Tour d'Elegance is one of those events that should be on everyone's bucket list if they are into cars. Even if you're not into the type of cars on the Tour d'Elegance, you will have a blast. Watching these elegant cars driving down scenic coastal mountain back roads or along the scenic California Coast will leave you in awe.

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The cars that participate in the tour are the same cars shown and compete in the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The cars that go on the Tour d'Elegance and complete the 70mi drive will have an advantage over those that do not go on the tour at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. So there is a great incentive to participate in the Tour d'Elegance. About 80 percent of the Concourse d'Elegance cars join in the tour.

Even if you are not into these cars, you will be in awe as they pass by. It is rather remarkable that we see so many of these historical cars. We mainly went on the coastal mountain back roads to see the cars during this year's event.

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Best place to see the Tour’ d’Elegance

If you want to watch the Tour d'Elegance, it starts at Pebble Beach, then heads into the coastal mountain back roads. They leave at about 9am, traversing the mountain valley area. They come out at Carmel Valley Rd. and Highway One, then head south on the scenic Highway one towards Big Sur.

You will see crowds of people at intersections and in store parking lots, but the best place to see these great cars are along the coast. Just head south down Highway One towards Big Sur until you find a nice safe place to park. 

The cars will come by in large groups; you might think they all have passed by, and another group will come by escorted by police on motorcycles. As a bonus, the cars that go down the coast go down to Big Sur, turn around, and come back down the coast. So not only do you get the most scenic view of the cars and the gorgeous California Coast, but you get to see them twice on the tour if you park along the coast.

The Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance is the anchor of Monterey Car Week and is the place to see all of the participants of the world-renowned event. But with the $400 - $500 for the minimum entry fee to see these historic cars at the Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance, it may not be viable for most people to attend. So watch them on the Tour d'Elegance for free; you won't be disappointed. If you go to the Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance, look for the green ribbons on the cars, they are the ones that completed the 70-mile Tour d'Elegance.

Carmel during Montery Car Week

If you want to see more of these cars during Monterey Car Week, you can catch them in and around Carmel By The Sea. Carmel during Monterey Car Week is where there will be lots of great things happening, great places to eat, and some of the most unique shops you will see in the area. People come from all over the world to visit Carmel.

Carmel will have events during Monterey Car Week, like Concourse on the Avenue. But the evenings are a blast in Carmel as some most exotic supercars cruise downtown Carmel. It's fun to watch as everyone breaks out their cameras to get photos of these incredible cars, especially on Friday and Saturday evening.

When you go to Carmel, you might want to get there a little early, especially in the evenings, as you may need to park away from downtown.

There is so much to do during Monterey Car Week. Unfortunately, many of the events cost a lot of money to attend. But many are free and fantastic to attend, and others are reasonable, like Legends of the Autobahn, which is free to get in. Still, you will need to pay for parking. 

6 free to attend events during Monterey Car Week

• Tour d'Elegance

• Concourse d'Lemons

• Concourse on the Avenue in Carmel.

• Exotics on Broadway (formally Exotics on Cannery Row)

• The Little Car Show in Pacific Grove

• The Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally, the Concourse Auto Rally, is a car show that starts at about 12 noon in downtown Pacific Grove. Then about 5pm, the cars go on a short tour along the coast and then down 17 mile Dr.

You might want to stay up in the Monterey area for a few days, but the Hotels will book up early and are very expensive during this week-long event. You may need to stay in some not so nearby towns like Salinas, but it is very doable and well worth it even if you have a 30-40min drive into the Monterey area.

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