Monaco: Prince's Palace

The Grimaldi family first took control of Monaco in 1297, and they have been in charge ever since. That's a 700-plus year run, and the interesting part is that the family always has lived in the same spot.

Land, naturally, is at a premium in Monaco, a country that's less than a square mile in size. So the family has been forced to renovate, rather than start over as other royal families have done in other countries over the years.

While there are ceremonial functions, this is a working palace and the royal family has some influence in the country's day-to-day operations. It's all something of an accident of history that this little country has survived so long. It's also rather high on the cool meter.

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