File 010 · Monaco, Monaco

Casino de Monte-Carlo

A principality founded by a man disguised as a monk, saved by a roulette wheel.

Why go

Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opera, designed its hall. Gambling revenue rescued the principality, and Monaco's own citizens are still barred from playing.

The place

The first spy story

On a January night in 1297, François Grimaldi, nicknamed 'Malizia', the cunning one, knocked on the fortress gate disguised as a Franciscan friar. His men followed him in and took the Rock. His family has ruled Monaco ever since.

Gambling to survive

By the 1850s Monaco had lost most of its land and was close to broke. Prince Charles III bet on a casino. In 1866 the new district was named Monte Carlo, Mount Charles, after him.

No locals at the tables

The casino was so profitable that Monaco stopped charging its citizens income tax. Monégasques themselves are still not allowed to gamble in it. Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opera, designed its concert hall.

The shoot: GoldenEye (1995)

The baccarat game, and the race along the corniche above.

The duel

In GoldenEye (1995), Bond races Xenia Onatopp through the hills above Monaco, his Aston Martin DB5 against her Ferrari F355, then meets her across the baccarat table.

The real thing

The casino's Belle Époque front and the square outside are exactly as they look on screen. You can walk in by day and stand where the cars pull up.

Stand here

Stand in Place du Casino facing the façade, then take a drink on the Hôtel de Paris terrace.

43.7393, 7.4277

Visit

Best: Evening, when the square is lit. Access: Daytime visits ticketed. Jacket in the gaming rooms at night. Getting there: Train from Nice, 20 minutes. Drive the Moyenne Corniche back.

Taste: Barbajuans, Monaco's fried pastry parcels of chard and ricotta, and a socca from the market at La Condamine.