stars, and tasting menus cost hundreds of euros. Book weeks ahead and check that the restaurant is open on the day you want; they close on some days and in winter. Casual visitors who still want a good meal can look for the lunch set menus, which many hotel and harbour restaurants offer at roughly half the dinner price.

Monaco is the easiest expensive place to visit. The state is safe, compact and served by free public lifts, and the coast around it is well connected. The difficulty is cost: a mid-range hotel costs several hundred euros a night, and even a coffee at a terrace is priced for the setting. The best trade-off is to sleep in Nice or Menton and visit Monaco by train, which takes 15 to 30 minutes each way.

The calendar matters more than in most cities. The Grand Prix, in late May or early June, closes streets and doubles hotel prices. The Monaco Yacht Show in late September fills the harbour, and the Monte-Carlo Masters tennis in April fills hotels. In July and August the heat and crowds are strongest, and many locals leave. October is the best month, with warm days and fewer visitors.

Distances are short but steep. Use the public lifts and escalators between levels, and take a taxi with bags: the minimum fare is a few euros. Book a car from Nice airport before you fly, or take bus 100 (check the timetable) or a train from Nice-Ville. The helicopter takes seven minutes and costs a great deal.

On a first visit, spend the morning on the Rock, lunch at the Condamine market, the afternoon in the Oceanographic Museum or the gardens, and the evening walking from Casino Square to the harbour. A second day adds Fontvieille and the Exotic Garden, and a third day can go to Èze or Menton.

Keep your passport with you: the casino requires it, and although there are no border checks, French police can check identity on the coast. Cards work almost everywhere, but small cash helps at kiosks and buses. Tap water is safe, and toilets are found in cafés and museums.