Monaco has always been a Principality of contrasts: ancient stone beside audacious glass, centuries of history beside land reclaimed from the sea itself.
This summer, the Institut du Patrimoine is inviting residents and visitors alike to walk through both, with "Au Cœur de Monaco," a new series of guided heritage tours running every Wednesday from 4pm to 6pm through August 19.
Two routes trace the Principality's story. The first winds through Monaco-Ville, known locally as Le Rocher, tracing the origins of the Grimaldi dynasty through the district's narrow, storied streets. The second carries visitors through Monte-Carlo, born in the Belle Époque when aristocrats first flocked to the Casino, before continuing on to Mareterra, the Principality's newest chapter: an eco-district built entirely on reclaimed sea, shaped by some of the world's leading architects.
Tours run in both French and English, offering a rare thread connecting Monaco's earliest beginnings to its most contemporary ambitions. Walk the Rocher, and you walk where the Principality began. Walk Mareterra, and you walk on ground that, until recently, was simply the sea.