Monaco GP holiday

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Alex Caffi
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Joined: 06 Feb 2013, 14:48

Monaco GP holiday

Post by Alex Caffi »

Hi didn't know where to post this so apologies admins but I hope some of you guys can help/give some advice.

Myself and my girlfriend want to go to the Monaco GP in May next year, when I looked at the hotels in Monaco I knew it'd be expensive so didnt bother to look. I know Nice isn't far away so looked at hotels there which is a lot more affordable on our small budget.

As for the race where is there good places to watch it for very little money or perhaps perched up somewhere high to see it? can we go near the track on race day? when does the normal roads re open so that we can drive or walk under the tunnel?.

In true reject style we don't have the thousands to do this in an 'ooh la la' way so I guess we are much like Pacific, Simtek in how we doing all this on a tight budget. So has anyone been to the GP in Monaco? if so whats it like? whats best and most cheapest way to see some of the race?

Cheers.
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Bobby Doorknobs
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Re: Monaco GP holiday

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I was there in 2012. It was alright.

Nah, it was great, one of the few tracks left on the calendar where you can get properly close to the action, and there's a real sense of history just being there (90 years next year, that should be special).

You would do well in looking at staying in Nice and then getting the train into Monaco (although if you're taking a car I suppose you can't pass up the opportunity to drive the circuit!). I can't really comment on viewing areas; I had a grandstand ticket so there wasn't much chance for scouting. What I will say though is if you want to walk or drive around the circuit on race day (assuming their timetabling hasn't changed since 2012) the roads will be closed from about seven in the morning to seven in the evening, and the same pretty much goes for the Thursday and Saturday. On Friday, however, the roads are open from half past two should you happen to be in the area. Traffic wasn't the worst either from what I recall.
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Alex Caffi
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Re: Monaco GP holiday

Post by Alex Caffi »

Simtek wrote:I was there in 2012. It was alright.

Nah, it was great, one of the few tracks left on the calendar where you can get properly close to the action, and there's a real sense of history just being there (90 years next year, that should be special).

You would do well in looking at staying in Nice and then getting the train into Monaco (although if you're taking a car I suppose you can't pass up the opportunity to drive the circuit!). I can't really comment on viewing areas; I had a grandstand ticket so there wasn't much chance for scouting. What I will say though is if you want to walk or drive around the circuit on race day (assuming their timetabling hasn't changed since 2012) the roads will be closed from about seven in the morning to seven in the evening, and the same pretty much goes for the Thursday and Saturday. On Friday, however, the roads are open from half past two should you happen to be in the area. Traffic wasn't the worst either from what I recall.


None of us can drive at the moment and dont think we will be taking a car over even if we did have one by then. Good to know when the track opens and closes I think we'd prob get a taxi through the tunnel or just walk it, take lots of pics etc it would be more of a quick tourist thing. I dont see us buying anything either lol maybe if we save up hard to go again in a few years to really make a go of it we could do it.

Good to know the Friday times because practice at Monaco is a Thursday I forgot about that. How much was it for you in the grandstand? just for future reference.
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dinizintheoven
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Re: Monaco GP holiday

Post by dinizintheoven »

What little I can add to this, which may or may not be useful, was that I spent two nights in the simple-but-functional Hotel Miramar in Cap d'Ail - right slap bang next to Monaco to the point that it's walkable - in 2008, as the Grand Prix was being set up. It'll be more than 60 euros a night now, I'll bet, and even more on the Grand Prix weekend. Take a look, if it's still there.
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Bobby Doorknobs
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Re: Monaco GP holiday

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

Alex Caffi wrote:How much was it for you in the grandstand? just for future reference.

Had to dig out the actual ticket - it was €270 (actually thought it was more than that). That was for one of the grandstands halfway up the main straight which, if I'm honest, was pretty terrible for anything after the start, probably the worst spot on the circuit for spectating (but also one of the cheapest). Looking at the official website, prices for the same place have gone up by quite a bit, and you'd be paying anywhere between just over €100 and €800 per ticket for other parts of the circuit.
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