Every town on the Peninsula gets its Car Week moment, but downtown Monterey is the front door, the place the week opens and the auctions set up shop. If you are basing in the city, here is what happens in your backyard.
The week kicks off on Alvarado Street. On the opening Friday, classic race cars and their drivers line the 300 block for a free downtown show, music and all, the easiest possible introduction to the ten days.
Then the auctions arrive. The RM Sotheby’s sale runs at the Monterey Conference Center downtown, with RetroAuto setting up nearby, and Mecum runs four days at the Hyatt Regency just up the road. The previews are free to walk, a quiet museum of cars worth more than houses, and the easiest high-end experience of the week to drop into.
Getting around downtown is the city’s secret weapon. The free Monterey trolley loops Alvarado, Fisherman’s Wharf, Cannery Row, and the Aquarium all summer, roughly 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., so you can park once in a garage and skip the traffic entirely. Expect Alvarado to close in the evenings and Del Monte to narrow, so plan foot routes around the events.
Downtown is also the best base for eating and sleeping without the Carmel markup, minutes from everything and served by the trolley. It is the locals’ pick for a low-stress Car Week.
See the full slate on the Car Week hub, find your way around with the parking and closures guide, and see what happens in the other towns in our Car Week by town guide. For downtown listings, See Monterey keeps a guide.
