Driving (and parking) in European cities - easy?
Discussion
I have had a few holidays travelling around europe - generally remaining within a fairly small area - e.g. travelling to various towns and cities within Andalucia. I have always enjoyed not having a car as it is one less thing to worry about - no hassles with public transport in Europe, can get drunk, no hassle of being too tired to drive, not having to navigate around cities etc.
However, I do like the idea of driving between cities across a few countries. How have people found the experience overall and did you find parking places easier enough and was it cheap enough?
I have rented a car before in Spain and always found it a bit of a ball ache finding somewhere to park, and quite expensive.
I'm thinking of buying a cheapish convertable, and driving through france / italy / croatia / germany.
Im concerned about getting caught speeding and getting a massive fine, having to navigate congested cities that i don't know and not being able to park / paying loads to park.
Cheers
However, I do like the idea of driving between cities across a few countries. How have people found the experience overall and did you find parking places easier enough and was it cheap enough?
I have rented a car before in Spain and always found it a bit of a ball ache finding somewhere to park, and quite expensive.
I'm thinking of buying a cheapish convertable, and driving through france / italy / croatia / germany.
Im concerned about getting caught speeding and getting a massive fine, having to navigate congested cities that i don't know and not being able to park / paying loads to park.
Cheers
Gf and I drove around France and Italy a few months back and found it very much dependant on the city in question tbh.
Some places have decent municipal parking at cheap rates others less so. In Amiens I think it was around 8 Euro for 24 hours, in Nice it was around 20 euros for 10 hours.
The trick is to to choose hotels with parking on site. Other hotels (such as the one we stayed in Annecy or Dijon) allow parking in the local public car parks at significantly discounted rates.
In Lyon, we parked on the street outside a friend's flat and luckily there were no parking restrictions/charges.
The cost of parking does indeed add up, especially over the course of a couple of weeks.
Some places have decent municipal parking at cheap rates others less so. In Amiens I think it was around 8 Euro for 24 hours, in Nice it was around 20 euros for 10 hours.
The trick is to to choose hotels with parking on site. Other hotels (such as the one we stayed in Annecy or Dijon) allow parking in the local public car parks at significantly discounted rates.
In Lyon, we parked on the street outside a friend's flat and luckily there were no parking restrictions/charges.
The cost of parking does indeed add up, especially over the course of a couple of weeks.
Puggit said:
The Italians have embraced UK style revenue creation from motorists in their major cities - Florence in particular. Lots of strange rules and regulations designed to trap the unwary.
Beware.
they've also started to introduce low/zero emission zones in certain cities for private cars - I can't drive into the centre of town in my car which is a massive pain in the arseBeware.
Germany is pretty car friendly, though they also have city low emission zones where you need a sticker on your windscreen or you might get a 40euro fine (if anyone catches you 
), I've driven to Stuttgart twice and quite a few other smaller cities & towns and there's plenty of free on-street parking in suburban areas, once you get into the centres it's much like here with metered parking and garages etc, no more ball-ache than the UK. The Germans have quite a few forward-facing speed cameras in cities and towns, you can usually see all the locals slow right down when you're near one. They also have very good public transport so if you don't fancy going right into the centre of places in the car you can normally get a train/tram/bus easily.
), I've driven to Stuttgart twice and quite a few other smaller cities & towns and there's plenty of free on-street parking in suburban areas, once you get into the centres it's much like here with metered parking and garages etc, no more ball-ache than the UK. The Germans have quite a few forward-facing speed cameras in cities and towns, you can usually see all the locals slow right down when you're near one. They also have very good public transport so if you don't fancy going right into the centre of places in the car you can normally get a train/tram/bus easily.Edited by chazola on Monday 26th September 18:40
Brussels is fine, in fact pretty much everywhere I've been is fine except Paris- stay out of the centre and Metro it in. Did Derby- Liege- Munich- Lake Bled- Plitvice Park Croatia- Trieste (s
t hole)- Venice (don't bother) - Lake Como (lovely)- Lucerne- Paris in 2010.
This year we did Liege- Stuttgart- Arefu & Sibiu (Romania, Transfargasan pass) Belgrade (bit dirty)- KRK, Croatia- Munich- Mannheim- Derby.
Croatia and Slovenia both come highly recommended. Email me if you want some links to good places to stay.
t hole)- Venice (don't bother) - Lake Como (lovely)- Lucerne- Paris in 2010.This year we did Liege- Stuttgart- Arefu & Sibiu (Romania, Transfargasan pass) Belgrade (bit dirty)- KRK, Croatia- Munich- Mannheim- Derby.
Croatia and Slovenia both come highly recommended. Email me if you want some links to good places to stay.
Why big cities? There are plenty of smaller towns to visit. The only two cities I have not avoided have been
Palma in Mallorca where the traffic is a bit manic and parking involves using both bumpers with some gusto but there is enough paid parking that is not horrifically expensive.
Almeria in Andalucia where I used an underground car park where the parking spaces were quite small so a small car helps.
I've been to granada but only to the Alhambra Palace and that was a breeze.
Palma in Mallorca where the traffic is a bit manic and parking involves using both bumpers with some gusto but there is enough paid parking that is not horrifically expensive.
Almeria in Andalucia where I used an underground car park where the parking spaces were quite small so a small car helps.
I've been to granada but only to the Alhambra Palace and that was a breeze.
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