To help imagine how small Monaco is: New York's Central Park is about 3.4 square kilometres — bigger than the whole of Monaco. The country is packed tightly between the sea on one side and the mountains of France on the other. Because there is so little space, Monaco has built some of its land by pushing the sea back — engineers have poured rock and earth into the water to make new flat areas where buildings can stand. This is called land reclamation.
Even though it is tiny, Monaco has a surprising amount squeezed in: a royal palace, a famous race circuit that weaves through city streets, an oceanographic museum, gardens, a cathedral, a beach, two football stadiums — and lots of tall apartment buildings because the only way to fit more in is to build upwards. Standing at the top of one of those tall buildings, you can see the whole country laid out below you.
Monaco borders only one other country — France — and the two countries share a very close relationship. Most of the people who work in Monaco actually live across the border in France or Italy and travel in each morning. The official language is French, though many residents also speak Italian, English and the old local language called Monégasque.