Monaco Grand Prix

Lonely Planet Travel Editor Tom Hall is on a mission to discover 52 of the most awe-inspiring places to visit across the world. This week he reveals how to see the Monaco Grand Prix on a budget.

Monaco

The harbour is packed with billionaires’ yachts and the great and the good crowd casinos, hotels and upmarket restaurants. Away from the see-and-be-seen scene, a thrilling motor race is whizzing around the tight corners of the world-famous street circuit. It’s a long way from a drizzly afternoon at Silverstone.

Seeing the Monaco Grand Prix on a budget

No-one expects Monte Carlo to be cheap, but seeing the Grand Prix needn’t be a drain on the wallet. Hotels in Monaco are booked solid years in advance, so stay in neighbouring Nice or Menton and catch a train into the principality.

Tickets for the race – presuming you can’t stretch to the £6000 to hire a balcony of a Monagasque Apartment – start at €70 (£60) and are available from Automobile Club de Monaco a few months in advance of the race.

Each May, Monaco also hosts the Grand Prix Historique du Monaco, a two-day celebration of some of the great cars that have graced the streets of Monte Carlo since 1929.

Planning your trip to Monaco

See visitmonaco.com for the lowdown on visiting the Principality year-round.

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