Buckle up for the St. Pete Grand Prix

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is a legendary street race that puts you up close to the fastest cars on the planet. No really.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg’s racecourse is officially the fastest there is. The Grand Prix itself is three days of racing along the Tampa Bay waterfront and through almost two miles of downtown St. Petersburg. But, the motorsport atmosphere hums way before and after three-day race. Basically, the whole city gets revved up for a week or so. Everything is all about racing. There’s a festival with food, fun and celebrities on the scene as well. It’s got the cachet of a James Bond movie, only it’s way more accessible. You don’t even need to go to a racetrack. The whole city itself becomes like its own racetrack. It all goes down in March, and the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg usually opens the racing season. There’s something extra fun about being at the starting line for the whole series. And the Kimpton Zamora Hotel gets you close enough to the course, but not so close that you’ll be bothered by any exhaust.