JonCanadian

My daughter has moved to Montreal (HoMa) so I thought that this might be a good opportunity for a DTS F1 fan to actually be at one. I've bicycled and driven on the track so seeing racing on it would be very cool. Some ticket resellers (stubhub and tickpick) still have grandstand 3 day tickets. Any suggestions on which grandstand would be best for an F1 newbie? And I see something called "Family Grandstand"; does that mean no alcohol? Definitely we'd want beer and wine. And is the Metro a good way to get there? Bicycling would be our alternate.

Vise

We've sat in section 15 and that arena area is a lot of fun... you get a good view of the cars coming into the hairpin, there can be some passing action, and you get to see the cars accelerating off through the back straight. Plus the crowd there makes it a bit more lively. Section 12 would also be recommended. Definitely take the Metro too.

Matt Lane

Check the official site - I assume tix still available? www.gpcanada.ca Call them to see what seats still available - maybe a few singles close to each other would be an option.

Forget General Admission - other than to walk around on a Friday, you won't see much.

Yes, metro in and out, probably the most easily accessible event on the calendar. You're just a few stops from downtown.

Have fun!

M

pfitzsim

In the midst of booking to take my teenage boys as well. The biggest challenge I'm facing (not surprisingly I guess) is accommodation. I have an email in to someone I know who works at the Queen E but outside of that I can't even find something out at the airport or Laval. I was even contemplating staying an hour or so away and just 'commuting' in for a couple of days. Cheers.

bcrdukes

Official tickets sold out a LONG LONG time ago. You'll only find tickets from resellers now. Accommodations will be difficult to come by given this time of year.

Gregster

I still have PTSD from last year

I will possibly have Friday tickets for sale as I doubt my group will be going.

tip for the metro buy your tickets before getting to the track because it’s a complete cluster**** otherwise. Montreal is stupid having people buy a fare leaving the track. Then again I expect nothing less here. The left doesn’t speak to the right

Coussa

As someone who lives in Montreal and loves taking public transportation in general I can tell you taking the metro to this event is way overrated. I hate being stuck in traffic as much as the next guy but I’d rather be in my car than in a sea of humans.

pfitzsim

Where would one park in which case? I took the Metro when I last went 18 years ago and don't recall where anyone could possibly park. Thanks.

JonCanadian

Thanks for all the advice. Good idea about buying Metro tickets beforehand.

Coussa

I got there early and parked here: It's a bit of a longer walk than form the Metro station but I like being outside than crammed with thousands of people in a tunnel.

pfitzsim

Cool - thanks. Out of curiosity how early is early - like 8:00am early?

wildcat077

Forget it … there is NO parking at or near the GP site.
I’m a track worker and we have to share a parking pass with four people per vehicle to access a designated parking spot off the island , then they
take us to the track by bus.
Good luck getting there other than by the subway …

Cheers
Phil

JTT

Tickets will likely be hard to get, but as far as sections go, I’ve sat in a few spots over the years.

Section 33 - Family section. Not bad, least expensive. Big jumbotron so you see action from all around the track. These are at most grandstands.
Section 34 - I liked these seats. Hairpin has lots of action, and you can see them accelerate onto Casino straight. Short walk from Metro and close to support paddock which is really fun.
Section 12 - Fav. Lots of action into turn 1 and acceleration out of turn. Longest walk from Metro by far

pfitzsim

I have access to tickets but the only hotel I can find is $1k a night which is a little steep for my ‘budget’ / Scottish DNA!!!

Gregster

Park in Point St Charles and walk. Yea it’s a bit of a slog but more relaxing than metro. 5-6km walk not bad. You can also hop on the 777 casino stm bus. We have taken a taxi to the casino a few times but it’s mostly miss as the taxi drivers are always in the wrong lane and let you off by force from cops on ile st Hélène. Ah Montreal overly agressive cops, taxi inspectors and general security. However you can get across to the casino by Bixi but there aren’t enough stands. We have done Bixi leaving after the race once. You might be able to find a bixi dock on île ste Helene or near habitat 67. Iirc bixi has people near the metro station to collect the bike.

If you do cycle I guess you could lock your bike up on Concorde bridge or near the metro station. They bring in extra stands for locking bikes during the events

Last year I feel they just weren’t prepared for that many people at the track. You couldn’t even buy a hotdog. Lots of choke points where a “human crush” was possible.

this year we aren’t bothering with Friday. 3 days of crowds is just a bit much for my liking and the stress isn’t worth it for lousy support races. I can sell Friday tickets, recoup triple the money and have a party at my house. F1 weekend for me now it’s mostly about hanging out with my friends that I might only see once a year