Monaco
Visa: Monaco is not formally in Schengen but is treated as part of France for immigration purposes. Schengen Area rules apply in practice. Free Visa Check
Language: French is the official language. Italian and English are also widely spoken. Monégasque (a Ligurian dialect) is the traditional local language.
Currency: EUR, credit cards accepted everywhere.
Transportation:
On foot: Monaco is tiny. You can walk from the western border to the eastern border in about 45 minutes. Public elevators and escalators connect different levels of the city.
Bus: Monaco's local buses cover all major points. Bus 100 connects Monaco to Nice along the coast and is the cheapest way in.
Train: The SNCF station is underground near the port. Trains connect Monaco to Nice (20 minutes) and Ventimiglia, Italy.
What To Expect
Monaco is a country you can walk across in under an hour, yet pack more wealth per square meter than anywhere else on earth. This tiny principality on the French Riviera is famous for its Casino de Monte-Carlo, its Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit that temporarily turns public streets into a racetrack, and its harbor full of superyachts.
But Monaco has more depth than its glitz suggests. The Oceanographic Museum, founded by Prince Albert I, is one of the oldest aquariums in the world and sits dramatically on a cliff above the Mediterranean. The old town of Monaco-Ville (Le Rocher) is a quiet medieval warren of narrow streets, pastel houses, and the Prince's Palace, where the changing of the guard happens daily at 11:55 AM. The Exotic Garden hangs off a cliff face and offers the best views of the entire principality.
Monaco is expensive. There is no way around that. But you can visit on a day trip from Nice, spend nothing but a bus fare and a coffee, and still soak in the surreal experience of a country where parking valets wear suits that cost more than your wardrobe.