Has anyone been to the Monaco GP?

Thanks to a very generous family member, I have an opportunity to attend the Monaco GP, and I'm looking for pointers from anyone who's been there before.

We would be staying in Nice France and going into Monte Carlo for qualifying and for the race. I'm trying to avoid any possible snags, like making a plan that looks good on the map but doesn't work in practice.

I know that the easy button would be to just sail the yacht into the harbor, drop anchor and watch the race from the Lido deck, but I don't think that's going to be an option... mainly due to the cost of fuel and yachts.

I haven't been to the GP, but I've been to Monaco and Nice. Are you talking about going in and out each day? There are trains, of course, but I imagine they'd be mobbed. Do you know where you'd be viewing from?

In reply to 02Pilot :

Yes, in and out each day. I expect huge crowds on the way in and out.

We haven't chosen tickets yet. Honestly I don't expect spectacular views of the race, but we shouldn't miss too much of the passing no matter where we sit.

I know you are asking about monaco.  But if it's to see an f1 race I would recommend spa or even Montreal.  

If it's to see the circus that is f1, carry on good sir.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

I've been to Montreal for F1, and I'll go back again. But this is a unique opportunity that I would surely kick myself for not pouncing on.

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

I've got distantly related intel from just visiting Barcelona and taking a train/shuttle combo to a MotoGP race at the nearby circuit.

Find out what works from someone who knows. We had a great time, but ended up walking all the way back to the train station after the race because the shuttle apparently evaporated. This was after we spent three days trying and failing to buy a parking pass from the venue.

There will almost certainly be good answers, but it may be hard to find out where to get them, and the folks selling race tickets may not even be a good source for logistical questions.

We came away from our trip delighted but curious about travel agents.

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Fortunately, the train station is close to the circuit, the ride is only ~20 minutes each way, and there are a lot of trains. But once you're on the ground, the further you are from the train station, the more time and effort you have to expend, and seating options are pretty limited. Most of the grandstands are around Piscine, which means crossing the track to get there. I imagine this will be very controlled, meaning slow, access.

I don't know if there's anything nearby, but if I were doing it, I'd be looking for a view of the hairpin, Portier, the Nouvelle Chicane, or the chicane just past start-finish.

In reply to 02Pilot :

I would suspect hairpin tickets to be crazy expensive. 

I have but was only 8 years old, so not much help. Even back then I remember it was extremely crowded. 

Don't miss out the opportunity, go. 

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Look at a seating chart. It's a really weird race for fans because most of the good locations are apartment buildings.

I attended the historic races run a week before the F1 circus and it was great - bought a seat at a kerbside restaurant == great place to watch from and they serve drinks!  Get there early to get a seat in a good corner. - I don't suggest sitting too close to the corner, just close enough so you can see the cars going through it but not close enough to become a participant in any crash.  I expect that they limit seating more closely for the F1 race than the historics.  I was surprised as heck to see a local friend from Vancouver out there racing - think in a Talbot Lago or something similar

I'm thinking this would be like any major "event" in the world.  The key being stepping off the train with an open flexible mindset.  Rolling with the flow.  And... carrying a lot of cash in small bills and not so small bills to make things happen.  Having a pocket full of discretionary cash that doesn't hurt to spend can sometimes make lifetime memories happen.

In reply to Purple Frog :

It's F1. In Monaco. You'd need a wheelbarrow for the amount of cash needed for anyone to even take notice.

Flexibility, yes. But flashing cash isn't likely to get anywhere.

02Pilot said:

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Look at a seating chart. It's a really weird race for fans because most of the good locations are apartment buildings.

And if you have enough to spend, you can rent one of them for a few days :)
 

Be flexible, be patient, and prepare for it to cost 3x what you think it will, but 100% do it. It's crowded, but a good crowd, looking to have a good time. You will be considered one of the fat, broke, Americans, don't be insulted, as it's almost a term of endearment. 

i haven't been but if I ever get to this may be an interesting place to watch from. 

https://www.facebook.com/steaknshake.monaco/

I looked last year when I first saw it and they had a deal that included lunch, this year they were apparently rented out.

I had no idea there was a Steak 'n' Shake in Monaco.  I wonder if Prince Albert eats there.  

Turns out there's a McDonald's too, but sadly it's not adjacent to the race course.

When I was there I ate in a restaurant on the left side of the track, between Casino and Mirabeau; there are several all in a row there. Access should be easier because it's outside the circuit, but most of the seating is likely to be inside with limited views.

I went in 2015, stayed in Nice and took the train into Monaco.  We sat at Tabac, from our seats you could just see the cars coming from the chicane into Tabac then through to the swimming pool. We only went for race day, the train in the morning was quiet, and the train back to Nice wasn't too bad, though we did stay in Monaco until later in the evening (my brother wanted to play a few hands at the Casino, and won some money).  The only hiccup, if you could call it that, was a large group of young people were having some event that night and did fill the train, luckily that was a stop inbetween Monaco and Nice.

Would I go again, probably not.  I would have preferred Spa or Austria.  

They have a train and bus service between Nice and Monaco. When we were there on the Thursday before the 2018 GP and the train service was on strike so we had to take the bus. Whatever you do don't get off the bus until you get back to Nice. Every bus coming out of Monaco that long weekend is full and you will not be able to get back on.

Ask me how we know 

Finally something I can speak intelligently to! 

My wife and I got to see the race in 2018.  We stayed in Nice and actually took water ferries to/from Monaco, which I would highly recommend if only to see the gorgeous coastline!  Bonus was you could book a hard-ticket that guaranteed a seat at a specific arrival/departure times.  Monaco itself is small, so walking is the easiest way around by far.  Tickets are wierd in that they are mostly private viewing areas/businesses that sell through the GP of Monaco organization, so there are hundreds of small viewing areas on the course.  Expect to pay for them commensurate to the view though.  Back then, the cheapest 'ticket' was at the Start/Finish line, at Cafe Du Port.  We paid about $1000 euros per seat, and admittedly could only see maybe 1000' of circuit.  They had TV's though, and we got to hear the sweet symphony every few minutes live.  AND it was open bar/open dining in the attached restaurant, which was nice since any non-fast food restaurants are nearly impossible to gain entry to on the day before and day of the race.  Just something to keep in mind. Otherwise, it's a super tight street circuit, so there really aren't any great viewpoints where you will live see more than 1000' of track at a time.  Corkscrew viewing is done almost exclusively from the Casino, and yeah, you'll need heaping wheelbarrels of cash for that one.  The race is kind of a secondary viewing to the people watching, which is 10/10.  I'd say that if you go expecting a good 'racing' experience, you'll be sorely disappointed.  But if you go to take in the spectacle of a freaking insanely cool city with a unique and awesome event at the same time, you'll thoroughly enjoy it.  Just bring lots of money.  Monaco is Monaco for a reason.  Even staying in Nice and being reasonably modest (it was our honeymoon), just the F1 part of the trip cost about $3500 Euros for 2.  That's excluding lodging and the rest of the week.

In short, consider ferries as a train alternative.  it'll take longer, but it's much cooler and relaxing.  Enjoy yourself.  Monaco was a madhouse bleepshow of epic proportions.  But, zero regrets.  It was an unforgettable, glorious madhouse bleepshow and I'd do it again in a millisecond. 

I also forgot, if your itinerary allows it, I would go to Monaco a few days after the race too, because the country itself is pretty amazing.  You won't be able to get any real sightseeing done in the week leading into the race.  E.G. the museum, casino, and all of the touristy cool things will all be booked prior, but not after the race.  We actually got to walk the entire circuit the Tuesday after the race, which was really cool and something I truly enjoyed. 

Nice was also a very nice city with some great food and beaches, although not in the same sense we have in America.  They're all washed shone beaches, so bring flipflops!  But the flipside is that there's no sand to speak of, so you don't get dirty or chafey, haha. 

We took the big camera to the actual race, and promptly got it stolen on the metro in Nice :(.  But here are a couple phone pics from a few days post-race-

We need to figure out the cell phone situation. 
 

We may have up to 16 people going. Some are experienced travelers, but at least half are rookies. Some will be going to the race in Monaco, while others will remain in France. We are going to need phones to keep things organized. 
 

How do we set up our phones to work in Europe, and how do we keep them charged?

Some phone will just work in Europe.  I'm going to France next week (and visiting Monaco for a day) and my iPhone with T-Mobile service needs nothing to connect in Europe and I get a reasonable amount of data included.  For charging, I got a euro USB plug brick, plus our usual cords.   
 

Another option is getting a European pre paid SIM card when you get there, they are sold all over the place.   

In reply to golfduke :

Great info! The water ferry sounds like a great option. Did you take that on race day? They only seem to run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at this point, but I could see that changing on race weekend. 

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

In reply to golfduke :

Great info! The water ferry sounds like a great option. Did you take that on race day? They only seem to run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at this point, but I could see that changing on race weekend. 

1) We traveled to/from the race early/late sunday, yes.  We tried to overnight at the hotel monte carlo, but decided the money was better spent on the race experience instead.  It was kind of an either/or situation.  There were a bunch of added ferries for race weekend, we booked them about 2ish months from the trip itself, and had no issue securing the times we wanted...  It was basically a non-stop back and forth run of boats to/from Nice.  It was a solid 20min walk to the start/finish area from the pier though, because all of the big boats with big money take up every square inch of the main bay. 

2) Communication was simple- use WhatsApp and hook into wireless, which was plentiful and pretty much free for patrons of every restaurant/hotel lobby/metro terminal.  Set up group chats, and go to town.  Additionally, I know for Verizon at least, our iPhones worked fine, it was $15 a day for European service, and you just contacted a verizon rep to sign onto the plan for however many days you want to do before the trip.  No sim swaps, burner phones or anything like that.  It was stupid simple compared to say 5-10 years ago.