Monaco was never going to be a cheap journey. However, I did make a lot of mistakes with this, so please try to learn from them. The first mistake I made was flying to Milan. I’d done this on the recommendation of a friend, that the drive from Milan to Monaco was well worth the journey. All in it took around 3.5-4h with a stop for a bite to eat. I’d hired a Fiat 500 at the airport and pretty much used a whole tank of fuel to get to Monaco itself. I think part of my issue was I was a little bit… liberal with the loud pedal. If you take the journey a little bit more slowly then it doesn’t have to be this way – on the return journey the car was far less thirsty. Italy being Italy also cost me another €33 in tolls to get to Monaco (although, oddly, it was cheaper to get back). All in, the combined fuel and toll cost was around €145. Much cheaper would be to go in from Nice, even though the flights are more expensive.
I also must point out that driving in and around Monaco is definitely not a good idea. The nearest place I could find to park on street was a good 20 minutes walk from where I was staying. Parking is free from 4pm on Saturday through to Monday morning, though. Everything within Monaco is within walking distance, given it’s so small – however, it is very, very hilly. If you’re not going down hill, then you’re going up. That said, though, with the parking issues it really doesn’t make a lot of sense to drive in Monaco at all. I’d very much recommend against driving to Monaco – get a bus, train, boat… anything but a car.

Within Monaco itself, there’s absolutely nothing in the way of hostels, and hotels you’re realistically looking at around £140 upwards. There’s plenty of cheaper places just over the border into France in areas such as Beausoleil. Nice is also not too far away – around 30 minutes, and is pretty cheap too. I opted to stay at an Airbnb just inside Monaco. This definitely wasn’t a mistake. It was in a great location, and cost £99 for the night. I’d still stick by this decision – I lucked out with this in that whilst I’d paid for a room only, I ended up with the whole apartment as the host was away for the night. It was in a great location, too. I can very much recommend staying with Jean-Marc.

Arriving into Monaco late on the Saturday night, around 8pm – after getting settled in at the apartment, first thing to sort out was food. Monaco was extremely quiet at this time – many restaurants having already closed. I had a pizza at a small restaurant called Flashman which is a short walk from Casino Square – this was an entirely reasonable €12.50. The rest of the evening was spent having a quiet walk around Monaco, especially the harbour to get an idea of where things were.

Sunday, breakfast was in a small cafe just around the corner. Being a very close neighbour of France means that the breakfast here is very similar – croissants, drinks and so on are typically French in terms of quality and cost. As a Formula 1 fan the most important thing on the agenda after food was walking the circuit. It’s brilliant that there’s so much of the race visible throughout the year. You can see the start finish line painted on to the road, the area used for the pits, and the grid boxes. You can follow Google Maps directions if you’re unsure of the full circuit too, which is really useful to make sure you’re not taking a wrong turning. It’s incredibly easy to do this given the twisty nature of the roads. The circuit itself is about 2 miles long, but there’s plenty of places along the way which are worth stopping off at too. At a leisurely pace you can do this in around an hour.
Of course, if you’re into Formula 1 then there’s lots of famous places such as Mirabeau, Casino Square, Fairmont Hairpin, Rascasse, etc) which are well worth stopping at to take a photo. It’s an incredibly emotive place given it’s so famous. It’s also possible to drive the whole circuit too. None of the circuit is inaccessible as such, although roadworks may prevent you from accessing certain sections.

If you’re into your cars, then spending some time around Casino Square is a must. Lots of lovely supercars coming and going throughout the day. There’s three casinos on the square – Cafe de Paris is pretty laid back – there’s no dress code here. Casino de Monte Carlo has a very strict dress code and is the most upmarket, and Hotel de Paris is somewhere in between.

Lunch was on the front, just before Rascasse at a place called Mcbuns, which solely dealt with burgers. Again, this wasn’t too far out of what I’d expect to pay in any major city but did turn out to be my next mistake: assuming that food in Monaco was always going to be expensive. More on this later, though. The burger itself was pretty good and came in at around €10 for a vegetarian burger, with drinks on top. As it goes, sitting on the harbour eating a burger looking out over some obscenely expensive yachts at the glistening Mediterranean sea is a good way to relax and definitely one of the better memories from the trip.

From here, I completed the circuit and ended back where I’d started, before heading up towards Prince Rainier’s palace. This is quite a climb from the harbour – whilst it doesn’t take too long, it is quite arduous. There is a route which passes through Princess Charlotte’s Gardens, and allows you to look out over the sea from the very edge of Monaco on a cliff top. Continuing from here, you’re then approaching the edge of Monaco-Ville, the old town which houses both the Cathedral and also the Palace. This lead me to understand the second mistake I’d made – food and so many other things such as souvenirs are markedly cheaper here than in the much more upmarket areas around the harbour. A good sized panini is around €4-€5, for instance. Similarly, t-shirts which are around €12 in souvenir shops around the harbour can be had for around €5 in Monaco-Ville. The whole area is very typical of old towns with lots of little streets bisecting each other with a vast array of small shops, cafes and bazaars. From the side of the Palace you have some of the most breathtaking views allowing panoramic views of the harbour and Mediterranean sea and also sweeping views across much of Monaco itself.

Leaving Monaco-Ville and the palace, I headed back to where I’d parked the car and set off back through France.

I spent a day in Monaco. The costs for this one are a little complex as I spent a further two days after this – one in Genoa and one in Milan, so these costs are as best as I can get them and refer to Monaco only.

Return flight from Manchester with Ryanair: £29.98
Accommodation with Airbnb: £99
Car hire: £27.35 from SicilyByCar. Whilst I’ve had good experiences with them before, I found contacting them to extend the hire of the car I had to be impossible – calls and e-mails both went unreturned.
Tolls: €33 (getting to Monaco); €30.80 (getting back – no, I don’t know why it was different)
Fuel: €75 (Approx)
Food, drink, etc: €60 (Approx)

Total: £337.00 (Approx)