If it’s your first time at the Belgian Grand Prix you’re probably wondering how to get to Spa Francorchamps. You’re not the only one.
The circuit is tucked away in a quiet corner of the Belgian countryside so your travel options need a little planning.
Whether you want to get the train from Europe, drive from the UK, take a shuttle bus from one of the major European cities or fly in to one of the nearest airports to Spa Francorchamps, this comprehensive travel guide will give you all the info you need.
Contents
Where is Spa Francorchamps?
Spa Francorchamps race circuit is located in South-East Belgium. It’s in the municipality of Wallonia in the province of Liege.
The circuit is only 20km from the German border to its East, 35km from the Dutch border to the North and 30km from the Luxembourg border to the South.
The full address for the circuit is:
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps,
Route du Circuit 55,
4970 Stavelot,
Belgium
There are 4 different spectator entrances to get in to the circuit. Read our guide to the Spa Francorchamps entrances for more information and which ones you should use.
Driving to Spa Francorchamps
With the exception of two motorways, the roads surrounding the Spa Francorchamps circuit are small, single-lane roads in the countryside. They were never designed to accommodate lots of race-day traffic.
If you’re planning on driving to the circuit for the Formula 1 weekend make sure you leave a lot of extra time for your journey, especially on the Saturday and Sunday. You can expect to be stuck in traffic once you get close to the circuit.
Check out the Spa F1 Timetable to see what time the on-track action takes place over the weekend.
Use the Waze app to follow directions to the circuit.
I did this for the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix and Waze took me down a backroute which probably saved me an hour of driving. Details on that shortcut further down the page.
Nearest motorways
- The E42 runs just to the east of the circuit and is the closest motorway to the track.
- The E25 runs to the west of the circuit but doesn’t pass as close to the track.
- All of the blue ‘N’ roads on the map below are single-track minor roads.
Directions to official car parks
Once you get close to the circuit your specific route will depend on where you’re parking.
There are four official car parking areas: Green, Yellow, Red and Blue. For information on which is the best car park to choose, read our Spa Francorchamps Parking guide.
The car parks open at 6am every day of the Grand Prix weekend.
There are a couple of slight contradictions between these two maps, however, so below I’ve summarized the best routes to get to the different areas.
The Google Maps pins below will get you close to your designated parking area, but follow the road signs and marshals once you’re almost there.
Green parking area
Google maps pin – Areas 121, 128, 130, Green campsite
Google maps pin – Areas 123, 124, Young Village
- From the E42: Exit 11 Malmedy. Once you’re off the motorway the circuit will be signposted. You’ll either then go right on to the N62 or left on to the N68 depending on which area of the Green zone you’re parked in. Areas 123 & 124 and the Young Village should go left on to the N68, all other green areas should go right on to the N62.
- From the E25: Exit 48 on to the N66 East towards Malmedy / Trois-Points / Stavelot / Chevron / Werbomont. Once you get off the E42 it’s another 30km of winding single-lane roads before you reach the Green parking.
Yellow parking area
Google maps pin – Yellow parking area
For Yellow parking areas including Yellow BIS and Yellow E25. In 2023 I parked in the Yellow area and came south down the E42. I found an amazing route that bypassed a lot of traffic, probably saving me at least an hour. Full details below:
From the E42: Exit 9 off the E42, then turn left on to the N640 South towards Stavelot / Malmedy. Follow that for around 3km then take a left turn on to a small road called Cokaifagne. Then you have to follow a number of tiny single-track roads, eventually going through a tunnel under the E42. Click here for the full route directions, and trust me, it will save you heaps of time.
From the E25: Exit 48 on to the N66 East towards Malmedy / Trois-Points / Stavelot / Chevron / Werbomont. Stay on that road through Trois-Points where it becomes the N68 towards Stavelot. Take a left on to the N622 towards Francorchamps and stay on that road until you reach your designated Yellow parking area.
Red parking area
Google Maps pin – Red parking area
- From the E42: Exit 11 Malmedy. Once you’re off the motorway the circuit will be signposted. Then go left on to the N68 towards Marche / Huy / Stavelot / Trois-Points. Follow signs to the Blanchimont entrance gate and you’ll arrive at the Red parking area.
- From the E25: Exit 48 on to the N66 East towards Malmedy / Trois-Points / Stavelot / Chevron / Werbomont. Stay on that road through Trois-Points where it becomes the N68 towards Stavelot. Follow signs towards the Blanchimont entrance gate / Campus Automobile which will lead you on to the N640 and to the Red parking area.
Blue parking area
Google maps pin – Blue parking area
Blue parking is mainly for accessible parking and VIPs with Spa F1 Hospitality tickets as it’s right next to the circuit at La Source / Ster entrances.
- From the E42: Exit 10 Francorchamps on to the N640 South towards Francorchamps / Stavelot / Malmedy. You can then follow the N640 all the way to Francorchamps where the Blue parking areas will be signposted.
- From the E25: Exit 48 on to the N66 East towards Malmedy / Trois-Points / Stavelot / Chevron / Werbomont. Stay on that road through Trois-Points where it becomes the N68 towards Stavelot. Take a left on to the N622 towards Francorchamps and stay on that road until you reach signs for the Blue parking areas.
Directions to official campsites
If you’re staying in one of the official Spa Francorchamps campsites then these are the driving directions:
Green campsite: Follow Green parking area directions above
Yellow campsite: Follow Yellow parking area directions above
Camping Masta: Google Maps Pin
- From the E42: Exit 11 Malmedy. Once you’re off the motorway the circuit will be signposted. Then go left on to the N68 towards Marche / Huy / Stavelot / Trois-Points. The campsite is just off the N68 to the right at Masta.
- From the E25: Exit 48 on to the N66 East towards Malmedy / Trois-Points / Stavelot / Chevron / Werbomont. Stay on that road through Trois-Points where it becomes the N68 towards Stavelot. Stay on the N68 until you turn off to the left at Masta.
Young Village: Follow Green parking area directions above
Driving from the UK
If you’re coming from the UK you can take the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais. Journey times are just 35 minutes and a return trip usually costs around £250 per car.
A cheaper option is a ferry from Dover to either Calais or Dunkirk. I prefer the Dover to Dunkirk route; it’s slightly longer at 2 hours crossing time, but you then have to spend less time driving along the uninspiring northern coast of France. Return trips are usually around £190 per car with DFDS.
The price difference between the Eurotunnel and Ferries use to be much greater but now there’s not much in it. I’d pay a few quid extra to take the tunnel just to speed the whole journey up.
Park and ride (your bike)
To avoid the worst of the traffic chaos directly around the circuit you can park your car in a car park 5km away from the circuit and ride your bicycle the rest of the way. More details on this page.
The car park where you can leave your car at the start of the ride can be accessed from Exit 48 of the E25 or Exit 11 of the E42. See the pin below for its location.
Train to Spa Francorchamps
The nearest train station to Spa Francorchamps is Verviers-Central. This is easily accessible from all major cities within Belgium and its border countries.
Not only is it the closest, but there are bus routes from the station directly to the circuit.
F1 ticket holders can save 50% on train tickets.
The cost of a train ticket between any Belgian station and Verviers Central can be reduced by 50% using this website and your Grand Prix ticket ID.
If you’re coming from another country within Europe use Rome2Rio to help plan your train journey.
Buses - Station to Circuit
From the Verviers-Central station there are TEC buses that go to and from the circuit on each day of the Grand Prix weekend. Buses 294 and 395 are the ones you want and these will be signposted from within the train station.
It’s normally a 20 minute drive but on race day it could be anything up to an hour based on traffic.
It costs 10 Euros per day to use the buses between the circuit and the station. You can buy tickets online in advance at this link or purchase them at the TEC booth at the station.
Spa have yet to publish a timetable for the buses running to and from the station this year, so here’s the schedule from a couple of years ago:
| Verviers-Central to Spa Circuit Bus 294 & 395 Timetable | ||
|---|---|---|
| Friday | Depart Station | 7:15 (first departure) |
| Last Circuit Departure | 18:41 | |
| Saturday | Depart Station | 7:40, 8:30, 8:40, 9:40, 10:40, 11:40, 12:40, 13:40, 14:40 |
| Last Circuit Departure | 18:33 | |
| Sunday | Depart Station | 7:30, 7:40, 8:30, 8:40, 9:30, 9:40, 10:40, 11:40,12:40 |
| Last Circuit Departure | 18:53 | |
Plan enough time for your onwards journeys after the race.
Many of the buses leaving the circuit after the GP has finished will be full. Don’t rely on making it back to Verviers-Central any time soon after the race.
Local Buses
There are other local bus lines that go around the areas surrounding the circuit. Use this link to the TEC website to browse for all of the Bus-Stops in the area surrounding the Spa Francorchamps circuit.
City Shuttle Buses
Some of the major cities within Belgium, France, Germany, Holland and Luxembourg have direct shuttle buses that go to Spa Francorchamps for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
These are designed to get you to the circuit for 9am each day, but that can obviously vary due to traffic near the track. They drop off in the blue parking area near the Ster entrance gate.
Return tickets are 50 Euros per day and can be purchased in advance on the Spa Grand Prix website.
Below are each of the pick-up location and departure times:
| Belgian Grand Prix City Shuttle Bus Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Pickup Location | City Departure Time | Circuit Departure Time |
| Aachen | Station Aachen Hauptbanhof | 7:30am | 7pm |
| Antwerp | Commune Administration of Wommelgem, Kakkstraat 2, 2160 Wommelgem. | 6:30am | |
| Brussels – Central | Rue de France, bus stop at the exit of the commercial area of the station. | 6:30am | |
| Brussels – North | Rue du Progrès near the main entrance to the station. | 6:30am | |
| Charleroi | Square du Martyrs, in front of Charleroi station. | 6:40am | |
| Dusseldorf | Car park at Neusser Strabe at the level of the Rheinkniebrücke, (Below the bridge and junction there is a car and coach parking area). | 6:45am | |
| Eindhoven | P+R Meerhoven Eindhoven, Sliffertsestraat 304, 5657 AS Eindhoven. | 6:30am | |
| Liege | Guillemins station, coach and taxi parking area in front of the station | 7:30am | |
| Lille | Allée des Marronniers 1, 59800 Lille, France. | 5:15am | |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg bus station, Place de la Gare. | 7:00am | |
| Maastricht | Station, Place de la Gare, Spoorweglaan. | 7:30am | |
| Mons | Mons station, place Léopold. | 6:15am | |
| Namur | Boulevard Ernest Mélot, in front of main building, (building with arcades), Namur station. | 7:00am | |
Nearest airports to Spa Francorchamps
If you’re flying in to watch the Belgian Grand Prix from abroad, there are a few options for which airports you could go to. There is no airport at the circuit itself.
Below are the international airports nearest Spa Francorchamps circuit:
- Maastricht MST (70km)
- Brussels BRU (140km)
- Cologne-Bonn CGN (140km)
- Dusseldorf DUS (140km)
- Luxembourg LUX (150km)
- Amsterdam Schipol AMS (280km)
- Frankfurt FRA (300km)
- Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG (400km)
The nearest airport to Spa Francorchamps is Maastrict (MST). It’s 70km away from the circuit and will cater for a lot of short-haul direct international flights.
Bruxelles (BRU) is the second closest airport and will serve some international direct long-haul flights from destinations such as East coast USA and Abu Dhabi.
All of the airports above will have hire car companies based at them. If you fly in to an aiport that’s not in Belgium and want a hire car, just double check with the rental company that it’s ok to take it across borders.
Alternatively you could use public transport to get from there to Verviers Centrale station. Some of the bigger airports that are further away actually have better train connections. All of the airports apart from MST have a train station.
Use Rome2Rio to look at travel options from any airport to the circuit or nearby.
Below is a rough idea of journey times from each airport to Verviers Centrale station using public transport or driving.
| International Airports to Verviers Centrale by Public Transport or Driving | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport | Public Transport | Public Transport Time | Driving Time |
| MAS | Bus, train, bus, train | 2 hours 40 mins | 35 mins |
| BRU | Train, 1 change | 1 hour 20 mins | 1 hour 30 |
| CGN | Train, 2 changes | 3 hours | 1 hour 30 |
| DUS | Train, 3 changes | 4 hours | 1 hour 30 |
| LUX | Train, 3 changes | 4 hours | 1 hour 30 |
| AMS | Train, 1 change | 3 hours 15 | 2 hours 45 |
| FRA | Train, 1 change | 2 hours 45 | 2 hours 45 |
| CGD | Train, 1 change | 3 hours 15 | 4 hours |
Hi Alex
I booked the asphalt parking to avoid the rain and mud issues that could arise. However, I just found out that the shuttle will take me to Combes entrance but my grandstand is Eau Rouge. so I have three questions:
Hi Tamer, your best bet would be to enter the circuit via the Combes entrace and just walk on the footpath alongside the Kemmel straight. From the Les Combe entrance gate to the Gold 3 Eau Rouge grandstand (I presume that’s yours) it’s probably a 15 – 20 minute walk, depending how packed the circuit’s footpaths are (they’re usually rammed alongside Kemmel).
And to answer point 3, the Ster entrance takes you right in to the Fan Zone at the foot of Eau Rouge. You’ll have a 5 minute walk up Raidillon to get to the Gold 3 grandstand from there.
Hi Alex
Thanks for all this great info!
I will be travelling from Brussels by car and have grandstand Gold 1 tickets (opposite pits).
Is there a specific yellow parking I should buy if I want to use your “short cut” above AND avoid mud? Any option less muddy than another by any chance? 🙂
I see there are 3 yellow options:
Yellow parking Bis
Parking yellow E25
Yellow Parking
Thank you!
Hi Sharon, last year I went for the Yellow Parking (not E25 or BIS). I think whichever of the three you go for, they’re all in grass fields so are going to be a bit muddy unless the weather is exceptional. The only way to avoid that would be the purchase the Malmedy Asphalt Parking tickets instead, but that requires a shuttle.
Hope that helps!
Thank you Alex
Hi Alex, flying into Franfurt, staying in malmedy. Do you recommend driving to malmedy and walking to our seats in eau rouge? Should we even hire a car at the airport ? Or go via public transport the whole way? Great page thanks for the help.
Robert
Hi Robert, you can chose the Spa Asphalt Parking option which is a car park in Malmedy with a shuttle bus that takes you to the circuit (one of the Les Combes entrances) and then walk along the Kemmel Straight to get to your seats in Eau Rouge. Hiring a car at the airport is a good idea and gives you flexibility.
Here’s the Malmedy parking & shuttle booking: https://www.spagrandprix.com/en/tickets-car-parking-asphalt-ground
Here’s info on parking arrangements: https://oversteer48.com/spa-francorchamps-parking/
And here’s info on entrance gates: https://oversteer48.com/spa-francorchamps-entrance/
Awesome thank you so much for the help.
Salut Alex,
J’ai des places bronze et je regarderai le Grand Prix au double gauche. L’année passée, nous étions garés sur le parking de Probémal à Malmedy ( Avenue du Pont de Warche 25). Mais je ne sais plus quel ticket parking j’avais commandé, saurais-tu m’aider ? Merci
Le parking de Malmedy est généralement le parking officiel du Spa Asphalt que vous pouvez trouver ici : https://www.spagrandprix.com/fr/tickets-car-parking-asphalt-ground
Salut Alex, merci pour votre réponse. Où la navette qui part du Parking MovieMills va nous déposer au circuit? Merci
A proximité des portes d’entrée Les Combes
Hi Alex,
Thank you for all this information.
I am in a longer mail discussion with the organiser of the Spa Grand Prix but I don’t get a satisfactory answer.
I’ve booked (by mistake) Yellow Parking E25.
It would be much better to park at Yellow Parking as you did but unfortunately I can not cancel the parking ticket.
My problem:
The shortest way to Yellow Parking is (according to the Waze App) the following route:
E42 (coming from north) -> EXIT 10 -> N640 -> N622 -> Yellow Parking E25
When I see the pictures in your above mentioned post it is not clear for me if I can use this route to get to Yellow Parking E25.
When I told the organiser by mail about my problem and showed them the route that the Waze App suggested they answered, that they can not verify this route because local police will oversee traffic control around the car parks.
What do you think?
Will it be possible to take the route as the Waze App suggested?
Thank you in advance for your help! 🙂
Greetings from Germany!
Best regards
Hi Marco. I’m not 100% sure where the Yellow E25 parking area will be this year. I believe it’s somewhere on the N622 that heads down towards Stavelot. The organisers are correct in that the local police will control the traffic when you’re near the circuit. I think the route you’ve mentioned will work: E42 > N640 > N622, and then when you’re near the circuit just follow the signs to the Yellow E25 area. All the best!
Hi Alex thank you for this information, we will stay at stavelot city and will drive to circuit from there our ticket is Gold 9 which one is the best yellow zone for us parking,
Yellow E25
Yellow Zone
or Yellow BIS
Your support appreciated
Hi Serdar. E25 / BIS will be closer to Stavelot but further from the track. The normal Yellow area will be closest to Gold 9.
Hi Alex
Thanks for the information and tips.
My husband, my teenage daughter and I will be traveling from the USA and we will staying in Liege. We rented a car and plan on driving to the SPA circuit every day. We already bought the Yellow parking ticket. Based on your experience, what would be the best route? Thanks in advance
Hi Dayana, take the E42 highway and then follow the exact route I’ve listed on the section above for Yellow parking, that should be the best way.
Hi, is there a way to take public transport from Trois points to the circuit, and back? Thank you
Bus number 72 goes that way. Some more info here: https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Trois-Ponts/Circuit-de-Spa-Francorchamps#trips
Thanks!
Hello, Alex!
We go from Germany, Dusseldorf by car; but I didn’t have to buy parking tickets; What do you recommend me? thank you!
Hi Juan, you can still buy Yellow zone parking tickets here: https://www.spagrandprix.com/en/tickets-car-parking