r/GrandPrixTravel

Hi everyone! （don't know if here's the right place to post)I’m thinking about going to the Montreal F1 race this year for the first time, coming from Toronto alone, and I have a few beginner questions

1. Do you recommend going starting from Friday, or is Saturday/Sunday enough? If I go on Friday, do people usually spend the whole day at the track?

2. I haven’t bought tickets yet and I’m on a not so high budget. I mainly want to experience the atmosphere/vibes. Would you recommend the general admission pass or saving up for a grandstand seat?

I’m a little confused about how general admission works and where people actually watch the race from.

3. Also, can you bring your own food and drinks into the circuit?

Would really appreciate any advice/tips for a first solo F1 trip, thank you!

Hello!

It's my first time attending a Grand Prix after my partner and I really got into F1 two years ago, at my own fault I didn't do an insane amount of research of what were the best seats I bought tickets for Grandstand 1 as I figured you could't go wrong to be seated at the start finish line. As it starts to come up to the GP and reading more into my seats on various sites, part of me regrets going for Grandstand 1 seeing how many say it's not the best spot to watch on track battling. I have tickets pretty high up at least so I'll have a good view of the pitlane, but after seeing how much people rave about Grandstand 11/12 I can't help but feel FOMO.

Just want to see what other people's experiences in those grandstands, is it worth it for me to maybe spend a bit of extra money/effort to try and find seats for Grandstand 11/12 for Sunday? Either way I'm excited to see the cars in person during the weekend so it's a win no matter what :)

Edit: Thank you for all the comments! You all made me realize I'm just thinking the grass is greener on the other side, to anyone else going hope you have a good time too!

What: 2026 Reddit x F1inTO - Annual F1 Evening Meetups in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix Weekend#

When: Thursday May 21st - Friday May 22nd 8pm#

Where: McLean’s Pub - Second Floor 1210 Peel St, Montreal, QC H3B 2T6, Canada#

If you are an F1 fan that is in Montreal the weekend of the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, then this is the meetup for you! The scream of the engines, the roar of the crowd, and the great nightlife that Montreal has to offer! The Canadian Grand Prix is always a treat for any F1 fan!! For the past decade we've held a Reddit meetup on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights of the Canadian GP Race weekend. As anyone who has attended will tell you, those evening hanging outs with fellow F1 fans over beers and conversation are a blast! Especially as most of us are coming in from out of town or out of country, this presents an opportunity to meet folks with like minded interests and to make new friends. Talking F1 over a beer or two or more, what is not to love!!

In the past we have had singles and couples from as far as away as Australia, UK, New Zealand, Japan, Brazil, the US, Ireland and yes of course friendly Canada too. No seriously, you’d be crazy to miss this! These are free casual meetups, where there is no reserved seating etc. Just a great opportunity to interact with other F1 fans.

We're changing it up a bit this year and making McLean's our HQ for Thursday, Friday & Saturday. It is an excellent venue that balances the energy, and the ability to hear the person next to you. In addition, the occasional team mechanic or engineer shows up! The Venue is located at 1210 Peel St. There are two McLean’s pubs so please carefully note the address as this is their original location. It's super close to all the action of downtown, but tucked away just enough to not be a mad house. They have two floors, and we gather toward the back of the upper floor. Look out for the Reddit/F1 T-Shirt Hanging. There is a dedicated bar on the upper floor, they serve food, and it's good. Genuinely, the Butter Chicken is Amazing... We try to get there as early as the bar fills up, so plan accordingly.

We have had 30-40 folks show up in the past meetups so plenty of people to interact with!

https://www.mcleanspub.com/pub/?lang=en

Saturday

A lot of people tend to take Saturday on the easy side since the race is the next morning, but for those interested in going out, we will have an informal meet up McLean’s Pub again at 9pm at 1210 Peel Street to get the night started.

Sunday

So for those of you who are still in town after the race, the Crescent Street festival continues into Sunday night. McKibbin’s at 1426 Bishop Street is where we will be heading at 9pm Sunday for those with enough energy to talk more F1 after the race. Look for the Reddit F1 T-Shirt but we'll be outside in the back if weather permits.

Other Things

If you are attending the race, or wish to attend from 6pm daily onward, concerts at the track are being held following the race with separate ticket purchase.

https://2026.gpcanada.ca/en/vitrine/concertCGV/

Thursday

The Pit Lane Walk is May 21st but it is a ticketed event. Like last year, tickets are acquired via a draw in April. However access may still be available with purchase of a concert ticket. It is a great place to see the cars up close, chat up some mechanics and FIA officials. Drivers were not present last year for signatures unfortunately. If you have tickets, arrive at least 60 min before advertised open to get best access.

Festivals

For those new to the Montreal Grand Prix weekend. Crescent Street, Peel Street and Saint Laurent Street have outdoor festivities for the entire weekend. Crescent and Peel Streets tend to be busier than Saint-Laurent (but Saint-Laurent tends to offer a more local experience) with outdoor seating and terraces at most of the restaurants offering great vibe and people watching opportunities.

Crescent Street has a very large stage (at the corner of Boulevard De Maisonneuve) where DJ’s and live bands play Thursday, Friday, Saturdays and Sundays and has had over 40,000 people attending on a Saturday night in the past. It’s quiet the party!

Crescent Street Festival Link:

https://www.crescentgrandprix.com/2025-festival

(2026 Info listed under 2025 URL)

Peel Street festival link:

https://www.formulepeel.ca/en/

A popular question that we hear from folks new to this race is “how do I get to the track from Montreal?”

The track is next to the city of Montreal on the island of Ile Notre-Dame in the Saint Lawrence River. You cannot drive and park on this island the weekend of the race, so your only options are public transportation or taxi/Uber. It’s been our experience after years of going to this race that the Metro in Montreal is for the most part a well-run public underground/subway system and your best way to get to and from the track from Montreal. It is also very reasonably priced and according their website the current Metro prices are $3.75 one way, $7.00 round trip but the best deal if you are staying for all three days of track activity is the unlimited travel 3 day pass for $21.75 which allows you to explore the city as well. This 3 day pass also allows you to travel for free on the 747 Bus from and to the airport btw. There is a week-long pass for $32 which goes from Monday to Sunday each week if you are planning on staying longer. There is also a 10 ticket option for $34.25 if that works better for your group.

The track is on the yellow line of the Metro system. You get on BERRI-UQAM (the beginning of the yellow line) and you get off at the next stop. The green and the orange line connect with the yellow line at BERRI-UQAM also. The entrance to the track where they check scan your GP tickets is about a block from this JEAN_DRAPEAU stop. After that follow the crowd walking over the bridge and the hairpin turn area is where you enter the island and you are there.

To return to the city you walk back over the bridge to the Metro stop station and take the train heading towards BERRI-UQAM.

For folks who have difficulty walking last year there was a 777 bus from JEAN-DRAPEAU metro station to the Casino which is in the middle of the track but the bus service can change bus schedules slightly on St. Helen’s Island around the Grand Prix so you may want to double check the week before the race. The 777 bus gets busy after 9AM.

This is the map of the Montreal Metro system:

https://www.stm.info/sites/default/files/media/Stminfo/images/planmetropolitain.pdf

Hopefully this helps.

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to post out here and some helpful folks will respond.

We have a Discord group for those attending the race and would like to keep up with activities going on during the weekend:

https://discord.gg/dcXNjY4Jpg

Get excited there is an F1 race weekend in your future!!!

Hey everyone 👋🏻
Heading to Montreal next week for my first GP, and I’m just wondering what the selection is like for merch for each team. Is it just mainly shirts and hats? Or will they have most of their stuff that they offer on their official F1 or team sites?

Specifically I’d like to pick up a Red Bull windbreaker/raincoat. I know they’re expensive in general and they’ll be jacked up at the GP, but I’m prepared to grab one if they’re there.

TIA!!!

Update**

Thanks so much everyone!!! I had no idea about the pop up shops and Fanabox! I’ll definitely check those out before I pull the trigger with anything at the track. I’m opening to getting a jacket from a previous year too. I just want to rep my team and I’m in dire need of a new jacket! Maybe just keep it to little things like the program at the race haha 😂

Hey everyone,

Coming to Montreal for F1 and trying to figure out the best area to stay for a more comfortable, elevated experience.

I want to be close to Crescent Street / downtown F1 activations, but not stuck in constant chaos or noise.

For people who’ve done it:
• best area for a high-end stay during Grand Prix weekend?
• is staying directly in the Crescent Street zone worth it or too intense?
• any quieter but still very central pockets you’d recommend?

Looking for a base that’s close to everything but still comfortable to sleep and reset.

Appreciate any insight.

What kind of camping chairs are people bringing in to sit in GA? We will be flying in so trying to decide what to get and where to buy. We will be in San Antonio for a couple of days before the event.

My wife surprised me with Canadian GP tickets on Christmas, which is awesome, but she doesn’t follow F1 and booked us on an 8:00pm Sunday flight from YUL to DC. This is my first time going to a GP, I was dumb, and I didn't realize this year the GP is at 4pm instead of 2pm. Now I'm trying to understand if this is doable or not.

We have a Sat/Sun pass & are in GS31. I'm willing to bail halfway through the race since it's a sprint weekend & I'll also have seen racing + quali the day before & now have seen quite a few F1 cars on the track. If we leave halfway (say 4:40-4:45pm), is it doable to get to the YUL in time for an 8pm flight?

We'd stash our luggage somewhere around Berri-Uquam, pick it up there and I think take a uber to the airport. Given we're leaving halfway through the race, I'm hoping we can make it off the island & make it to Berri Uquam in 30-45 min, which should give us enough time to get to the airport.

I know the ideal answer is “take a later flight” or “fly Monday,” but budget is limited & I want to try and make this flight work. Looking to understand: is leaving halfway through the race a sane plan? Or are we underestimating the race-day / airport chaos?

Would love any real-world timing from people who have done the Montreal GP and YUL after the race.

I’m trying to take my husband to see the Vegas race this year. I should’ve planed better but saw some previous posts saying t-mobile stands were the ideal spot, best to wait until weeks before the race for discounted price. But having looked now, all T-Mobile seats are sold out; where’s the next best location and is there any possibility T-Mobile seats would be available again?
Also for those who recommend waiting to buy tickets closer to the race day, are they typically seats of 2 together?

I’m trying to understand how people choose seats for different circuits, because every guide just says “Turn 1 is best” and that feels… lazy.

When you pick a grandstand, what are you optimizing for? Overtakes, track visibility, TV screen access, atmosphere, shade, price, something else?

Also curious: what’s a pick you regretted and why?

I’m building a tool to help compare grandstands across races and want to base it on how people actually decide, not generic rankings.

I will be going to the Las Vegas GP this year and need to book a hotel. I’ve been getting mixed signals about which hotel is the closest/best access for my seats. I originally thought the best hotel as far as walking distance goes would be Signature at MGM, but now I’m seeing Virgin Hotels is closest. This is my first street circuit race and I just don’t want to be walking for too long (my mom is 70) or waiting in line. TIA!

Hello

Ive seen some reviews of various experiences except the most expensive Garage Hospitality one. Have someone ever tried it? It seems you get to chill in the garage area and get the unlimited paddock access which is cool but at the same time you dont get to see any of the teams garages or interact with them like team paddock club experience offers?

Any other pros and cons in comparison with legends package or team paddock club?

It seems every package they offer has pros and cons and even the most expensive one doesnt cover everything.

Hello, I purchased tickets for this year's Canadian GP back in January. I purchased tickets on tickets.formula1.com, the official F1 retailer/reseller (yes, I'm aware that tickets are cheaper directly through the circuit, i wasnt aware at the time of purchase).

With the race being a week and a half away, I was wondering when I could expect my tickets to be available for download.

My understanding was that tickets would be available to download about 1-2 weeks prior to the event, but since it's getting close to the event I'm starting to get a bit nervous.

Is it normal to for tickets to be released this late, should I contact customer service? Any insight would be appreciated, thank you :)

EDIT: JUST RECEIVED MY TICKETS, thanks everyone!

Post feedback, reviews, tip, photos and a quick note on your experience.

Where did you park or get to the circuit? How did you get your tickets?

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I have fibromyalgia so I’m a little nervous about sitting on the bleachers all day long. Sitting for long periods in general can be tough for me. I know I can buy a seat cushion online, but I want to make sure I get one that won’t disturb the people around me. Having a cushion with a back that I don’t have to blow up would be ideal. Thank you!!!

Hi everyone, me and a small group of close friends are planning to attend the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal this May (May 22–24). It’s our first time ever going to an F1 race, so honestly we’re a bit lost with all the options.

We’re trying to figure things out before booking anything, so would really appreciate advice from people who’ve been before.

• Any trusted resale platforms or places to buy legit tickets? How do you usually verify they’re real?
• If buying resale, which grandstands or ticket types should we prioritize for a first experience?
• Roughly how much should we expect total cost to be for the weekend (tickets + stay + food)?

We’re excited but also don’t want to mess this up since it’s a big trip for us. Any advice or personal experiences would help a lot.