21 replies to this topic

[jonw440]

Hello!!
I want to take my 10 year old Son to the canadian GP this June.
I live about 6 hours south so we will drive up there.
I have been looking at ticket prices and hotel rooms. The 3 day "silver grandstand" tickets are fine, as we will sit at the hairpin at the west end of the track. But finding a hotel looks like it is going to be the trickey part. Should we just go for the race on Sunday?
What would we miss by going for just race day?
Thanks
Jon

[Berner]

1. All reserved seats are 3-day tickets, unless you can find a scalper on Sunday morning. Friday is boring except for F1 practice and Saturday features qualifying plus some rich doctors in Ferraris. No F-Atlantics this year, but you should check the event's website. General admission is pretty useless.

2. For cheap accommodation, try McGill University's student residence. Clean & convenient. But hurry as they go fast.

Cheers.

[cheesy poofs]

Hi Jon,

I honestly think you should attend all 3 days. It is worth all the money in the world to be able to see GP cars in action. If you've never been to this race, you'll love it !
I've been going for over 20 years and the event gets better and better.
You can spend both friday and saturday to just hang around the beautiful surroundings of Ile Notre-Dame. And with the city not too far away, you can go visit the many attractions Montreal has to offer. As far as the scalpers are concerned, they can rip you off so bad since the event is usually sold out months in advance !!

Enjoy !

[Andy]

Originally posted by Berner
2. For cheap accommodation, try McGill University's student residence. Clean & convenient. But hurry as they go fast.

See http://www.residence....ca/summer.html

Definately do the whole weekend, for your son's sake if nothing else. Plus, I often find Saturday Qualifying more exciting than the race itself! Your son will get a kick out of the support races as did my 10 year old nephew - he loved the VW Beetle Race!!

[F1Rulz]

Originally posted by Andy


See http://www.residence....ca/summer.html

Definately do the whole weekend, for your son's sake if nothing else. Plus, I often find Saturday Qualifying more exciting than the race itself! Your son will get a kick out of the support races as did my 10 year old nephew - he loved the VW Beetle Race!!

Me thinks based on Andy's last three posts he's got an interest in McGill Hey Andy since you live there I'm setup for the La Tour Belvedere on de Maisonneuve W. From what I saw and was able to determine from the map I have it looks to be in a pretty good location for Cresent St etc. Only downside (I guess) is we'll have to transfer on the Metro. Last year we were at Berri-UCam (1 stop away from the track ) I know... we should look at stay at McGill ;)

[Andy]

Originally posted by F1Rulz
Me thinks based on Andy's last three posts he's got an interest in McGill

I just had to look up that site for another "AtlasF1er" this morning so was fresh in my mind and saw a few threads which could use it!!

Hey Andy since you live there I'm setup for the La Tour Belvedere on de Maisonneuve W. From what I saw and was able to determine from the map I have it looks to be in a pretty good location for Cresent St etc. Only downside (I guess) is we'll have to transfer on the Metro. Last year we were at Berri-UCam (1 stop away from the track ) I know... we should look at stay at McGill ;)

McGill has nice.... Just Kidding!! Am not familiar with this hotel, do you have a cross-street showing on your map? That will tell me exactly where you are. de Maisonnueve West tells me you are west of St. Laurent Blvd. which puts you within walking distance (depending on how energetic you are!) of the main "downtown" area such as Crescent St., etc... Not to worry about transferring on the Metro, the system is really well set-up and connections are usually with minimal wait. Personally I'd rather be closer to the downtown area (which you are vs. where you were last year) and have to connect on the Metro to the track then visa-versa.

[F1Rulz]

The map shows that it is between Rue Lambert-Closse and Rue Chomedey. Looks like we'll only be a short distanct from Mont-Royal park and ~7 blocks from Cresent/Bishop. Can't wait! This year were coming in for the whole week starting Monday. That'll give us some time to check some things out like the Casenio, Mon-Royal, etc. Any idea what is going on out at the site during Mon - Thur? I know they use to have pit walk through day? Or something like that. That would cool. At any rate I think we'll be well equipted, got maps, be there before, and boning up a bit on our French

Something that I though about, do you know if they are going to have any restrictions on what you can bring into the site. I know when we went to Indy they said cooler only such and such size, backpacks subject to search etc. due to 9/11. Don't want to lug my rolling cooler along if it's not going in. But I doubt it will be much of a issue since they let me bring it into the Speedway. I was the (only) guy walking around w/ the rolling cooler. I think a few envious race fan were wishing they had that to put their Oil cans in

[Andy]

Yes you are in a good, central place.

As far as the "Open House" day they used to have, well you can thank the boys in red for the fact this no longer happens! At the 2000 GP, on Open House Day (Wed.) there were a couple teams (namely FERRARI!) who refused to open their garage doors for the public viewing. After this, the GP organizers received many complaints from the public who attended at the fact that these teams did not participate in the free viewing day. (You can imagine how many people go just to see a Ferrari F1 close-up!) For 2001 the Canadian GP organizers pleaded with Ferrari to comply and open their garage doors for the Open House day, Ferrari refused!! So, instead of having the event and then getting bombarded with complaints about the closed garage doors again, they completely cancelled the event for the 2001 GP. So, unless Ferrari have a change of heart this year, I would imagine this great day and awesome chance to see the cars and teams close-up, is gone forever.

As far as any "baggage" restrictions at the track this year, I have not heard anything yet. I presume if there are to be any such restrictions they will be announced closer to race day.

I will be, once again, putting a thread up in the RC forum about 2 weeks before the Canadian GP listing not only info about the AtlasF1 Headquarters, but, as usual, I will also list any other events going on in and around the city during GP week along with any links I find to web sites which could be useful for everyone.

[tifosi]

Andy,

Thanks for all your information. I just started a thread in the RC forum announcing my going to the Grand Prix, based on the fact this is my first live Grand Prix and Im overly excited. I will be with my 17 yo daughter and have a place in Lake George however that is a littl far, so we will find a place closer to Montral, but probably south of th ecity itself. Since Americans are still in school, our actualy time available is pretty limited, but if thgis goes well I expect to make this an annual event. Tickets for me, in American dollars were surpringly cheap, (I went for 31, if I realized that was only $250US I'd have gone for silver, am I going to be all right???) Although my time will be limited, I really hope to enjoy some of Montreal so will be looking forward to your future posts as well as ATLAS HQ info. Thanks.

[mtl'78]

Im feeling generous so I'm gonna let you all in on a 'secret' I've been using for the last 10 years, that gets me to the site in 15 mins from downtown. It works best if you have a car, but you can always use a cab.

95% of people take the metro to get to the race, as it is the fastest way there and back. But almost everyone takes the metro from downtown. If you have a car, you can drive to the south shore, going over Champlain bridge, and on the other side of the river, there is the Longeuil metro station. The government is always trying to get people to use the metro to go to work, so you can park at the metro station, and all-day parking is only $5. The beauty of taking the Longeuil Metro is that you have exactly 1 stop to Ile Notre-Dame, about a 5 min ride. The Champlain bridge is about 10 mins from downtown, so all in all its a 15-20 min exercise.


the REAL beauty is when you will leave, along with 100 000 other people, 95 000 of them will be taking the metro in the opposite direction, leaving you in a half full metro car while all the others will wait 30-40 mins with the smelly sweaty masses. victory!

[Andy]

tifosi's buying the first round this June!! ;)

[tedmna]

I'll be there as well, with my kids and a couple of friends. We're in section 11, west hairpin. Staying at le Nouvel Hotel. Reasonably central. Any recommendations for restaurants would be appreciated.

[F1Rulz]

Originally posted by tedmna
I'll be there as well, with my kids and a couple of friends. We're in section 11, west hairpin. Staying at le Nouvel Hotel. Reasonably central. Any recommendations for restaurants would be appreciated.

No specifics that I can give on Restaurants (they were all pretty good) but I would be on the look out for pushy "tip expecting" restaurant staff. On one occassion the waiter let me know that the price of the drinks did not include the tip... that's nice... I'm very aware of that... This in my Hotel.

At one place in Old Montreal they were so nice they included the tip on the bill for me.. gee thanks. I finally asked a kid working at another restaurant what the deal was w/ tipping in this town... he said that it was BS and I should tip what I figured was appropriate. There is no rule "unless they possibly had something on the menu that mentioned the tip would be calculated or included"; however this is usually when there is a large number of people.

Other than that I don't think we had a bad meal while we were there. Locals will tell you that if it sucks it won't be around for long.

[Andy]

Ah the topic of tips!! You must understand that Montreal is a big "social" town. Nightlife, social life, leisure activities are very important to the people here and they take it very seriously. Because of this, we tend to go to bars & restaurants more than average and so owning a bar/restaurant in Montreal can be a good business. Montrealer's, as a whole, are known to be generous tippers, especially in bars. In a restaurant the 'common' tip (presuming service, food, etc were "good" or better) is 15%, however in a bar it is usually higher. If a beer is $4, the average Montrealer will give the waiter $5 which is actually a 25% tip, but that's just how we are.

There was a newspaper article after last year's GP stating that waiters/waitress', etc were compalining that tourists were bad tippers. The way I see it, they are used to being over-tipped by locals and so anything less seems "cheap". Tipping is one of those things that varies city by city and country by country. I remember being floored in Zurich, Switzerland when I read on the menu in a restaurant I was in that "15% will be added to your bill as gratuity for your server."!! Good service or not, good food or not, I was being forced to pay a 15% tip!

I am not defending the rudeness of a minority of servers here in Montreal but do ask that you don't take it peronally and realize that it is really a minority of them who are giving the rest a bad name. If you feel the service/meal/drink you got is worthy of a tip, then do so at your own discretion. If the server asks for a tip or critisizes the tip you give, out loud, deal with them the same way you would deal with anyone else who is rude to you. I had a waiter in a bar here tell me I owed him a tip once when he brought me my beer (when he said it I was in the process of reaching in my pocket to get him one), I looked at him and said "I owe you a tip??? Just for that, forget it, learn some manners and next time I'm here I might consider it." He walked away mad and someone else served me all night... She was cuter anyways and got all my tips for the rest of the night!;)

[F1Rulz]

Andy, I agree w/ everything you said. The couple of servers I ran into were the exception and not the rule. 15 - 20% in the norm in the US. I know the majority of these folks make their money w/ their tips. So long as the service is reasonable it usually does not dip below that percentage.

I just wanted those visiting to know that the tipping rules in Montreal mimic those you would find in the States as I was caught off guard initially when confronted w/ this.

[Berner]

I am glad that no one - including MTL'78 - has mentioned the real secret way to get to the track without using the Metro. No, it's not a taxi to the Casino. No, it's not carrying a bunch of cameras and hopping on the photographers' shuttle. And nope, it doesn't involve bicycles.

Hint: you have to cross water.

Anyone caught disclosing this secret mode of transport to a non-fan will be sentenced to several hours of non-stop Diane Dufresne records played by a drunken busker outside the Parisien. You have been warned!

[Andy]

Berner -

Ahhh the ferry... took it home after the race last year and it saved me hours!!

Oops, wasn't supposed to say that was I???

[flyboy]

Tedmna,

My favorites for restaurants are Lucca Ristorante in Little Italy (514-278-6502) and Pavarotti in Old Montreal (514-844-9656)... reservations suggested.

[Berner]

Andy, Andy, Andy. See what interrupted toilet training leads to in your senior years?

I will personally ship you the complete D.D. catalogue, AND throw in the collected speeches of Bernard Landry.... in gaelic, of course.

Ah yes, I can see the hordes of Americans lining up at Bickerdike Basin, trying to board the Polar Express for Iqaluit. Such simple pleasures life has in store for us. Fortunately, we leave the snow and cold for Oz next Friday. Fosters, sun, palm trees, shiraz and, what, no Montreal women?

[Andy]

I just found this web site which may be of interest to those of you planning a trip to the Canadian GP this summer. I haven't gone through it in too much detail yet but it does seem to have some good and interesting info.

www.only-montreal.com

[Berner]

Or try this one for "live" weather reports... and whatever else you may see. www.montrealcam.com/en-sommaire.html Enjoy.

[Bogman]

oh geez Andy...its getting to be that time of year again, the one night a year you and I get together (wives in tow) and get drunk. Can't wait buddy!

Well if Andy didn't bring up the ferry, I was going to. No harm in letting others know about it because most people can't find it! Last year saw Andy on the ferry after the race. We gloated about how quickly we got way. I was in my living room 45 minutes after the race ended (live in the Old Port).

Mtl'78 --- that indeed is a great way to get there...but if you've got someone to drop you off there is a better one. Half way across the jacques Cartier bridge, take the turnoff for Ile St. Helene...you can drop people off and pick them up in front of the swimming pool and right beside the metro stop on the island. I got my wife to pick me up there one year when I was too drunk and hot to take the metro.

Tifosi -- Lake George is a little far, but Plattsburgh is 1 hour south of Montreal, or try Napierville or St. Jean sur Richelieu...a bit further out than most suburbs but likely to have rooms available.