A Guide to Attending the Italian Grand Prix
In September 2025, I attended the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. This was my seventh Formula 1 Grand Prix, and my second one outside of the United Kingdom.
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is my local track, which I’ve been to five times, but my first real taste of travelling to watch F1 was in 2022 for the Belgian Grand Prix.
My husband and I packed up the car for a long drive, taking the Euro Tunnel for part of the journey, and set up our tent in the youth camping zone for a long weekend of motor racing, beers, and trackside picnics.
We loved this experience enough to want to try another, so for my husband’s 30th birthday, I surprised him with tickets to Monza so he could witness Lewis Hamilton’s first drive for Ferrari at this iconic track.
In this comprehensive guide I break down every part of our trip and what it cost. But if you have other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out on Instagram.
Getting tickets to the Italian Grand Prix
I remember sitting on my hotel room bed in Japan when I got an email, just a few days after the 2024 race, to say that tickets for Monza 2025 were now on sale. I’ve never reacted so fast in my life. Why is it always so stressful to buy tickets?!
I’d already done my research on where I wanted to sit, and this is my biggest tip for you. Browsing Facebook groups and watching people’s social media videos beforehand is essential if you want to know your stuff before it comes to securing those pricey tickets.
I knew I wanted to sit opposite the pits along the main straight, with a view of the podium, ideally in a covered grandstand to avoid either extreme sunshine or heavy rain – or potentially both.
I found two seats in grandstand 26C, right next to the steps, and only one row back from the front (row B seats 118 and 119 if you’re interested). Honestly they were perfect, as despite row A having better leg room, they had a slightly obstructed view from the handrail in front and a constant flow of people walking by.
The only downside of all the seats is that they’re tiny and leave little space for your bags, so you’ll be very close to the people sitting next to you.
If you’re not interested in a grandstand, you’ll have the option of general admission. On the other hand, you might want to purchase an experience package, such as those that include Paddock Club access. You can sign up for ticket alerts on the main website.
Our tickets came through via email before the race, and we were able to add them to our Apple Wallets for quick scanning on entry and exit.
For two adult full-weekend (Friday to Sunday) tickets, we paid a total of €1,032, which converts to £894.69 at the time of writing this.
Booking flights for the Italian Grand Prix
Flying into Milan is the easiest option, and you have three airports to choose from: Malpensa (MXP), Linate (LIN), and Bergamo (BGY/Orio al Serio).
To get the best price on our tickets, we opted for British Airways economy flights in and out of Malpensa (MXP). Nearer to the trip our return flight was cancelled, so we quickly needed to rebook onto one departing out of Linate (LIN) which was no trouble. If I was to book again, I’d choose Linate (LIN) for both flights as it was so easy to reach this airport via the metro.
Two economy tickets with British Airways cost £649.64, including generous luggage.
Booking accommodation for the Italian Grand Prix
The hotels aren’t silly, they know when the race is and put up their prices ASAP because they know demand will be high.
We decided to book an Airbnb close to Milano Centrale train station, as that was the route we’d be taking to get to and from the track (more on that later).
Unfortunately this Airbnb cancelled the booking a few months before the race, but in a stroke of luck, we managed to find another Airbnb in a similar location that didn’t cost much more.
The hosts were incredibly helpful (especially regarding local transport, as I was five months pregnant) and the property gave us all the space we needed to rest and make picnics to take to the track.
For four nights here, we paid a total of £499.91.
Packing for the Italian Grand Prix
Here’s a rough breakdown of what I packed and used:
- Passports
- European Health Insurance Cards
- Phone and charger
- Camera and charger
- Power bank*
- Empty water bottle*
- Sunscreen*
- Mosquito repellent*
- Food*
- Painkillers
- Plasters
- Hand sanitiser
- Comfortable shoes
- Outfits suited to the weather
- Baseball cap
- Rain jacket
- Electric handheld fan
- Bank cards and cash
*The rules on what you can/cannot take into the circuit seem to vary depending on annual rule changes and who’s checking bags at the gate. Please check the latest information beforehand, as it’ll likely be different from my experience.
Travelling to and from the Italian Grand Prix
Typically, a train strike threatened our plans the week leading up to the race. Apparently this happens often. We did experience delayed and cancelled trains when we landed in Milan on the Thursday, which lasted until Friday evening, but with careful planning we didn’t find it impacted our journey to and from the circuit too badly.
We chose to book weekend train passes online, taking a fast and direct train from Milano Centrale to Monza each morning, and returning from Monza to Milano Centrale again in the evening. This meant we had everything digitally and got to skip train ticket queues.
Trains were frequent (apart from the strike days) so we didn’t have too much trouble getting on. Though I would say that there were fairly lengthy queues for trains to and from Monza on Saturday and Sunday, so allow plenty of time and be prepared to stand.
Our tickets included shuttles between Monza station and the circuit, but the queues were ludicrous, so we decided to walk. It took us 45 to 60 minutes each time, and there were a handful of places to get a drink or stop for the toilet along the way, as the route takes you through Monza town and a beautiful park.
If you’re staying in Monza or another popular location, such as Lake Como, of course you will have other options to choose from. I’d recommend using this link to explore your transport choices.
For two adult train and shuttle passes we paid €10 per day, totalling €60 for the full weekend. This converts to £52.02 at the time of writing this.
Our experience of the Italian Grand Prix
Our days typically looked like this:
- Early wake-up, depending on the first event of the day (though we often didn’t arrive until later by choice)
- Pack our bags and take the train from Milano Centrale to Monza
- Stop for breakfast and enjoy the F1 activations in the town of Monza
- Walk to the circuit
- Spend the day watching the events on track and enjoying the trackside activations (note that there is no evening entertainment at this track, unlike other races)
- Walk back to Monza
- Enjoy dinner in the town of Monza
- Catch a train from Monza back to Milano Centrale
- Return to our Airbnb for a good sleep
What we loved about the Italian Grand Prix:
- The pit lane and podium view from our seats
- The atmosphere of the crowd was incredible all weekend
- The post-race track invasion is a spectacle to watch, even if you don’t fancy being a part of it
- After the race you can walk along parts of the track, most notably the start/finish straight and the old track banking which is no longer in use
- The food and music found on the outskirts of the circuit
- All that the town of Monza had to offer
- Thanks to a friend working at the race, we were able to have a 30-minute tour of the Paddock, which felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience in itself
What we didn’t love about the Italian Grand Prix:
- You often had to stand in queues to enter and leave the track, which can be challenging in hot or wet weather (for us, it was very hot)
- You will have to scan your tickets at many points
- Naturally for an event of this scale, prices were not super affordable, though they weren’t completely unreasonable either
- Queues for toilets and water stations were often long, especially right before the main F1 practices, qualifying and race
- The flies and mosquitoes we encountered outside of the circuit
- On race day, it took a long time to move around the track due to the sheer volume of people
For the entire trip, excluding food and drink costs, we spent a total of £2,096.26. It’s not a cheap experience, but we treated it as a holiday and had the pleasure of exploring Monza and Milan on either side of the race weekend.
Overall we absolutely loved our experience of the Italian Grand Prix and have no regrets about booking those tickets.
I hope this post helps you when it comes to planning your own trip to the Italian Grand Prix. It’s definitely an experience you won’t forget!
