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The principality of Monaco – playground of the rich and famous – has a tiny population, and it’s crammed into the smallest of spaces.

Now Prince Albert II is trying to ease that overcrowding with an ambitious plan to reclaim about 12.5 acres of land from the Mediterranean.

The £10 billion ($16 billion) project was first proposed last year, but put on hold because of the financial crisis and the Prince’s concerns that it would damage the marine environment.

He’s very much a ‘green’ head of state – driving an electric car and travelling to the North Pole to measure the effects of global warming. He wants this project to be an eco-showcase that sets an example to the world.

So his idea is that the mixture of luxury property, offices and public buildings be built on stilts so as not to disturb the marine life underneath.

The Prince has asked three groups of international environmental experts to study sedimentology and currentology, marine bio-diversity and the creation of false reefs to support a wealth of marine life. They will hand in their conclusions in the next few months.

Major names from the world of architecture will then be asked to come up with new designs, with construction not expected to start before 2015.

by Andy Moreton, with Henry Samuel

If you fancy an up-market holiday experience like no other, Luxique offers six of the best luxury hotels in Monte Carlo, Monaco. They include the Hotel de Paris, of which one recent guest from London commented: “If you want to feel like a film star, this is the place to be.”

Monaco – with its tax haven status – has always been a playground for the rich and famous.

But it’s not content. Recession or no recession, the little principality in south-western Europe wants more of what it calls URIs (that’s Ultra Rich Individuals) to come to its luxurious shores.

Monaco’s network of 100 honorary consuls dotted around the world have been set the task of identifying some extremely wealthy people, particularly in developing economies such as India, Brazil and Russia.

The guests will then be invited to enjoy ‘Monaco Private Label,’ a bespoke holiday of private shopping tours around luxury boutiques with helicopters to whisk them to the Alps or to a yacht in the Mediterranean. They’d also get access to three-Michelin-star restaurants and the world’s biggest private wine cellar of 600,000 bottles.

Four tax havens were named and shamed at the recent G20 meeting in London, but Monaco wasn’t among them. Instead, it was put on a list of countries that have committed to, but not yet implemented, international standards of financial transparency.

Monaco has a total of 35,000 residents, but a reported 350,000 bank accounts containing total deposits of more than £80bn ($118 billion).

Matti Kohonen, of the Tax Justice Network, says only an end to banking secrecy will do. “It’s a tax haven because lots of outsiders place their money in Monaco, pay no tax, and have banking secrecy which allows for investments there not to be discovered by foreign tax authorities,” he said.

by Andy Moreton, with Stephen Chittenden in Monte Carlo

You don’t have to be a URI to enjoy some leisure time in Monaco. Luxique offers great rates at six luxury Monte Carlo hotels, including the celebrated and magical Hotel de Paris. A great time to go might be for the Monaco Grand Prix through the weekend of May 22-24.