Spa and the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit

The Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit, With The Eau Rouge Raidillon Climb, Beside The Spa Town Whose Name Became The Word For Every Spa Spa Was Listed By UNESCO In 2021 Among The Great Spa Towns Of Europe · Stavelot, Liege Province

Spa-Francorchamps is the motor-racing circuit in the wooded hills of the Belgian Ardennes, about 10 km south of the little spa town that gave its name to every spa in the world. At roughly 7 km it is one of the longest tracks in Formula 1, and drivers rank it among their favourites for Eau Rouge and the Raidillon climb, the long Kemmel Straight and fast bends such as Pouhon and Blanchimont. People come for the Belgian Grand Prix in summer, the Spa 24 Hours GT race, classic-car meetings and endurance weekends, and on quiet days for circuit tours and the circuit museum in the old Abbey of Stavelot. Spa itself, listed by UNESCO in 2021 as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe, adds the Thermes de Spa on the hill above town, reached by funicular, and the Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand spring that Peter the Great is said to have visited. Around it lie the Hautes Fagnes moors, the Coo waterfall and Stavelot. The honest caveat: on a Grand Prix weekend the roads jam for hours, the walking is long and steep, and the Ardennes weather can bring sun, fog and rain within a single lap.

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Route du Circuit, Stavelot, about 10 km south of the town of Spa in the Ardennes, Stavelot, Liege Province, Belgium

The circuit is a working venue, not a park: it opens for events, track days and guided tours, and is closed to casual visitors on most other days - check the circuit's own calendar before driving out. The Belgian Grand Prix has usually run on a weekend between late July and late August; its place on the F1 calendar has been renewed only on a rotating basis in recent years, reportedly skipping some seasons, so confirm the year you want is a race year. The Spa 24 Hours usually falls in late June or July. The circuit museum in the Abbey of Stavelot is generally open daily with a closure on some Mondays or winter weekdays - check the current schedule. The Thermes de Spa open daily, with longer evening hours on some days. Getting there: trains run from Liege and Brussels via Verviers or Pepinster to Spa and Spa-Geronstere; the circuit is by car on the E42 motorway (Francorchamps exit), with shuttle buses and park-and-ride on big race weekends - confirm. Book Grand Prix tickets, camping and any hotel within 30 km many months ahead.

Spa and the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos