Experience the best of Monaco-Ville

Monaco-Ville is the old town of Monaco, built on a high rocky headland known as the Rock, about 1 km south of Monte-Carlo and above the harbour of Port Hercule. Narrow pedestrian lanes of pastel buildings lead to the Prince's Palace, the home of the Grimaldi family for centuries, and to the white-stone cathedral, where Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace are buried.

Close by, the Oceanographic Museum, opened in 1910 by Prince Albert I, rises sheer from the cliff above the sea, with a large aquarium; Jacques Cousteau directed it for three decades. The Saint-Martin Gardens run along the cliff edge, and the Exotic Garden, a hillside of cacti and succulents, lies on the slopes nearby. Menton, Nice and the Italian coast are close.

Monégasque food is Mediterranean and Ligurian, with barbajuan, small fried pastries filled with chard and ricotta, stocafi, a dish of stockfish, and fougasse, a sweet bread scented with orange blossom. Spring and autumn are pleasant and less crowded than summer, the Formula 1 Grand Prix is run on the streets below the Rock every year, and winters are gentle.