EDITOR'S LETTER: THE SMALLEST COUNTRY WITH THE BIGGEST STORY

Monaco is 2.02 square kilometres. That's smaller than Central Park. And yet it contains more history per cobblestone than most countries manage in a continent. The Grand Prix circuit alone -- unchanged in its essential geometry since 1929 -- has seen more drama, beauty, and mechanical tragedy than any stretch of road on earth. The Monte Carlo Rally, which predates the Grand Prix by eighteen years, has been sending cars from the far corners of Europe toward this tiny principality since 1911, through snow and fog and mountain passes that would make a sensible person stay home.

We came to Monaco for the obvious reasons -- the race history, the art deco architecture, the bars that have been pouring perfect martinis since before your grandfather was born. We stayed because Monaco rewards the curious. Get past the casino and the superyachts and you find a place with genuine soul: the old town of Monaco-Ville perched on its rock, the Condamine market on a Saturday morning, the Bar Américain at the Hôtel de Paris where the barman has been polishing the same marble counter since 1864.

This issue is about all of it. The Bugatti Type 35B that won the first Grand Prix in 1929. The man who drove it -- William Grover-Williams, who later died a resistance fighter in a Nazi concentration camp, which is a story that deserves to be told more than it is. The Alfa Romeos and Maseratis that followed. The cocktails that were being mixed in the same hotels while the race was happening outside. And the best day you can possibly have in Monaco right now, in 2026, if you know where to go.

You're going to need a good espresso and somewhere to sit. We recommend the terrace at Cova Montenapoleone, with a view of the Casino. Order the cortado. Then read on.