Why go
The Rock’s palace makes more sense when seen as a seat of rule that was lost and recovered. The later separation of Menton and Roquebrune also explains why today’s Monaco is much smaller than the territory its princes once governed.
The full story
The French Revolution stripped Monaco’s rulers of income from their French possessions. In 1793 the principality came under French control and was known for a time as Fort d’Hercule. The Grimaldis returned in 1814, but the settlement after Napoleon placed Monaco under the protection of the Kingdom of Sardinia. This was a restoration of princely rule, not a return to the old political setting. In the first half of the nineteenth century the principality still included Menton and Roquebrune to the east. Those towns broke away in 1848 amid unrest over Grimaldi rule. Their separation was settled in the 1861 treaty with France, which also recognised Monaco’s sovereignty. The modern border is therefore a result of revolution, restoration and negotiated loss, rather than the outline of the original Grimaldi domain. Looking from the Rock toward the French coast puts that change of scale into view.