It's record breaking time again at Monaco - as if there aren't enough records concerning the circuit. This weekend, however, Michael Schumacher and Ferrari can notch up more records if they can win and even Rubens Barrichello will have something to celebrate, team orders or not!

Monaco is a tiny principality, surrounded by France, in the right hand corner by the Italian border. It's tucked under high, frequently cloud-shrouded mountains which often give it a micro-climate. The circuit hosts its 49th World Championship Grand Prix this weekend, so next year is the big one.

This is the seventh round of the Formula One™ World Championship and with five wins so far this year, Michael Schumacher is knocking on his 59th win. He could also equal Ayrton Senna's six wins in the Principality. But more importantly, he could score Ferrari's 150th Grand Prix win this weekend in his 100th start for the Scuderia. And, as I say, Rubens will be celebrating too: on Thursday, he turns 30 years old. It hardly seems a day since Chris Rea's special version of Happy Birthday played out on the tannoy to mark Rubens's 21st.

Surviving Monaco

It looks tiny, but looks are deceiving. Getting around Monaco is the biggest problem, particularly when there's track action. I've always been a great believer in staying in Monaco. Many of my colleagues prefer to get away at night, but to do Monaco, you have to be there, all 24 hours of it.

The biggest lesson concerning getting around Monaco I learned the first year I went there. An American took me from the harbour up to a restaurant high above the Principality. It looked like an exhausting trip, but no, not if you know what you're doing.

You pop into this car park, take the lift up to the nth floor, pop across the street into this office block, take the lift up to such and such a floor, across the street again, up these stairs, across another street, take the public lift up three floors, across the street again! that's how you get around Monaco.

Either that, or on a moped. I used to have a fold-up one in my camper and remember passing Marc Surer sitting stationary in his BMW M1 as I indulged in what I called urban scrambling: weaving between expensive, noisy, glamorous, but very slow moving cars.

But then I followed Jackie Stewart when he was stopped by a policeman. Jackie wasn't wearing a helmet, the law in Monaco. The policeman began admonishing Jackie, but then began to realise who he was talking to - and Jackie began to realise that the policeman was now recognising who he was. After a minute or two, they called a truce: Jackie would wear a helmet, and the policeman wouldn't prosecute him.

So, you have to know how to get around, and wear appropriate shoes for lots of walking. Don't get held up behind the locals: they walk very slowly and that's partially because their dogs have very small legs. Many of them (the owners) can also be elderly, and this place is kept for them. There's little crime, no vandalism or graffiti and the police like to keep it that way.

And contrary to public opinion, it isn't incredibly expensive. Sure, you go to expensive restaurants and bars and you will pay. But there are pizzerias, street cafes and inexpensive restaurants and even hotels. They may be tucked out of the way, but they are there. The cheapest hotel used to be the Hotel de Berne (as in Switzerland) and who used to stay there? All the Swiss, driving down in their Mercs and BMWs to stay in this one star.

So it's possible to do Monaco on the cheap and to do it properly. That means going to the Tip Top or Stars and Bars after dinner and staying there until dawn. You'll see some famous faces there too!

The Circuit