Portal:Monaco

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Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate in Western Europe. Situated on the French Riviera, it is a semi-enclave bordered by France to the north, east, and west, with the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Italian region of Liguria is about 15 km (9.3 mi) east. With a population of 38,423 living in an area of 2.08 km² (0.80 sq mi), Monaco is the second smallest sovereign state in the world, after Vatican City, as well as the most densely populated. It also has the world's shortest national coastline of any non-landlocked nation, at 3.83 km (2.38 mi). Fewer than 10,000 of its residents are Monégasque nationals. Although French is the official language of Monaco, Italian and Monégasque are also widely spoken and understood.

Monaco is governed under a form of semi-constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state, who holds substantial political powers. The prime minister, who is the head of government, can be either a Monégasque or French citizen; the monarch consults with the Government of France before an appointment. Key members of the judiciary are detached French magistrates. The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco, with brief interruptions, since 1297. The state's sovereignty was officially recognised by the Franco-Monégasque Treaty of 1861, with Monaco becoming a full United Nations voting member in 1993. Despite Monaco's independence and separate foreign policy, its defence is the responsibility of France, notwithstanding two small military units.

Monaco is recognised as one of the wealthiest and most expensive places in the world. Its economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with the opening of the state's first casino, the Monte Carlo Casino, and a rail connection to Paris. The country's mild climate, scenery, and gambling facilities contributed to its status as a tourist destination and recreation centre for the wealthy. Monaco has become a major banking centre and sought to diversify into the services sector and small, high-value-added, non-polluting industries. Monaco is a tax haven; it has no personal income tax (except for French citizens) and low business taxes. Over 30% of residents are millionaires, with real estate prices reaching €100,000 ($116,374) per square metre in 2018. Monaco is a global hub of money laundering, and in June 2024 the Financial Action Task Force placed Monaco under increased monitoring to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. (Full article...)

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Selected location article

The New National Museum of Monaco (NMNM), formerly Musée National de Monaco (French: Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (NMNM), Musée National de Monaco), is a museum of contemporary visual art in Monaco. It is situated in two locations, the Villa Sauber and the Villa Paloma. The museum began organizing temporary exhibitions at Villa Paloma in 2010. The venues display two exhibitions annually.

Exhibitions at the museum have included retrospectives of Erik Bulatov and Yinka Shonibare; "Monacopolis" – depictions of architecture, town planning and urbanisation in Monaco; "Artifices instables – stories of ceramics", from September 2020 through January 2021; and, in 2022, "Newton, Riviera", a photo exhibition in homage to Helmut Newton was followed by an installation to spotlight artist and designer Christian Bérard. (Full article...)

List of articles

Selected pictures

Image 1Enlargeable, detailed map of Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 2Monaco (as part of the Republic of Genoa) in 1494 (from Monaco)
Image 3Monaco's Japanese Gardens (from Monaco)
Image 4Walkway in the jardin exotique de Monaco (Exotic Gardens) (from Monaco)
Image 5Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. (from Monaco)
Image 6Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate (from Monaco)
Image 7Rainier I, victor of the naval battle at Zierikzee and first sovereign Grimaldi ruler of Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 8Monaco's flag and its coat of arms (from Monaco)
Image 9
Land reclamation in Monaco since 1861
(from Monaco)
Image 10Jacques I, Prince of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 11Satellite view of Monaco, with the France–Monaco border shown in yellow (from Monaco)
Image 12Lycée Albert Premier of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 13Port Hercules (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 14Oceanographic Museum (from Monaco)
Image 15In the centre is La Condamine. At the right with the smaller harbour is Fontvieille, with The Rock (the old town, fortress, and Palace) jutting out between the two harbours. At the left are the high-rise buildings of La Rousse/Saint Roman. (from Monaco)
Image 16Wards of Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 17Formation lap of the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (from Monaco)
Image 18Satellite view with border (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 19Logo of the princely government of Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 20Lycée Albert Premier of Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 21Prince Albert I of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 22Atrium in Monte Carlo Casino (from Monaco)
Image 23Tall buildings in Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 24Fontvieille and its harbour (from Monaco)
Image 25The marriage of Hollywood actress Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier III brought media attention to the principality. (from Monaco)
Image 26Prince's Palace of Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 27Monte Carlo (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 28The location of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 29Lamarck intersection, Les Moneghetti (from Monaco)
Image 30Palace guards in Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 31Genovese coin from 1655 (from Monaco)
Image 32Monaco-Ville (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 33The Rock of Monaco in 1890 (from Monaco)
Image 34Monte Carlo Casino (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 35Embassy of Monaco, Paris, France (from Monaco)
Image 36The Monaco harbour during the days of the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 37Boulevard des Moulins meets Avenue Saint-Michel. (from Monaco)
Image 38Ville ruelle in Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 39Prince's Palace of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 40Albert II
Prince of Monaco (from Monaco)
Image 41Japanese Gardens (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 42Public art in Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 43Benjamin Balleret (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 44Fontvieille (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 45View of the Rock of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 46Pedestrian crossing on Avenue de la Costa (from Monaco)
Image 47Seaside façade of the Salle Garnier, home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (from Monaco)
Image 48Photochrom of Monaco circa 1900 (from Monaco)
Image 49Hotel de Paris lobby ceiling: Monaco draws tourists with its late 19th- and early-20th-century buildings and glamor. (from Monaco)
Image 50Hôtel de Paris (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 51Seaside façade of the Salle Garnier, home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 52Espresso at Café de Paris, Monte Carlo (from Monaco)
Image 53La Condamine (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 54Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 55A map of the County of Nice showing the area of the Italian kingdom of Sardinia annexed in 1860 to France (light brown). The area in red had already become part of France before 1860. (from Monaco)
Image 56Charles Leclerc (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 57Saint Martin Gardens (from Outline of Monaco)
Image 58Monte Carlo Casino (from Monaco)

Selected ward

A view of the Mediterranean in La Rousse

La Rousse (French pronunciation: [la ʁus]; Monégasque: A Russa), also formerly known as La Rousse-Saint Roman (until 2013), is the northernmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. La Rousse is incorporated in the traditional quarter of Monte Carlo. Since 2018, it is home to a police station near the border with France. (Full article...)

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Selected environment article

The Tête de Chien (Monégasque: Testa de Can; "Dog's Head") is a 550 m (1,804 ft) high rock promontory near the village of La Turbie in the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. It overlooks the Principality of Monaco, and is the highest point on the Grande Corniche road.

The American diplomat Samuel S. Cox, in his 1870 travel book Search for Winter Sunbeams in the Riviera, Corsica, Algiers and Spain wrote that the Tête de Chien more resembled a tortoise than a dog's head, and believed that Tête de Chien, or rather Testa de Can, was a corruption of Testa de Camp ("Field Head"), as it was where Caesar stationed his troops after the conquest of Gaul. Vere Herbert, the heroine of Ouida's 1880 novel Moths is described as living under the Tête de Chien, "...within a few miles of the brilliant Hell [Monaco]." (Full article...)

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Selected arts article

The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was the 10th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 20 March 1965 at the Sala di Concerto della RAI in Naples, Italy, and presented by Renata Mauro. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), who staged the event after Italy's entry, "Non ho l'età" by Gigliola Cinquetti, won the 1964 contest.

Broadcasters from eighteen countries participated in the contest – a new record number of participants. Joining the sixteen countries which had participated in the previous year's event were Sweden, who returned after a one year absence, and Ireland, making its debut in the contest. (Full article...)

Selected religion article

The history of the Jews in Monaco goes back at least a century, most notably to the time of the Holocaust. Monaco had a very small Jewish presence before World War II, numbering approximately 300 people. During the war, the principality's government issued false identity papers to its Jewish residents to protect them from Nazi deportation. Prince Louis II refused to dismiss Jewish civil servants and protected Édouard de Rothschild from deportation. However, Monaco's police arrested and turned over 42 Central European Jewish refugees to the Nazis. Sixty Jews were arrested 27–28 August 1942, and ninety in total, according to The Algemeiner.

In 1948, the Association Cultuelle Israelite de Monaco was founded as the official organization of Monaco's Jewish community, and it provides the community with a synagogue, Hebrew school and no kosher food store, but a kosher section in some supermarkets. Today's Jewish community in Monaco consists primarily of retirees from France and the United Kingdom, and there is also a small population of North African and Turkish Jews. More Sephardic Jews came when they were expelled from countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Yemen, and South America/ Spain. To them, Monaco and France were alternatives to Israel. (Full article...)

Selected sports article

Monaco participated at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy held between 10 and 26 February 2006. The country's participation in the Games marked its seventh appearance at the Winter Olympics since its debut in the 1984 Games.

The Monaco team consisted of four athletes who competed across two sports. Patrice Servelle served as the country's flag-bearer during the opening and closing ceremonies. Monaco did not win any medal in the Games, and has not won a Winter Olympics medal as of these Games. (Full article...)

Selected education article

The American College of Monaco was an American tertiary education institution located in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It operated from 1968 until it went bankrupt in 1970. The college offered a four-year degree program and classes were held in hotels. Prince Rainier III was the college's chancellor, and it was established by the Principality at the request of Princess Grace. (Full article...)

Selected transportation article

The Principality of Monaco has currently a single railway station, Monaco - Monte Carlo, part of the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway line. The station was originally opened in 1867, but extensively rebuilt in 1999. The length of railway within the Principality is 1.7 km (1.1 mi), giving Monaco the third-smallest railway system in the world. (Full article...)

Selected biography

Vacherot at the 2025 Swiss Indoors

Valentin Vacherot (French: [valɑ̃tɛ̃ vaʃʁo]; born 16 November 1998) is a Monégasque professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 16 achieved on 4 May 2026, making him the highest-ranked Monégasque singles player in history. He is the current No. 1 Monaco singles player. He also has a best doubles ranking of No. 104 achieved on 4 May 2026.

Vacherot played college tennis at Texas A&M. (Full article...)