TRAVEL MONACO

You don't need to be Michael Schumacher to drive at Monaco. Jonathan Crouch On The Perils and Pleasures Of Dropping Into The Principality During Your Next Trip To France

Down the curving pits straight, then flick right through St Devote, up the hill to the casino, down to Tabac, then change down to second for the Loews hairpin. Then flick right into the tunnel before shooting out into the brilliant sunlight and down to the Chicane. Then down the tree-lined quayside to the left hander, Portiers, before the left-right-right-left flicks that take you round the swimming pool. Now we're on the last part of the lap, running down to the last, tight right at La Rascasse, past the Grand Prix Bar. Now you're only a short spurt uphill to take you back onto the main straight. Congratulations. You've just completed a lap of Monaco in..32 minutes and 55 seconds.

Outside of that famous weekend in early June, any lap of the public roads that make up Monte Carlo's famous Grand Prix circuit is going to take about this long, give or take ten minutes. Which in itself tells you much of what you need to know about the world's richest principality.



Over-crowded, over-populated and over-stuffed with cash, Monaco has it all - not all of it good. But still the lure of the place is as strong as ever.



So, given that you're just got to go there, even if it's only once (and it probably will be) on your next trip through France, what about some top travelling tips? Well, I'm afraid I can't offer any. It would be great to be able to recommend you to a cheap but quality off-the-beaten-track hotel that serves fine French cuisine but asks Bed and Breakfast prices. It would be ideal if I could suggest a restaurant full of local colour and free from tourists and rip-off menus. The problem is, I don't know any - and nor do any of the guide books I consulted.



The only thing I can do is to offer advice which my wife and I completely ignored driving our couple of days in Monaco. Namely, don't stay there ...