47 Fun Facts About Monaco

Monaco is bordered on three sides by which country?

The Mediterranean forms the fourth side, and Italy is about 15 km to the east.

Monaco is the second-smallest sovereign state in the world; which is the smallest?

Vatican City covers about 0.44 square kilometres, against Monaco's 2.08; both are far smaller than the third-smallest state, Nauru, at 21 square kilometres.

Which family has ruled Monaco, with brief interruptions, since 1297?

Grimaldi rule began in 1297; the family lost the principality to the French revolutionary republic from 1793 to 1814 and regained it under the Treaty of Paris.

How did Francesco 'Malizia' capture the fortress of Monaco in 1297?

Disguised as a Franciscan friar, he was admitted to the fortress on 8 January 1297 and opened the gates to his men; Monaco's coat of arms shows two armed friars in his memory.

Monaco was refounded in 1215 as a colony of which maritime republic?

Genoa had been granted the site in 1191 in return for cracking down on pirates.

In 1419 the Grimaldis purchased Monaco outright from which crown?

Aragon's crown sold its rights in 1419 to the brothers Ambroise, Antoine and Jean, which is why 1419 is usually given as Monaco's date of independence.

Which prince first styled himself 'Prince of Monaco' in 1612?

Honoré II, who reigned 1604-62, adopted the princely title in 1612 and swapped Spanish for French protection under the 1641 Treaty of Péronne, being received by Louis XIII.

Which two towns did Charles III cede to France in 1861, shrinking Monaco by about 95 percent?

Menton and Roquebrune had broken away in 1848 and sat under Sardinian protection; under the 1861 treaty Charles III sold his claim for about 4 million francs and won recognition of Monaco's sovereignty.

Monaco stopped collecting income tax from its residents in which year?

In 1869 Charles III abolished personal income tax, the Monte Carlo casino having made the treasury independent of it; only French nationals living in Monaco pay income tax, under a 1963 convention.

Which French gambling entrepreneur took over Monaco's casino concession in 1863?

François Blanc, who had made his fortune running the casino at Bad Homburg, bought the concession in 1863 and founded the Société des Bains de Mer, the company that runs the casino and its hotels.

Which French architect designed the ornate 1878-79 gaming hall of the Monte Carlo casino?

Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opéra, designed the casino's gaming rooms and the adjoining opera house, the Salle Garnier, which opened in January 1879.

Who is barred from gambling in Monaco's casino unless they work there?

Monégasque citizens have been banned from the gaming rooms since Charles III's day, to keep locals from losing their money; they may enter only as employees.

Roughly what share of Monaco's residents are millionaires?

Over 30% of residents are reckoned to be millionaires, the highest proportion of any country; the absence of personal income tax is the main draw for the wealthy.

How many of Monaco's roughly 38,000 residents are actually Monégasque nationals?

Fewer than 10,000 residents hold Monégasque nationality, under a quarter of the population; the rest are foreign nationals, led by the French, and citizenship passes mainly by descent.

Monaco holds which world record among non-landlocked nations?

Shortest coastline of any coastal state, at about 3.8 km, much of it artificial quays and the man-made Larvotto beach; Monaco's land border with its neighbour is about 5.5 km.

What is the highest point in Monaco?

The entrance to a residential building, the Patio Palace on the Chemin des Révoires, is the highest point at about 164 metres; the principality has no natural summit of its own.

Which Monaco district was built on land reclaimed from the sea in the 1970s?

Fontvieille was built on land won from the sea in the 1970s and holds the national stadium, a marina and light industry; the Mareterra project added six more hectares in 2024.

The old town and seat of government sits on a promontory known as what?

The Rock (Le Rocher) is the 60-metre headland where the old town, Monaco-Ville, holds the Prince's Palace, Saint Nicholas Cathedral and the Oceanographic Museum.

Which prince reigned over Monaco from 1949 to 2005?

Rainier III succeeded his grandfather Louis II in May 1949 and reigned for nearly 56 years, until his death in April 2005; he was then Europe's longest-reigning monarch.

Which American film star did the Prince of Monaco marry in April 1956?

Grace Kelly, star of High Noon and Rear Window, married the prince in a civil ceremony on 18 April 1956 and a cathedral wedding the next day, watched by some 30 million television viewers.

Princess Grace won her Academy Award for Best Actress for which film?

The Country Girl (1954), in which she played the careworn wife of Bing Crosby's alcoholic singer, won her the 1955 Best Actress Oscar over Judy Garland in A Star Is Born.

How did Princess Grace die in 1982?

A car crash on 13 September 1982, after she suffered a stroke at the wheel on the road above the principality, left her in a coma; she died the next day aged 52.

In which US city was the future Princess Grace born?

Philadelphia was her birthplace; her father, John B. Kelly, an Olympic rowing champion turned brick magnate, narrowly lost the city's 1935 mayoral race.

What are the names of Princess Grace's three children?

Caroline, Albert and Stéphanie were born in 1957, 1958 and 1965; Albert, the middle child, succeeded his father in 2005, and Caroline holds the title Princess of Hanover.

Prince Albert II competed at five Winter Olympics in which sport?

Bobsleigh took him to five Winter Games from Calgary 1988 to Salt Lake City 2002, in two-man and four-man sleds; he had joined the International Olympic Committee in 1985.

Prince Albert II's wife, Princess Charlene, was an Olympic competitor for South Africa in which sport?

Swimming was her sport: as Charlene Wittstock she swam the backstroke leg of South Africa's medley relay at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, finishing fifth, and married the prince in July 2011.

The Monaco Grand Prix was first run in which year?

In 1929 the inaugural race, organised by Antony Noghès and the Automobile Club de Monaco, was won by William Grover-Williams in a Bugatti, racing under the pseudonym 'Williams'.

Which driver has won the Monaco Grand Prix more times than any other?

Ayrton Senna won six times, in 1987 and then five years in a row from 1989; in 1988 he crashed at Portier while leading by almost a minute.

Which British driver was nicknamed 'Mr Monaco' after five wins in the 1960s?

Graham Hill won in 1963, 1964 and 1965 for BRM and again in 1968 and 1969 for Lotus; he was world champion in 1962 and 1968.

The Monaco Grand Prix forms the Triple Crown of Motorsport with Le Mans and which other race?

The Indianapolis 500, first run in 1911 on the Brickyard oval, completes the set with the Le Mans endurance race (first run 1923) and the Monaco street race.

Which future Arsenal manager led AS Monaco's successful era, signing George Weah and Glenn Hoddle?

Arsène Wenger managed the club from 1987 to 1994, winning the league in his first season and the French cup in 1991, before moving to Nagoya Grampus Eight and then Arsenal in 1996.

Which Russian billionaire bought a majority stake in AS Monaco in December 2011?

Dmitry Rybolovlev, who made his fortune in potash fertiliser, bought two-thirds of the club in December 2011 while it sat in the second division; it was back in the top flight by 2013 and reached the 2017 Champions League semi-finals.

What is the name of Monaco's only football and athletics stadium?

Stade Louis II, opened in 1985 on reclaimed land, seats around 16,000 and hosted the UEFA Super Cup every year from 1998 to 2012; it honours the prince who reigned from 1922 to 1949.

Monaco's Oceanographic Museum was inaugurated in which year?

In 1910, after eleven years of construction on the cliff face below the old town, Albert I opened the museum he had founded to house the collections of his Atlantic and Arctic expeditions.

Which famous French ocean explorer directed the Oceanographic Museum from 1957 to 1988?

Jacques-Yves Cousteau, co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung and maker of The Silent World, ran the museum for 31 years and used its aquarium and his ship Calypso to popularise marine science.

Monaco's flag is nearly identical to that of which Asian country?

Both are red over white; Monaco's proportions are 4:5 and Indonesia's 2:3.

Monaco became a full voting member of the United Nations in which year?

In 1993, on 28 May, Monaco was admitted to the United Nations as a full member, the same year as Andorra; it joined the Council of Europe in 2004.

Which French president blockaded Monaco in 1962 over its status as a tax haven?

Charles de Gaulle set up customs posts around the principality in October 1962; the 1963 tax convention that ended the crisis made French nationals living in Monaco liable to French income tax.

Under a 2002 treaty, what happens to Monaco if the ruling dynasty dies out?

It stays independent: the 2002 treaty replaced a 1918 agreement under which Monaco would have become a French protectorate if the ruling line failed; a succession law the same year widened the pool of heirs.

Roughly how many officers and men make up the prince's bodyguard company, the Carabiniers?

116 officers and men form the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince, founded in 1817; with the fire brigade it makes one of the world's smallest armed forces, wider defence being left to the French.

Which Monaco landmark, next to the casino, first opened in 1868?

Café de Paris opened in 1868 on the square beside the casino, four years after the Hôtel de Paris; the crêpe Suzette is said to have been created there in 1895.

How many members sit in Monaco's National Council?

24 councillors are elected for five-year terms, 16 by majority vote and 8 by proportional representation; in February 2023 the Monegasque National Union won every seat.

The ancient Greek name Monoikos, 'the solitary one', was another name for which hero with a temple there?

Heracles was worshipped there as Herakles Monoikos, 'Heracles who dwells alone'; the Romans knew the harbour as Portus Herculis Monoeci, and the main port bears the name Port Hercule.

Which 1910 event forced Monaco's princes to give up absolute rule and accept a constitution?

The Monégasque Revolution saw citizens, angry at having no say while foreigners prospered, march on the palace; Albert I granted the 1911 constitution, then suspended it in 1914.

Which Ferrari driver won the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, his home race?

Charles Leclerc, born in Monaco in 1997, led from pole to take his first home win on 26 May 2024 for Ferrari, after years of bad luck there that included failing to start from pole in 2021.

What currency did Monaco mint before adopting the euro in 2002?

The Monégasque franc, issued at par with the French franc and legal tender alongside it, gave way to the euro in 2002; under a monetary agreement Monaco mints euro coins with its own national side.

How long is Monaco's longest flowing body of water, the Saint-Jean brook?

About 190 metres is all the Saint-Jean manages before reaching the sea, making it the longest watercourse in the principality; the largest lake covers barely half a hectare.