I was super lucky to go to the Monaco Grand Prix last May and I wanted to give you all my tips & feedback on how to have the best experience there. I'll cover these 4 topics:
Overall accessibility, prices and vibes
Where to stay & access
Which tickets you should get
How to see drivers
Overall accessibility, prices & vibes
First of all, the Monaco Grand Prix is VERY accessible, even if you don't have tickets. The fact that it's a city Grand Prix allows you to see it from afar in different spots. I found this article that lists all the places you can see the track for free. The fan zone is open to anybody; you don't have to have a ticket to get there, so you can get to see the drivers when they go on stage throughout the entire weekend. Keep an eye out on the Automobile Club de Monaco Instagram post, they'll post all the timings on who will be on stage, which day, and at what time, a few days before the Grand Prix. Just a warning, it's a very small fan zone compared to other places I've been. It's a little town square that looks like this, so it WILL get PACKED during the weekend, go there very early if you want a front row seat to the stage, the girls that were at the front of the stage back in May got there at 5am.
At night the circuits opens up and there are tons of bars beneath the garages and the grid basically turns into one big open nightclub, it's free to access and open to everybody.
If you want to attend one of those parties with famous DJ or artists performing in clubs it's VERY expensive, like 600 to 800 euros to attend, yes it's the places where the drivers go to celebrate on Sunday, but it's extremely expensive.
It's worth noting that at night the entire circuit opens up so you can walk on the track, you can walk very close to the paddock, right next to the motorhomes, get many great pictures, see the fancy boats up close and personal. Here's a little map to help you picture it, and my photos.
If you are into gorgeous sports cars (which I guess you are if you like Formula 1), you'll LOVE Monaco. You'll get to see so many beautiful cars throughout the weekend; it's ridiculous. There's no other place like this (maybe Singapore) but nothing compares to Monaco on race weekends. Also, if you want to go visit the Prince of Monaco Car Collection, book your tickets way in advance, as they sell out very fast during the Grand Prix weekend.
About overall prices, I was actually kind of surprised. I was expecting everything to be much more expensive, it was the same price as in Paris, so around 10 euros for a pint of beer, around 18 euros for a pizza, and 7 to 8 euros for a sandwich for regular places—nothing fancy. It's not cheap, but not overly expensive. I'd still recommend packing a lunch or a snack to save a bit of money, especially if you are spending a few days there. This is only for food, for places to stay, I'll cover that later, but this part can get very expensive.
Overall, the vibes were amazing, everybody was super chill. I was expecting more "up and down looks" with people judging if you were rich enough or famous enough to get into some places, but it wasn't like that at all. Everyone was super chill and happy, you could tell they love race weekend, and they love the vibe. Obviously, there's a ton of Ferrari fans, as there are a lot of Italians coming, and lots of Charles Leclerc fans too, so if you are supporting another team, you'll be part of the minority, but there's no animosity whatsoever, everyone was very friendly.
Where to stay & access
I was super lucky to stay at a friend's place, so I didn't have to look and pay for accommodation, which saved me tons of money. I was staying at Beausoleil (which is the French side of Monaco) and everything is walking distance. If you can get a place there, it's the best, it's less expensive than Monaco but exactly the same comfort. Otherwise, if you are planning on getting a place outside of Monaco, I would recommend staying near Menton which is the city on the Italian side, and not going towards Nice because it's where most people stay, and you'll have traffic or loads of people in the train.
If you are driving to Monaco, everything is very doable. We went by car to the circuit, we parked inside the city for the first few days for around 20–25 euros per day. You can also park on the outside of Monaco for a bit less money and get a shuttle directly to the circuit for free, this is a good option to go in and out of Monaco easily. The parking is called Parking Epinettes.
If you go by public transportation, I haven't done it, but from what I saw, it was very packed, so my recommendation is to go at odd times, not too early in the morning and late at night, the last train is around 10 or 11pm at night. Keep in mind that if you want to party in Monaco you can't go back to your housing outside the city by public transportation, you'll have to go back by driving or getting a taxi, which will be extremely expensive.
Which tickets to get
My recommendation is to buy your tickets from Automobile club de Monaco which is the official seller and I would buy them as soon as they come out (watch out their Instagram or newsletter for the announcement) especially if you want to get the cheap tickets (aka Le Rocher). I'll give you my experience on the general admission tickets (Le Rocher tickets) this is what I got for Friday and Saturday, this is what my view looked like.
I was sitting on the grass area, and I could see the entrance of the pit lane, the back of the starting grid, and the end of the Antony Noghès corner. We luckily had a screen and speakers, so we were able to watch the rest of the circuit. I had my camping chair, it's worth noting that not a lot of people had camping chairs compared to other circuits I've been to. It's really well-made, if you don't want to carry your chair, there are still plenty of options to sit on. The Rocher is a hill, so if you sit on the grass, there's a good chance you'll still get to see everything. There's also the wood board on top of the Rocher hedges, the only issue is the trees. There are many trees blocking the view, depending on where you are sitting, so if you want a good spot, get there early, especially on Saturday and Sunday. If you are planning on bringing a camping chair, there are locals that tie their chairs together with chains before the Grand Prix so they are fixed and staying there all weekend, so most of the good spots are taken, but you'll still be able to have a good spot if you get there early.
For the price-to-experience ratio, I think the Rocher tickets are super worth it (I paid 220 euros for 2 tickets for Friday & Saturday). If you have a bigger budget, and you want to get grandstand tickets, I'll recommend getting Grandstand A near the Saint Devote corner, which is where a lot of action usually happens, and you can see very well the starting line and the action from the garage.
Here's all the prices:
How to see drivers
Monaco is a very small city, so there's a good chance of running into the drivers, especially since many of them live there.
There are two entrances to the paddock (orange circles) and 3 ways to access them, one is by sea, then walking alongside the Red Bull station; one by road, then walking alongside the paddock on the pier; and the last one is through a building, which is the media station. If you have tickets to the grandstand inside the purple circle (I think it's grandstand P, N, O and T), you'll get access to that pier and will be able to wait until the drivers come in and out of the paddock to take a photo or get an autograph. I take this opportunity to remind you to always be respectful with drivers and any person in general. Ask them before taking a picture; don't touch them without permission; just be kind, patient and respectful.
Generally speaking, in Monaco, always have something to get signed and a pen (as many drivers don't walk around with pens).
Another way to get to see the drivers and autographs is by going to the fan zone when they are here (see point 1 of this article!)
Finally, another cool thing to know is that if you have tickets for Grandstand V, which is next to turn 19 on the map, you will see the F2 drivers very well since their paddock is in the tunnel underneath Le Rocher, you get to see them and the cars go back to the paddock.
I hope this article will help you plan for Monaco the best way possible! It was one of the best weekends of my life, Monaco is definitely not underrated, and the vibes were incredible.
Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them here or DM me on my social media!
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