Not often does one get the chance of walking a Formula 1 circuit. During a Grand Prix weekend at a ‘normal’ track, such as Silverstone or Monza, access is extremely restricted, so the punter has no opportunity of getting a close look at the track surface, the sharpness or otherwise of corners, or the kerbs.

Monte Carlo is different.

Because of the unique format of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend — with Practice on Thursday and Friday an ‘off’ day — punters actually get just that: the opportunity of taking a close look at what is generally accepted as the most challenging circuit of all.

After some practice/qualifying sessions for supporting classes and the weekend’s first GP2 race (won this year most impressively by Bruno Senna) in the morning, officials take down some of the barriers and open to the public the streets that make up the circuit. Those with exotic cars take the opportunity of cruising around, showing off their impressive machinery, waving at appreciative pedestrians and stopping to pose for photographs, while those on foot take an easy stroll on the sidewalks of the 3.3km circuit, enjoying the sights and stopping along the way at any of a number of cafes and bars for some (very expensive) refreshments.

Although this was my fifth Monaco Grand Prix, it was the first time that I took the opportunity of walking the track — and what a revelation it was. Television images don’t even begin to accurately portray the elevation changes or how sharp some of the corners are.

The start/finish straight, for example, is far more of a bend than a curve and when one stands at the entrance to turn one, Ste Devote, you cannot believe just how steep the hill leading to Massenet is. In fact, half-way up that hill, where the cars straightline a slight left-right, I need a break, so I take a table in a bar overlooking the harbour and have a beer. Only one, mind you, as it costs the equivalent of about R85!

Massenet, the left-hander which leads into Casino Square and would claim the likes of Fernando Alonso, David Coulthard and Sebastien Bourdais on Sunday, is effectively a 90º corner and goes downhill towards the right-hander opposite the Café de Paris. Incredibly, F1 cars take Massenet at around 270km/h in the dry.

Casino Square is a beehive of activity, with people milling around the collection of exotic cars parked in front of the Casino and the Café, and then the street plunges even more steeply down to Mirabeau, the tight right-hander that leads to the famous Grand Hotel (Loews) Hairpin. The hump on the left-hand side around which the cars jink is even more pronounced than what it looks like on television.

At the Hairpin I take another break, watching a line of people waiting at the Hotel for a ride in one of two Ferrari 360’s at R3500 a pop…

From Loews it’s a short downhill with a sharp right-hander before the street levels out at Portier, the entrance to the Tunnel. Just before the corner (where Ayrton Senna famously crashed while leading the race in 1988), on the outside, is a brass replica of Senna’s McLaren, while you look out over the azure waters of the Mediterranean, filled with yachts and boats of all shapes and sizes.

The Tunnel is a far sharper blind sweep than one imagines, tightening up towards the end, and it is quite impossible to picture what it must be like taking it at speeds reaching more than 280km/h.

From its exit, the road goes downhill again — as with the others, at a steeper angle than expected — towards the Harbour Chicane that would claim David Coulthard during Qualifying the next day and Adrian Sutil and Kimi Raikkonen during the race.

Throngs of people are milling around there too, for a red Ferrari Enzo is parked on the side, along with a couple of 430’s, and everyone wants their picture taken. One is almost within touching distance of some of the finest yachts in the world, moored right next to the track.

From here on the circuit runs level, into the 90º left-hander at Tabac and then around the Swimming Pool complex where most of the large grandstands have been erected. The artificial kerbs are mounted onto the newly-laid tarmac with bolts and are nowhere as high as on regular circuits, but still high enough to throw a car out of balance.

Street parties have broken out in this area, with people revelling in the atmosphere created by booze and loud, thumping music. Only at Monaco will you ever see something like this.

There’s a party also at La Rascasse, the restaurant after which the famous corner was named, from where the street takes a short uphill towards the pitlane entrance and the final corner, Anthony Noghes (the founder of the Monaco Grand Prix). Rascasse, forever implanted in fans’ memories for the Senna/Mansell duel in 1992 and Michael Schumacher’s ‘parking incident’ during Qualifying in 2006, is incredibly tight.

At Anthony Noghes there’s a statue of the great Juan Manuel Fangio, looking in the direction of the Automobile Club of Monaco who’s housed a little further down the main straight.

I always tell people if you wish to attend just one Grand Prix in your life, Monaco is the one. One of the many reasons is this Friday afternoon stroll.