Monaco

We visited this little city-state last weekend. It is basically two hilltops and the valley in between, carved out of the French coastline. Since it is the world's second-smallest country and there are a lot of people who want to be there, it creates a sort of Hong Kong effect:


You can clearly see the border between Monaco and France, at the point where the skyscrapers end, about halfway up the hill. (It's much more obvious in this view than it is when you actually cross it; the border is marked only by a small sign on the roads, and there are no customs or passport checks.)

Monaco itself has an old town up on one hill, where the prince's castle is, overlooking the port:


The old town looks much like old towns in adjacent parts of France, except that most of this part of France could use a broom and a new coat of paint, while Monaco is immaculate, and has many more policemen.

Monte Carlo, on the other hill above the red-roofed older port area, is pretty generic skyscraper country:


This picture, facing east from the old town, and the first one, facing west from Monte Carlo, show you pretty much the whole country. The only independent country in the world that is smaller is Vatican City.

Monte Carlo's principal industry is pretty much what you'd expect it to be:




But it also has the famous casino, which is set amid lush gardens:


Overall, Monaco looks like quite a pleasant place for money to live in, although I think it would be a bit boring for people.