Monaco Grand Prix weekend for €250

The Monaco Grand Prix is known for its glitz, glamour and exorbiant prices, but can be done for as cheap as €250 per person. Here's how we did it.

Tickets
Not knowing that we'd be in the French Riviera in time for the race, we didn't book tickets until 4 days beforehand. Grandstands were mostly sold out and the only tickets left started out at €600 each. We opted for the general admission seating in Secteur Rocher for €70 each plus a €10 booking fee. Buying tickets online (www.acm.mc) can take up to 3 days to arrive at will call, otherwise they can be bought in Monaco leading up to race day.

Getting there
We drove to Nice in our campervan, but you can get flights from London to Nice on EasyJet or British Airways for between €100 - €150 depending on how early you book.

Accommodation
Easily the biggest organisational nightmare of the trip, as hotels in Monaco are exorbiantly overpriced. Some Monaco residents hire out their terraces for between €8,000 to €150,000 for the four days, so you can imagine the hotel prices.

Try booking in any of the surrounding towns along the riviera such as Nice or Menton, then take the train or bus into Monaco on race day.

Camping is an even cheaper option, and doesn't have to involve a tent or sleeping outdoors.

Suggested options:

• Hire a campervan in Paris and drive it down to Nice
• Most campsites offer bungalows / chalets or mobile homes that can sleep up to 5-6 people. Prices usually range around €300 for a week, so splitting with friends makes this a cheap and comfortable option
• Pack a tent and sleeping bags. Pitches range from €12 to €30 per night.

Recommended camp sites:

Camping Du Val Fleuri, Nice
www.campingvalfleuri.fr/
€12 / night for a 2 man camp site
€280 / week for a two bedroom flat
Includes free WiFi

Green Park, Nice
www.cote.azur.fr/camping_village-club-green-park-cagnes-sur-mer_746_lang_en.htm
4 star campsite

Camping Les Romarins, Monaco
www.campingromarins.com
€28.75 / night for a 2 man camp site
Located in Monaco, so there's no need to take the train, but you'll need to cycle or drive into town on race day and we hear it's a huge hill. The view of the harbour is supposedly incredible from this campsite, making it well worth it.

Transport on Race Day
If you're staying outside of Monaco, the easiest option is to take the train. Buses and ferries are also available, but I've heard horror traffic congestion stories so the train is probably the most reliable option. Parking in Monaco is possible, but extremely expensive and highly discouraged by the Grand Prix website.

A return trip from Nice to Monaco is €9.20 and trains start as early as 5:25am on race day, running approximately every 20 to 30 minutes.

If you're staying at a campsite, check the distance to the train station beforehand. We stayed at Du Val Fleuri in Nice and cycled the 3km to the train station, but this would otherwise be a 25 minute walk.

Food
To keep it cheap, we opted to eat breakfast at the campsite (yogurt and cereal or toast). Some campsites will order in fresh bread daily, so we packed a sandwich lunch to take along with us. Dinners were cooked in the van, or most campsites have a restaurant on site or nearby in town.