Maybe you like to drive cars. Maybe you like to look at cars. Or maybe, you’re just into the beautiful people who happen to be there for the cars. Whatever your inclination, there’s a car show for that. This is the list of the top car shows around the world, where no matter what, you’re in for a good time.

The world’s greatest automotive events beckon. So ladies and gentlemen, start your engines, and prepare to be transported into a fabulous automotive world that the rock band Queen sang about in the 1970s.

  The machine of a dream.
  Such a clean machine.
  With the pistons a-pumpin’,
  and the hubcaps all gleam.

We’ve selected three of the world’s top car shows, which are the very best get-togethers for car enthusiasts. They’re all about revving up the fun, and igniting a spark of joy.

The Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix

This past May 28, the annual Monaco Grand Prix is perhaps the automotive event of the season. Interest in this international speed-sport was always up there since the days of James Hunt, Niki Lauda, and Emerson Fittipaldi. They were all daredevil racers who weren’t above risking life and limb in pursuit of the podium. But over the past three, four years, F1’s popularity has exploded. The new-found glamor is mostly thanks to the Netflix reality series “Drive to Survive.” That spellbinding show puts viewers right there in the cabins with the world’s fastest and most competitive drivers, and really brings the off-track drama as well. This is hands down one of the top car shows of the year, where devotees make their annual pilgrimage to Monaco.

At this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, we should once again see the U.K.’s Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton go wheel to wheel with Red Bull’s brash young Dutchman Max Verstappen. Verstappen, with three F1 world titles to his name, is the highest-paid driver ever. His projected 2023 income is a cool 55 million dollars. But don’t worry: his rivals aren’t starving either. In fact, the whole sport seems to ooze cash: intercontinental travel, swishy parties, and jeroboams of top-flight champagne that the winners spray around festively. Plus, of course, multi-million-dollar dream machines that speed faster than a bullet (well, almost).

Grandstand tickets start at $750. If you’d like to book a last-minute package with accommodations and meals, [email protected] will hook you up.

The Mille Miglia

As far as top car shows go, Italy is always a good idea. Every year in the late spring, the Mille Miglia (“thousand miles” in Italian) is something of pilgrimage for fans of classic race cars. The 2023 edition will take place from June 13-17. In a way, the race couldn’t be more different from the spectacle in Monaco. The cars were built multiple decades ago, but what they lack in modern technology and absolute speed, they make up for with their beautiful sheet-metal curves.

The fun starts in Brescia, and over the next four days the drivers will hit such milestone cities as Milan, Bologna, Parma, and Rome. If you attend, part of the fun is spotting precious historic roadsters such as a 1952 Ferrari 340 America Spider Vignale, a 1932 Alfa 8C 2300 Le Mans, even an almost-100-year-old 1925 Bugatti T35. Another attractive feature of the Mille Miglia is that spectators don’t pay a dime to gawk to their heart’s content. The event costs about $10,000 for each participating driver and his or her car, but it’s free to the public. It’s pretty much the only one of the top car shows where it’s not a hefty sum to attend. 

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

If you’re not yet booked for Sunday August 20, head to California’s Monterey peninsula, about two hours south of San Francisco (by car, of course). At the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, you’re guaranteed to have a good time. It’s a social-calendar automotive event that’s like Ascot or the Kentucky Derby, but with vintage vehicles instead of horses. VIP tickets are $4,100 — or you can hang out with the hoi polloi for just $475.

A handsome fleet of  yesteryear’s supercars awaits. From the drivers, expect a blend of bravery and pulse-pounding skill. Just like at Ascot, the people-watching is other-worldly here. Spectators are clad in their most stylish attire, from pinstripe suits to flapper dresses, ready to cheer for their favorite classics. As far as top car shows go, Pebble Beach is where you dress to impress.

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