A benefit of staying pretty much in the middle of the Cote d’Azur … is the ability to visit the famous resorts of the area, up and down the coast.

Among them?

Saint Tropez, last week.

This week, Monaco.

It is a jewel of a little city-state, all 0.87-square-miles of it, with 38,000 people jammed (highest population density in the world) between the Mediterranean and the mountains, bordered on three sides by France and one by the sea.

So, we popped over today, 90 minutes from our perch in Les Issambles and, after taking the steep and winding road from the mountaintop to the the city below, we were there.

Some of the highlights.

–It is hard to overemphasize how small Monaco is, world’s second-smallest country (behind Vatican City). At one spot, the principality is 382 yards wide. That is, if you walk 10 minutes up hill at a decent pace — you are out of Monaco and back in France. Major airports cover far more acreage than does Monaco.

–It is a very steep community. You’ve got the water, and a strip of flat land about 30 yards deep, and then it’s up the hill you go. Hotels and apartment blocks stacked one above the other — until you’ve left the country again.

–The eye is tugged in two directions. First, to the crowded port, which is packed with big yachts. (The largest we saw is owned by a former Soviet kleptocrat.) The second is to the elevated flat rock that is the oldest part of the principality, Monaco-ville.

We parked six floors underground (parking seems to a major issue and mostly underground) and made the climb up to where the citadel stands, on the rock, and saw the statue of the first of the Grimaldi ruling family (working on their eighth century running the place), sometimes known as “La Malizia” (the Malicious One).

From there, we took the hop-on-hop-off bus, which drives a person around the whole of the country (a UN member, too!) in little over an hour.

The two big talking points via the bus intercom are the F1 Monaco Grand Prix (a bronze of driver Juan Manuel Fangio is a prominent landmark), alleged to be the third-most-watched sports event in the world (after the World Cup and Olympics) and Grace Kelly, the American movie actress who married the previous ruling prince of Monaco, Rainer III, who was something of a toad. But I digress.

The slightly more insidious aspect of Monaco is how much it feels like “money”. If you pay attention to the vehicles, they are all upper-end. Like Abu Dhabi, except more so. And the Monegasques walking about seem to be conforming to some local dress code, which calls for the newest and most chic couture. People were walking their dogs in clothes I would wear to a symphony. And, of course, every high-end fashion house has an outlet in Monaco.

The best-known spot in the principality is the Monte-Carlo casino. Its construction, in the 19th century, apparently saved Monaco from bankruptcy and has, since, been the seen a backdrop for all sorts of movies. (See: James Bond.)

We didn’t inquire after prices, but Monaco is one of the most expensive cities in the world. If you need to inquire after how much it costs to eat and sleep there … you shouldn’t go.

Being able to live in Monaco, as a citizen, is rather like winning the lottery. It is a tax-free environment that often attracts sports heroes (Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker) looking to escape ruinous taxes from their countries of origin. But not anybody can show up; basically you need a big bank account to attract the interest of the ruler, currently Albert II.

One last thing: It also feels a little like Switzerland. Money matters in both places, and each is known for tidiness and order. Lots of cops were out and about, wearing the sort of cheerful/colorful uniforms of the Italian cops, but also wearing scowls.

Not a friendly place, exactly, but an impressive one, and if you can afford the place, it seems likely the locals will warm to you quickly.