Everyone assumes Car Week costs a fortune. It can, but it does not have to. A determined local can fill the entire ten days without buying a single ticket, watching some of the best cars in the world for the price of parking and a coffee. Here is a free week, day by day.
Friday, the kickoff. Start downtown on Alvarado Street, where classic race cars and their drivers line the block for the free Car Week kickoff. It is the gentlest possible on-ramp to the week.
The weekend, the warm-up. Concours on the Avenue closes Ocean Avenue in Carmel, hundreds of cars you can walk right up to, no admission. Wander the galleries between the rows.
Tuesday, the little guys. Pacific Grove hands Lighthouse Avenue to the Little Car Show, the most charming free hour of the week and the easiest to bring kids to.
Wednesday, the drive. The single best free moment: the Tour d’Elegance sends the Concours cars along the coast. Pick a spot on Ocean Avenue or a Highway 1 turnout and watch a century of history roll past. Our free viewing guide has the spots.
Thursday, the block party. The Pacific Grove Rotary Auto Rally turns downtown into a free Thursday-night street party.
Friday and Saturday, the lawns you can skip. While the Quail and the concours charge hundreds, Seaside keeps it free: Concours d’LeMons celebrates the worst cars ever built, and Exotics on Broadway lines a street with supercars. Both cost nothing.
Any day, the spotting. The cars are everywhere all week. Post up on Ocean Avenue, Cannery Row, or a coast turnout and watch them drive by, and ride the free downtown trolley to skip the parking entirely.
That is a full, satisfying Car Week for the cost of gas and a few coffees. See the whole slate on the Car Week hub, every free event in our free-events roundup, and read the parking and closures guide before you drive. For a wider regional listing, See Monterey helps.
