The Prince's Palace of Monaco

The Monte Carlo Casino might be a widely known iconic symbol of Monaco, but I personally think that the Prince's Palace of Monaco is more significant. Just because it's been there for centuries before the Casino was even projected on paper. In fact, the Prince's Palace of Monaco was founded over 800 years ago (to be specific, in 1191). The Grimaldi family captured it some hundred years later (all right, if you really need to know the date, they did that in 1297). Because Monaco was - and still is - such a small country, the royal family didn't have any other official residences, like, say, the royal family of England does. There was no more room for palaces, not even small ones (and why would a royal family want a small palace in the first place, right?), so the Grimaldis lived in the same palace for 700 years. Quite unusual, isn't it?

These guys that guard the palace don't look very scary. But don't let this mislead you. You can rest assured that if anyone tries to harm the royal family, these men will kill him without blinking. They, as well as the firefighters in Monaco, have a license to kill.

The cannons look so natural standing next to the palace that they look like part of this building.

St. Mary's Tower is a relatively new addition to the castle (1860's).

For those very curious ones, the State Apartments are open for public visits, but only from April 2 to October 31. Photography is prohibited inside. As of 2010, the entry tickets cost 7 Euros for adults and 3,50 Euros for kids (age 8-14). Students pay the same price as kids.
Opening hours:
* from April 2 to April 30 - 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM everyday
* from May 1 to September 30 - 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM everyday
* from October 1 to October 31 - 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM everyday

There also is a Napoleon Museum in the Palace. The museum is really worth visiting - you can see personal items that belonged to Napoleon, including his hat, letters, documents, etc. You can buy a combined ticket that is good for both State Apartments and Napoleon Museum.
The Museum is closed from November 12 to December 16.
The combined ticket for adults costs 9 Euros, and 4,5 Euros for kids (age 8-14) and students.