Going to the Belgian Grand Prix

[impressivelycunty]

Hello lovely Mumsnetters, If you've been to the Belgian Grand Prix, do you have any advice? What to take, where to stay? My 18 yr old DS is going in August. Any tips gratefully received!

Lucky boy!

I haven’t been to the GP but we’ve spent several holidays v nearby in Vielsalm.

It’s a gorgeous area, absolutely stunning. It would be a lovely place to stay, if you want self catering I can post details of amazing value gorgeous self catering places. There’s also a Centreparcs in Vielsalm, you can buy day passes pretty cheaply if you don’t want to stay there.

The nearest big supermarket we found is Liege but you can also drive to Luxembourg and German if you’d rather, you’re so near the border. I think locals go to L to buy their booze/fags/petrol.

Don’t know how long you’ll be away for but Maastricht is less than an hour away in the Netherlands and is worth a day trip, it’s beautiful.

Happy to help with any specific questions

Oh and take waterproofs, it can be lovely but can pee it down too.

It’s v outdoorsy there, lots of bike trails and water based activities, some using the winter ski trails

when i was there we camped at the eau rouge campsite which despite its name is a million miles from eau rouge, walking from the campsite to the circuit we came in at stavelot corner
take sun cream, waterproofs, (camping chair if you only have general admission tickets) earplugs if feel the need, the cars are quieter now and ive never bothered with ear plugs but some people do use them
the track announcer speaks in about 5 languages so look into taking a radio or something to get clearer commentary - i had to call home at great expense to find out what was going on after a crash had happened and the race red flagged for a bit
its a great circuit to walk around but will take ages - plenty of food and drink stands around as well and a section just before eau rouge where all the merchandise was sold, there were other stands outside the track (dunno how legit they were) if you were walking in from the francorchamp entrance
its been 20 years since ive been so cant really comment on more than that so i dont know what prices are like etc

When we went, we stayed in Maastricht at a lovely hotel, will see if I can find it. It was an easy drive into the circuit from there.

I have been take ear plugs if camping as the max verstappen fans are very loud till 3pm. Plus the porta loos are horrendous. I would stay in Maastricht and drive in its a lot easier and nicer. Oh and come prepared for all seasons on the same day.

Thank you all - this is really helpful! I should have said that he is going on his own (18th birthday present!) so will probably stay in a hotel / b&b if possible and travel in every day. Someone mentioned Aachen as a possible? Has anyone stayed a bit further out where it's cheaper? He's not driving so would have to get a bus / train if so. Good call about waterproofs / using his phone to keep up with what's happening etc! He has a booked seat so presumably won't need a camping chair. He is so excited and I'm very jealous!

Matching- Vielsam sounds amazing! Any tips on where to stay would be great - thank you!

I went in 2005, but just for the day.
He's in for an amazing time, though unlike me he won't get to see Kimi raikkonen win!