If you are even a little bit of an F1 fan, you know about Monza. Monza is the “temple of speed”. Its the Mecca of racing… it’s one of the oldest tracks from 1950 still on the circuit…It has history, the racing is pure and it’s in Italy!
Seeing an F1 race in Italy, was on T’s bucket list – of course.
We didn’t have the kids so we decided to give it a go! Here’s what we learned.
Before you book your tickets or an air bnb or commit to anything permanent, here are a few considerations and lessons learned from our recent trip. if you are reading this, you too, might be interested in going and trying to figure out how to plan, or what to expect. Here are a few things that might be helpful.
Where to stay,
Transportation to the track,
amenities (Food, restrooms, FanZone, etc)
what to wear,
what to expect from the crowds,
what to bring
Gotcha’s
and
of course where to sit!
Where to Stay:
The race is just north of Monza’s city center, I say “just” north. Because when looking at a map, it isn’t very far. It’s about 3 miles. We thought about staying in Milan for half a second so that we could explore in our “off-time” but I’m so glad we didn’t. Milan is about an hour away and would have required a train ride to Monza every morning and evening. It turns out we didn’t really have a lot of “off-time” or frankly, any energy to do anything other than eat dinner every evening anyhow. Plenty of race fans stayed in Milan and some stayed in Monza… the hotels aren’t as readily available in Monza, but it is much more convenient. Instead of a hotel, we rented a cute 1 bedroom air bnb with a little terrace and full kitchen for less than $200 a night… oh and he picked us up and dropped us off at the train station at the beginning and end of our stay, gave us restaurant suggestions and brought us good bye pastries… super nice guy…generally Italians are very hospitable.
if you book early enough you can snag a good deal. Don’t wait until the last moment.
Apparently the city of Monza takes the opportunity every year around race weekend to host a lot of fun extra stuff. The center of the town is a cobblestone pedestrian area with great little restaurants and old cathedral looking buildings. The town used one area to host demos for motorcycle stunts and another night for ATV stunts. They also sectioned off a little area for kids under 10 with tons of interactive games. There were a few concerts and the energy in general was electric. It was a really fun vibe. We much prefer small to big city so it was perfect for us.
If you prefer a big city and want to do museums etc… i.e. you aren’t going to attend all the track events, then maybe you’d prefer Milan… but it comes at a slight inconvenience of a commute.
Transportation to the Track:
Speaking of a commute…. If you are coming from Milan, take the train from Milan Central to Monza.
Something to note right off the bat – There’s no easy drop off or access to the track.
Option 1: Bus There’s a shuttle from the train station to the track that leaves continuously. The Italians pack it pretty tight and there are plenty of buses, but you still have to wait a hot minute to board while you go through the winding roped off cattle lanes. It cost 5 Euro in 2024 for a roundtrip ticket and they give you a wristband for the return trip. I chose this option on Day 2 (Saturday) to check it out. I walked from our Air Bnb about .5 miles and then stood in line with the crowds. I had a lovely chat with a Norwegian gentleman on the bus (I got a seat!) We talked politics the whole way. I love the European willingness to have full on discussions with strangers.
Option 2: Walk! So T chose to walk every day… from our place to our seats was about 2.5 miles… part of that is because you have to walk so far inside the track. I chose this option on Day 3 (Sunday). On day 2 – T walked and I bused and he beat me… if that gives you any indication to the bus lines. Make sure you have good walking shoes. I still have blisters from the first day.
Option 3: Hybrid. So our first plan was to try to scooter there… there are several scooters and bikes laying around the city… and an app called “Dott” like our Lime that shows you where they are. Ironically though, the no-go zone for Scooters is where you want to go… so you can’t scooter all the way there… the best you can do is maybe 1-1.5 miles out of town to the central park and walk the remaining 1.5. We did this the first day – but we went the long way, cause we kept trying to sneak around the no-go scooter zone… bad idea… you just can’t get there from here.
What isn’t available – Uber. No Ubers… and taxis weren’t really available either. If you rent a car, the parking lots are where the bus drops you off anyways and is still about .7- 1 mile outside the gate. EVERYONE HAS TO WALK A LITTLE. Wear comfortable shoes… have I mentioned that already?
We easily got more than 20K steps every day.
Amenities at the Track:
Monza has a “FanZone” outside the seating areas that everyone can access, it was the only “Extra” at the track – most everything else is minimalist – meaning, people are there to see the races. Period. The fanzone had a couple of “experiences” you could sign up for – pit crew challenge, racing challenge, selfie with a driver (digital driver inserted), race gear and food vendors and a race car experience (the last one was $$$$).
Once you leave the fanzone, you are vectored towards your ticketed area. Fans can’t wander into other sections. So the majority of your time will be spent in your seat, under the bleachers of your seat (for shade) or standing in line for food at one of the vendors.
FOOD! The Food options were essentially, pizza, pasta, dessert or sandwich… and there was a small burrito stand that we also loved. The drinks are sold separately at its own vendor and weren’t super cold. To purchase food or drink, one must stand in line at the cashier and purchase a ticket, then stand in line at the vendor where you trade your ticket/receipt for the food. There are options to purchase online and use your phone – but reception was a REAL challenge. I think it was a matter of bandwidth and the crowds. I stood in line to get food , all the while trying to purchase the option online (I was gambling) and by the time I got to the front, the app still hadn’t connected (about 20 min). I was forced to stand in the physical pay line and then return to the vendor.
Knowing this, I would just plan out my online purchase earlier next time.
The track doesn’t allow any bottles bigger than 20 oz in. They also don’t allow metal or glass bottles (if they see them). So we bought a few bottles of water the night prior at a super market and brought those with us. When those were empty we stood in the water fill line…. Which was like a keg for water. Also another long line…. So time it when the fans are watching a race!
HYGIENE. Italian portapottys are classier than American ones 😉 at least some of them were. Their ports potties have a metal barrier between you and the collection of waste. When you have completed your “deposit” there is a pedal that rotates the metal slope to release your offering to the porta gods while running water over it. It rotates 180 degrees for the next individual.
They also have running water… a sink to wash your hands outside the portal pots. Not the plastic hand washing stations we have in the states, real plastic sinks. Fans line up to wash their hands, faces, fill water bottles (I wouldn’t trust to drink that water) and generally clean up from the dust.
Seating
Seating in Monza… look for shade… and plastic seats vice the metal ones. The lower seats don’t have great vantage points.
Seating at this track is not like COTA (Austin Tx) the only other track we have been to. At COTA fans could wander section to section to see different vantage points. Monza is much more regulated. Your ticket is your local access, you can’t enter or walk through other sections. Most public areas also have some kind of barrier preventing your view of the track to prevent people gathering on the sides.
We decided to buy Sunday only tickets to upgrade and get a better view of the race. We were initially sitting low – right across from the pit lane with the crazy Tifosi but we couldn’t see pit lane or the turn and only got a momentary glimpse as the cars zoomed by. So we moved to the right and up… high enough to see over the pit wall and get a view of the last corner. There was a tv in front of us that showed the ongoing action, which was helpful. There were two commentators that alternated between Italian and English. They weren’t bad, but I like the Sky Sports commentator better.
The Crowds
RED EVERYWHERE! The red fans own this track. Ferrari is everywhere. Fans are super loyal to Ferrari. There are supporter cheering sections primarily for Ferrari fans. The Tifosi as they are known. They carry flags, banners, and signs. Forza Ferrari, with an occasional nod to Forza Fernando Alonso too. I like Alonso.
I was surprised at the number of young women there on their own as well, or in groups of young women. This is a different demographic than typically interested in the US.
Fans come from everywhere. I found myself at different times cross-communicating with French, Norwegian, Dutch, Italians, Spaniards, Middle-Easterners and other English Speakers from England, Australia and on and on.
Every now and then I got to use my spare random language knowledge which was fun.
Also – people Smoke everywhere in Europe. There are no, “smoke free zones”. This was annoying for us. Even in the bleachers, on occasion someone would light up right next to us.
On the positive note, not just due to the lack of cell phone reception – but I think culturally, Europeans aren’t as tied to their phones. No one was walking around staring at their phones (even outside the track) or walking around with earbuds. Apple Watches are not prevalent. People are present and engaged. I had so many lovely interactions that wouldn’t have happened if they were on their phones or listening to music. I think we need to reteach human interaction the up and coming US generations.
What to Bring
If you haven’t figure it out already
- Wear comfortable shoes – you will be walking 20K + steps
- Bring several waters (less than 20oz)
- Wear light comfortable clothes
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- Sunglasses
- Earplugs for the noise (the cars are loud – but it was more for the DJ in between races – super loud!!)
- Some people brought an umbrella for the shade
- A cushion for your metal seat if you prefer
- A rag to wipe your sweat 😉
- A good attitude and a friend
Gotcha’s or takeaways
They smoke. Its hot. You walk a lot. Bring water. Be patient.
Enjoy the crowd and culture.
Have fun.
