Grand Prix festivities ‘good way to kick off summer’ in Montreal

Hotels, restaurants and even stores fill up with fans who flock to downtown Montreal for the big races and festivities on Grand Prix weekend.

Racing fans from all over the world have taken over parts of downtown Montreal as one of the country’s largest sporting events gets underway.

The Canadian Grand Prix brings in tens of thousands spectators for the annual three-day affair, with celebrations continuing off the racetrack in the evenings. Hotels, restaurants and even stores fill up with fans who flock to the city for the big races and festivities.

Father and son Eddy and Alex Nunez came in from New York. As F1 enthusiasts, they have also been to Italy. They arrived in Montreal before the kickoff and they decided to check out the celebrations on Crescent Street.

“It’s a pretty cool city,” Alex Nunez said Thursday, adding they also walked around Old Montreal earlier in the day.

The Grand Prix doesn’t just draw tourists. Montrealer Max Makovka has been lucky enough to check out some of the past races. This year, he was just excited to stop by the festival downtown to meet other fans.

“It’s more just seeing everyone come together,” Makova said. “It’s a very cool event.”

The action-packed weekend is “definitely a good way to kick off the summer,” he added.

“I’m personally a very big Formula One fan,” Makovka said. “So walking around seeing everyone wearing their shirts, the hats — it’s just a big thing for me to see other people share the sport that I love.”