Monaco E-Prix, Formula E on the Grand Prix streets for a fraction of the price

Most people planning a Monaco trip have never heard of the E-Prix, and I think it’s the best way in to the circuit. World Championship Formula E cars, the same streets as Formula 1, and grandstands that on the last official price list topped out at €45. Here’s when it is, what it costs and how it compares with the race in June.

The 2027 dates, and why they changed

The 2027 edition runs on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May, one race per day. It was first pencilled in for 15 and 16 May, but Formula E and the Automobile Club de Monaco moved it two weeks earlier, partly so it wouldn’t clash with the World Endurance Championship. It will also be one of the first big European weekends for the GEN4 cars, the series’ new generation.

What isn’t out yet is the timetable. Formula E has announced a new format for some double-headers, pairing a classic race with a shorter one, and the tourist board says the Monaco details are still to be confirmed. I wouldn’t lock in train times to the minute until it’s published.

How the 2026 weekend went

On 16 and 17 May 2026 Monaco hosted its tenth and eleventh E-Prix. Nyck de Vries won on Saturday for Mahindra, ahead of Mitch Evans and Josep Maria Martí. Sunday belonged to Oliver Rowland, the 2025 world champion, driving for Nissan, with Felipe Drugovich and António Félix da Costa on the podium. Rowland’s win was a good one for British fans, yet the figure I like best is a different one. There were 382 overtakes across the two races, on a track where F1 cars barely pass at all.

Saturday shows you the shape of the day. The streets closed at 05:00, grandstands opened at 07:00, the head-to-head qualifying duels were done before midday and the race ran from 15:05 to 16:05. By 18:00 the town was a town again. It’s one long day of racing, not a whole weekend like June.

Is it the same circuit as the Monaco Grand Prix?

On the map, yes, entirely. Since 2021 Formula E has used the full layout, all 19 corners with their familiar names, from Sainte-Dévote round to La Rascasse and Antony Noghès. If you’d like to walk it on any other day, the route is set out in the Monaco circuit on foot.

Everything else is different. The 2026 races lasted around 45 and 51 minutes with fastest laps of about 1:29, while the Monaco Grand Prix runs to 78 laps or two hours. The electric cars whine rather than scream, and the price gap is enormous. On the last E-Prix list, grandstand A at Sainte-Dévote cost €45; for Grand Prix Sunday in 2027 the same stand is €950. This is where plenty of people get Monaco wrong, writing it off as unaffordable without realising there’s another race on the same streets a month earlier for about a twentieth of the price.

Tickets, and where I’d sit

The 2027 box office hasn’t opened, and the only official seller is the Automobile Club at monaco-eprix.com. The list it had up runs from €30 in the stands around the swimming pool (N, O lower and P) to €45 for A, B, V and covered T, all with a giant screen. Accompanied under-16s went free, which at the June race only happens on the Thursday.

If I were choosing, I’d go for covered T or L. Both look onto the pit lane, and L sits right beside the Rainier III swimming pool, the one that gives the Piscine section its name, where the cars jink left and right in front of you. At €35, it’s the best buy on the list for me.

What goes on around the race

The Fan Village sets up on Quai Antoine Ier and in 2026 it was free from 09:00 to 19:00, with simulators, a giant screen showing every session, live music and a children’s area. With kids, that’s half the visit sorted. There’s no left-luggage at the venue, so travel light.

The town changes that weekend too. In 2026 the buses were free on both days, the harbour pool shut from 14 to 18 May and the Prince’s Palace closes to visitors on race weekends. If you’re pairing the E-Prix with other spring dates, they’re laid out in the calendar of events in Monaco.