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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...)
Selected location article
The Jardin Exotique de Monaco (French: [ʒaʁdɛ̃ɛɡzɔtikd(ə)mɔnako], lit. 'Exotic Garden of Monaco') is a botanical garden located on a cliffside in Monaco. The garden, which first opened in 1931, primarily features exotic succulent plants. The garden is the home to the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology, whose exhibits include pre-historic artifacts that were excavated from the garden's grotto.
The garden closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has remained closed since for renovations. The garden currently plans to open again during the spring of 2026. (Full article...)
Selected pictures
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The Monaco harbour during the days of the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix (from Outline of Monaco)
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Prince's Palace of Monaco (from Monaco)
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The Rock of Monaco in 1890 (from Monaco)
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👁 Image 5The marriage of Hollywood actress Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier III brought media attention to the principality. (from Monaco)The marriage of Hollywood actress Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier III brought media attention to the principality. (from Monaco)
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Lycée Albert Premier of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
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Enlargeable, detailed map of Monaco (from Monaco)
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Charles Leclerc (from Outline of Monaco)
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Land reclamation in Monaco since 1861(from Monaco)
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Saint Martin Gardens (from Outline of Monaco)
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Tall buildings in Monaco (from Monaco)
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Public art in Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
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Embassy of Monaco, Paris, France (from Monaco)
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The location of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
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👁 Image 17Hotel de Paris lobby ceiling: Monaco draws tourists with its late 19th- and early-20th-century buildings and glamor. (from Monaco)Hotel de Paris lobby ceiling: Monaco draws tourists with its late 19th- and early-20th-century buildings and glamor. (from Monaco)
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Monaco-Ville (from Outline of Monaco)
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Monaco's Japanese Gardens (from Monaco)
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Formation lap of the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (from Monaco)
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Port Hercules (from Outline of Monaco)
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Monte Carlo (from Outline of Monaco)
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Satellite view with border (from Outline of Monaco)
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👁 Image 25A 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)A 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)
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Monte Carlo Casino (from Monaco)
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Atrium in Monte Carlo Casino (from Monaco)
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Espresso at Café de Paris, Monte Carlo (from Monaco)
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Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort overlooks the Mediterranean Sea (from Monaco)
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Hôtel de Paris (from Outline of Monaco)
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Fontvieille and its harbour (from Monaco)
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Walkway in the jardin exotique de Monaco (Exotic Gardens) (from Monaco)
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Monaco's flag and its coat of arms (from Monaco)
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Lycée Albert Premier of Monaco (from Monaco)
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👁 Image 37In 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)In 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)
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Oceanographic Museum (from Monaco)
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Lamarck intersection, Les Moneghetti (from Monaco)
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Genovese coin from 1655 (from Monaco)
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Satellite view of Monaco, with the France–Monaco border shown in yellow (from Monaco)
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Pedestrian crossing on Avenue de la Costa (from Monaco)
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Boulevard des Moulins meets Avenue Saint-Michel (from Monaco)
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Ville ruelle in Monaco (from Monaco)
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Japanese Gardens (from Outline of Monaco)
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Palace guards in Monaco (from Monaco)
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Fontvieille (from Outline of Monaco)
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La Condamine (from Outline of Monaco)
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Logo of the princely government of Monaco (from Monaco)
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Monaco (as part of the Republic of Genoa) in 1494 (from Monaco)
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Seaside façade of the Salle Garnier, home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (from Monaco)
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View of the Rock of Monaco (from Outline of Monaco)
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👁 Image 57Seaside façade of the Salle Garnier, home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (from Outline of Monaco)Seaside façade of the Salle Garnier, home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (from Outline of Monaco)
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Photochrom of Monaco circa 1900 (from Monaco)
Selected ward
Ravin de Sainte-Dévote (French pronunciation: [ʁavɛ̃dəsɛ̃tdevɔt]; Monégasque: Valu̍n de Santa Devota, English: Ravine of Saint Devota) is a ward in the Principality of Monaco. It is the smallest first level administrative division in the world. (Full article...)
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
"Un banc, un arbre, une rue" (French pronunciation: [œ̃bɑ̃œ̃n‿aʁbʁynʁy]; "A Bench, a Tree, a Street") is a song recorded by French singer Séverine, with music composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and French lyrics written by Yves Dessca [fr]. It represented Monaco in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin, resulting in the country's only win 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
The 2012 Monaco Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2012) was a Formula One motor race that took place in the principality of Monaco on 27 May 2012. It was the sixth round of the 2012 season, and the seventieth running of the Monaco Grand Prix. The race was supported by the GP2, GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 series.
Mark Webber won the race after taking pole position; his victory created a new record for Formula One in that there had never been six different winners of the opening six Grands Prix of the season before. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg came in second place, his second podium in the 2012 season, while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso rounded out the podium in third. (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
Port Hercules (French: Port Hercule [pɔʁɛʁkyl]) is the only deep-water port in Monaco. The port has been in use since ancient times. The modern port was completed in 1926, and underwent substantial improvements in the 1970s. It covers almost 40 acres (160,000 m2), enough to provide anchorage for up to 700 vessels. The port is located in the La Condamine district. Harbour pilots are required for all vessels longer than 30 metres. The depth of water in the harbour ranges from seven metres for standard berths and up to 40 metres for the outer piers and cruise ship docks. (Full article...)
Selected biography
Georges Vigarello (born 16 June 1941) is a French historian and sociologist. He is a Research Director at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) of Paris. His main research interests include the sociology of the body, the history of hygiene, representations of the body over the centuries, and the social dimensions of sport. (Full article...)
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