My Travel Blog

Stavelot:

Stavelot is a cute little city in Belgium that has a road made of very old cobblestone, and has a lot of hills. This was our homebase during the week of the Belgium grand prix. Our week was super busy with going to the circuit pretty much every day and to the city of Spa one day, so we did not do a lot of exploring while there. Even though we did not explore much of Stavelot, I feel as though I did see a lot of the place. They did have a Formula 1 racing museum for the Spa race that we unfortunately did not go to because we were so busy and exhausted. It would have been really cool to go in and learn more about the history of the Spa Grand Prix. Stavelot had more places in the city that you would use if you lived there, such as a movie theater and had no touristy areas or stores. Due to all of this, Stavelot is definitely more of a place you would live than a touristy destination you travel to visit, so for our purpose, Stavelot was the perfect place to stay.

Spa:

Spa, Belgium is known as the birthplace of spas. The first ever spa can be found here and Stavelot being so close to Spa, we decided to have a spa day in Spa. The spa we went to, called Thermes de Spa, offered treatments I had never heard of such as a carbon bath, thalaxion bath, and niagra bath. They also offered other spa treatments I have heard of like massages and facials. Going here was a very cool experience, but the treatments I did do were honestly no better or worse than a spa experience here at home. These bath treatments I have not heard of, and do not know if there are any other spas that offer this type of treatment, but I do not feel the need to do them again. I tried two different type of baths and neither was that special in my opinion, but it was cool to try them once.

Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix:

The Belgium Grand Prix was the first ever Formula 1 race I have attended and it was a great one to go to. This race had the sprint race format so it was two races in one weekend. It also had F2 and F3 racing that weekend as well. The seats we had for the Grand Prix were right across from the pitlane, so we had a great view of the cars leaving their garage, pit stops, and the podium ceremonies. The race itself was really cool and seeing the track in person gave a whole new perspective to what these drivers actually do. On television you can not see the uphill of the circuit but being there in person, you see that detail and also how narrow the track is. There was also entertainment going on during the gaps between races and practices. They had driver events and they also had DJ’s there as well. The atmosphere was amazing. The main language spoken in Belgium is not English, but we were sat in a section with people from the United States and Canada. Making friends with them made the race weekend even more enjoyable. There was also a fan zone where you could buy your favorite driver and/or team’s merchandise. Getting to and from the circuit was a bit of a problem as public transit was minimal and taxis could not get through to pick people up everyday. We were lucky and found a taxi or were able to take the bus everyday, except for the last race day, where we ended up walking two hours from the track back to Stavelot. Despite this, the weekend was action packed, a great experience from start to end and very memorable.

Would I go again?

I would absolutely go to an F1 race again (I actually already have another one booked), but I would probably not stay in Stavelot or Spa. Stavelot was the closest place we could stay to the Grand Prix that was a reasonable price and Spa was a nice day trip, but I do not feel the need to visit either place again. If I go to Belgium a third time, I would rather stay in Brussels.

Highlights of Spa/Stavelot: seeing my very first Formula 1 race.

Fun fact about the Spa Grand Prix: 380,000 people were in attendance at this Grand Prix.