7 fun facts about Monaco

I love Monaco. It is the second smallest country in the world (following The Vatican) and is the essence of luxury in beautiful natural surroundings. It has fantastic views, the Mediterranean Sea, stores by the best brands and incredible yachts and these are just some of Monaco’s attractions. Today, though, I will not tell you what to see here but what you may not have known about the place.

1. For some time, Monaco has been making a living primarily from tourism. However, there was once a time where the numerous casinos generated a lion’s share of the state budget. Perhaps this is why Monaco has been a tax-free country since the 1780s.

2. Monaco has no army of its own. France is responsible for its military protection.

3. The Grimaldi family ruling Monaco first came to the throne in 1297 and has not left it since. This makes it the longest ruling dynasty in Europe.

4. Monaco has no airport – the country spanning an area of 2 sq. km is simply not large enough to have one. But it has many helicopter pads, and allegedly a helicopter lands here on average every twenty minutes.

5. Every day during the day, the number of people staying in Monaco doublesas the residents of France and Italy arrive for work. This makes the population of 40,000 grow instantly to 90,000.

6. Over 30 per cent of the residents of Monaco are millionaires. But only roughly 6,000 out of the 40,000-population has Monaco citizenship. The rest are affluent people from other countries.

7. The only natural resource of Monaco are… fish. Despite this, earnings per capita in this country is the highest in the world and amounts to USD 168,000 per resident.