Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo

Your ranking in the glamour hierarchy is determined by where you watch Formula One's blue-ribbon event: while petrol-heads in the Grandstand are buffeted by the hurricane of passing cars, you might rent a mooring berth in the harbor for a luxury seat in the Med, and get people queuing round the block to come aboard for cocktails.

Or, if you don't have a vessel to compete with that of UK fashion mogul Sir Philip Green, a Paddock Club pass gets you access to the pit-lanes for behind-the scenes celeb mingling. Alternatively, catch a bird's-eye view of the action from a circuit side terrace, or from a room at the Fairmont Hotel overlooking the Loews Hairpin, F1's most famous corner, where drivers slow to a crawl, then emerge speeding out of the tunnel past the harbor in a flurry of color.

After the checkered flag has flown, the street circuit opens until about 6am, and you can pay to be driven around in a Testarossa or another of Modena's finest motors (you'll find your chauffeur at La Rascasse restaurant). Then head to Jimmy'z at Le Sporting Club, the granddaddy of post-race partying, and watch bemusedly as gorgeous girls flirt with ageing oligarchs.

For a more laid-back evening, try the bar at Columbus Hotel, part-owned by driver David Coulthard. For harbor views, make your way to Port Palace's rooftop bar, or sip cocktails in a "kissing seat" at Monte Carlo Bay's Blue Gin bar.

When: Four days in third week of May. Thursday: practices 10am, 11.30am and 2-3.30pm. Saturday: practice 11am-12pm, qualifying 2pm. Sunday race 2pm.

Insider tips: Note that on top of quadrupled rates, many hotels require a minimum six nights' booking during Grand Prix weekend. Rent an apartment in the Shangri La Building to see the race from the time the cars leave the tunnel, pass round the swimming-pool complex and cross the start line, to the moment they enter Casino Square. Cosy Italian restaurant Sans Souci, on the outskirts of town, is popular with FIA officials, F1 team engineers and technical directors -- and hence a great place to hear inside whispers.

Get there: If you're not arriving via the Med, fly to Nice and take a seven-minute helicopter ride (www.heliairmonaco.com) -- there's no better way to arrive, and it's usually cheaper than a taxi (if you're traveling on your own), which takes an hour or so. That said, the helicopter fare is about three times the usual price (€100) if F1 is in town. Alternative options include taking a bus from Cannes or Menton (www.rca.tm.fr), or a train from Nice, Cannes, Menton, or Ventimiglia in Italy.

Price: Expensive (free if you watch from the hill terraces below the Roc, opposite the Rascasse corner).

Tickets and information: Book grandstand tickets on the Automobile Club de Monaco website from December. Make hotel reservations at least six months in advance. Register online for Paddock Club availability. Automobile Club de Monaco (tel. +377 93 15 26 00; www.acm.mc), Formula One (www.formula1.com); Monaco Tourist Office (www.visitmonaco.com); Paddock Club (www.formulaonepaddockclub.com); Shangri La Building (www.f1corporate.com)