Monaco is small enough to fit inside a large park, and it has packed into two square kilometres more than most countries manage in two thousand. The rock above the harbour has been held by the Grimaldi family since 1297, when Francesco Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, took the fortress by surprise, and the same dynasty still rules the principality. The Prince's Palace stands on the rock, with a changing of the guard at midday, and the old town around it is a tangle of lanes. Across the harbour, the Monte-Carlo Casino, built in the 1860s and finished by the architect of the Paris Opera, Charles Garnier, is a wedding cake of a building that still draws high rollers and sightseers.
Every May, the streets of Monaco become the Grand Prix circuit, a race that has run since 1929 through the same narrow streets, tunnel and hairpin, and fans can walk the route when it is open. The Oceanographic Museum, a vast neo-baroque building built into the cliff, was directed by Jacques Cousteau for thirty years and has a fine aquarium. The harbour is full of yachts, the cars parked outside the hotels are exotic, and the mood is one of discreet and polished wealth.
For the rider, the Grande Corniche is the way in. The road was built along the line of the ancient Roman Via Julia Augusta and later improved on Napoleon's orders, and it runs high above the coast, with enormous views of the sea, villages and the principality below. At La Turbie, just above Monaco, stand the remains of the Trophy of Augustus, a vast monument built in 6 BC to celebrate the conquest of the Alpine tribes, with a small museum and a viewpoint over the whole coast. The riding is wide, gentle and scenic, with long bends and good surface, though the traffic is heavy at times.
Monaco itself is a place to be careful. Speed limits are low, police are numerous, and parking is expensive, so leave the bike in an underground car park, and bring your documents, though there is no formal border control. Fuel is available but the prices are not generous. The streets are steep, and the traffic is thick, so keep patient. Evening light on the harbour, with the lights of the palace and casino coming on, is memorable, and a coffee on the terrace is worth the price.