You get first hand view (I am assuming) of the Monaco Grand Prix for free
Only if you can watch it from your (or a friend's) balcony overlooking the circuit. As you may have seen on TV, they cover the circuit COMPLETELY on both sides, so that only the paying viewers sitting in the various stands they erect and those in balconies and terraces can see the circuit.
I have been watching it for some years now. The first time, I was right there on the circuit. Couldn't stand the noise (literally, my ears started to hurt from the inside) although I had ear plugs and left. I have been watching it from higher and higher balconies ever since :-)
I doubt if Hotel Mirabeau is not that great a viewpoint to the circuit. All you see would be the cars coming down that last bit of av des Spelugues (that windy road where they drop down to 70 km/hr) and entering the "tunnel" (passing under Grand Hotel). This year, I watched it overlooking the port, with a view of the circuit from the exit of the "tunnel" and both sides of the port, including the start/finish line. That was a pretty good viewpoint. Except that we got burnt to a crisp under constant exposure to the sun :-)
Anyway, it is a veritable experience - not just the race but the whole atmosphere.
The downside is 200,000 tourists crammed in a town of 30,000 residents. Argh. Wave your hand and you hit a drunk tourist. Forget traffic. Forget getting a phone call through. Forget sleep, for anywhere in Monaco, there is no way anyone can sleep through the 9AM practice runs of those mechanical monsters... |
