The Grand National at Aintree: Enclosures, Dress Code and Free Parking

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The Grand National is the one race a year that people who never watch racing sit down for, and Aintree is easier to attend than its reputation suggests. There is no formal dress code, general admission includes free on site parking, and children go free.

The Randox Grand National Festival runs over three days at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, with the National itself on the final day. Here is how the day works and what each ticket gets you.

Is there a dress code at Aintree?

No. Aintree's published guidance is to come "dressed to feel your best", and the racecourse states plainly that for some people that means a sweatshirt, jeans and clean trainers, while for others it means a suit or a dress and heels.

That is worth reading twice if you have only ever seen Aintree in photographs. The images that circulate every April are of people who chose to dress up, not people complying with a rule. There is no rule.

Two restrictions do apply.

Fancy dress is not permitted at the Randox Grand National Festival. It is allowed at other Aintree racedays provided it is not offensive.

Football shirts and team kits are discouraged. Aintree asks racegoers to refrain from wearing team kits, on the grounds that showing allegiance to a club can appear antagonistic. In a Liverpool crowd that is not an abstract concern.

What should you actually wear to Aintree?

Dress for standing outside in Liverpool in April. That means layers and shoes you can walk in, because the walk from the car park and around the course adds up over a day.

Beyond that, wear what you would be comfortable in for eight hours. Aintree's own framing is that comfort and confidence matter more than the outfit, and since there is no code to comply with, that is genuinely the whole answer.

What are the enclosures at Aintree?

Aintree has a general admission ticket plus a range of named seated and roof enclosures, which is a different structure from Ascot's four tiered enclosures.

General Admission gives access to all public areas, including unreserved seating in every open grandstand on the day. A free on site car park operates at the meeting, and children go free.

The premium options divide by what you can see and where you can stand.

Two of these are age restricted. The Princess Royal Seats and Gallery and the Platinum Lounge are both over 21s only, so they are not options for a family group.

Is parking free at Aintree?

Yes, for general admission at the Grand National Festival. Aintree operates a free on site car park at the meeting, which is unusual among the major festivals. Royal Ascot charges £45 in advance for the equivalent.

That, plus free children's admission, makes the total cost of an Aintree day noticeably lower than the ticket price alone suggests.

Can you take children to the Grand National?

Yes, and general admission children go free at the Grand National Festival.

The exceptions are the age restricted areas. The Platinum Lounge and the Princess Royal Seats and Gallery are both over 21s, so a family group needs general admission or one of the unrestricted enclosures.

Aintree or Cheltenham: which jump meeting should you go to?

Both are jump racing, both are festivals, and neither has a dress code. They differ in character.

Cheltenham is the championship meeting, where the best horses in jump racing meet. Aintree has the single most famous race in the world.

If you want the sport at its highest level, Cheltenham. If you want the race everyone has heard of, in a city that treats the week as an event, Aintree.

What is the Grand National itself?

A handicap steeplechase over roughly four and a quarter miles with thirty fences, run at Aintree since the nineteenth century. It is the longest and most demanding race most people will ever watch, and the reason a horse at long odds can win it.

For a first time spectator, that matters practically. The race takes the best part of ten minutes, which is unusually long, and the field is large. Picking a horse and following the colours is genuinely harder than at a shorter race, so pick one and watch for it rather than trying to follow everything.

Is Aintree worth it?

For the Grand National day itself, it is one of the few sporting occasions where the whole country is watching the same thing at the same moment, and being there is different from watching it.

The practical case is strong too. No dress code, free parking with general admission, free children's tickets. Very little about attending requires spending money before you arrive, which is not true of Royal Ascot.

The trade off is that Aintree in April is a Liverpool crowd on a big day out, loud and busy. If you want a quiet afternoon of racing, go on an ordinary raceday instead.

Related guides

• Which race meeting should you go to?
• UK racecourse dress codes compared
• Cheltenham Festival: enclosures and dress code

Sources: Dress code, enclosure and admission information is published by the Jockey Club at thejockeyclub.co.uk/aintree, checked in September 2026. Ticket prices and dates for the next Festival are published closer to the meeting, so check before booking.