I have had the pleasure of photographing many Super Cars over the past year so I was very excited to be going to Monaco last month to visit the Top Marques event, the most exclusive Super Car Show in the World!
It took place over the Easter Bank holiday, but luckily for me it started on Thursday 17th April so I could get there just for the day on the first flight out of Gatwick and the last one back before Monaco was heaving with all the Easter holiday makers on Good Friday.
My Journey
I flew to Nice airport and got the train from a little train station a short bus ride from the airport called “Nice St Augustin”. For a few euros I took the 30 minute journey along the coast line which must be one of the prettiest train journeys I’ve taken, it certainly beats the East Grinstead to Victoria line that I’m more familiar with.
We stopped at seven stations on the way and the train was certainly filling up with many people visiting Monaco for the tennis or the Top Marque Show. Once I got to Monaco it was an easy walk to the Grimaldi Forum home of the show. As I was approaching the forum I was just in the right place at the right time to photograph the arrival of the Lamborghini Aventador which took pride of place at the entrance to the show and was supplied by aaarentcars .
A Little Bit About Monaco
Monaco, officially the principality of Monaco is the second most densely populated country in the world! Prince Albert II is the head of state and has immense political power. Monaco has a coast line of 2.5 miles and the state has no income tax, low business tax and is well known for being a tax haven and is understandably attractive to the super wealthy.
The roads were very congested due to the ongoing building work as the new Yacht Club takes shape and the preparation for the Grand Prix in May.
Grimaldi Forum
The Grimaldi Forum is the main exhibition centre and very impressive too. On arrival I was just in time to join in the walk about that was going on with Prince Albert II, I managed to tag along with the press to get a few shots.
The cars on display were an incredible array of dynamic performance and aesthetic genius. With the added option of being able to test drive a selected few, this I’m sure was a big attraction to the many visitors over this four day event!
Super Cars
On display were cars by a variety of manufacturers Noble, Ferrari, Jaguar, McLaren, Quant, Tushek, Tesla, Lexus, Mercedes, Bentley, to name just a few. I was there to promote my photography of Classic and Super Cars and met with the dealers and spectators to show case my book which is designed with the serious collector in mind who would like to have their car or cars photographed to add value to their collection, but most importantly to document their car as a work of art and to reflect the owners lifestyle and finished in a bespoke limited edition book, this part of my website will tell you more.
People
I met many interesting people all with a passion for cars and the finer things in life. One lady in particular, a local resident, just passing the time of day was very keen to do a brief interview about me on her iphone for a blog she wanted to start.
If you would like to take time out in Monaco next year the Top Marques Show is from April 16th-19th April 2015, I’ll be back again to soak up a little more of my passion and of course the Cote D’Azur.
Thanks for reading.
Stella