I am Feeling pretty bronzed after a short but sweet three days of sunshine in the South of France this week. I took the min-break to part-fill one of my boyhood dreams of going around the Grand Prix circuit in Monaco. I say ‘part fill’ because my dream is actually to drive the circuit in a high end sports car.. something like a Lamborghini Gallardo or a Ferrari 458 but I suspect that, that particular vision is still a ways off.

So I had to make do with walking around it, still this was Monaco in June, the sun was blazing down and I was in the playground of the filthy rich so I would no doubt be able to feast my desiring eyes on plenty of high end toys.

Monaco Grand Prix Circuit from the Harbour

I started at Boulevard Albert in front of the Marina and walked lazily up the Avenue d’Ostend which slopes up the left of the marina and enters Monte Carlo. I made a short stop due to the heat in the beautiful shaded gardens of the Place du Casino and pondered to myself, how was I going to get into the famous tunnel where only a motorised vehicle could take me.

So having left the keys to my Maserati in my model girlfriends penthouse apartment (cough)  I jumped aboard the local tourist ‘street train’ which trundled me sweetly around the rest of the Grand Prix circuit, under the famous tunnel and down towards the marina once more.

Stopping at the infamous Casino Bar for a few cold ones I found I was just in time to watch England beat the Ukraine 1-0 in the European Cup… A good day indeed.

I highly recommend Monaco for a short break: We traveled with Easy jet from Luton at a cost of £80 return. We caught the Bus 110 from Nice Airport for 30 Euro-return, which dropped us off at the top entrance to the train station and only two short flights of stairs up to the Adagio apartment on Rues des Martyrs, where we stayed for two nights for £240 (Take note that the bus picks you back up from the Avenue de la Costa, above the gardens in front of the Casino Royal)

The Principality is really worth a visit, even if it is to just walk the Grand Prix circuit and admire the expensive yacht’s and motor cars of the rich and famous.