Meet Me in Monaco

[José Balido]

 

Few are the names that so reek of true Olde Worlde glamor; money both old and new; and self-conscious "class" than Monaco, aka Monte Carlo. The second smallest state in the world after the Vatican and the world's most densely populated - about ¾ of a square mile (just over two sq. kilometres) - this principality a half-hour bus ride from Nice along a lovely stretch of the Côte d'Azur has a population of just over 38,000, but more than 30 percent of them are millionaires, perhaps the world's single highest concentration. Once part of the Italian Republic of Genoa (the local dialect, Monégasque, is closer to Italian than French), the territory was seized by the first of the Grimaldi dynasty, Francesco Grimaldi, in 1297, and it's remained all in the family ever since. For this mere hoi polloi, it made a fascinating day trip on my recent visit to Nice.

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