The official Paris Visitors’ Center website (Parisinfo.com) will tell you that parking in Paris can be a real headache. Actually, it can be really easy if you follow this simple bit of advice. Use the underground parking lots. I would definitely recommend Vinci Park (in particular, the Montparnasse/Gaite branch where we’ve been parking our car for many years).
If you’re dead set on street parking to save a few Euros, keep in mind that parking is FREE after 7 pm and all day Sunday. Otherwise, it may actually cost you MORE to park on the street than in an underground parking lot where the parking per hour can range from 2.50 Euros for underground parking to 3 Euros for street parking.
But there’s yet another hoop to jump if you opt for street parking. Parking ticket machines no longer accept coins. You must buy a Paris Carte (or use your Moneo cash card) to extract a parking ticket which you’ll place in your front window. To get a Paris Carte, you need to go to a Tabac/Cafe. The Tabac will sell you a Paris Carte for either 10 or 30 Euros.
Once you’ve purchased your Paris Carte, you’ll only be able to park your car for two hours at which time, you’ll have to return to feed the meter. You can see how parking underground makes much more sense.
The reason I like Vinci Park so much as because it is CLEAN, WELL-LIT and they play classical music in the garage. When we walked toward the elevator, a scent tag stated that today’s scent of the day was Mango. Not only that, but on a weekend when most Parisians have left town, the 4th floor level of the public parking area was practically empty.
If this wasn’t already pleasant enough to convince you that underground parking with camera surveillance, music, a car wash on the premises and 24 hour attendants, what would you say if I mentioned the long-stay discounts. For stays of five days or more, you can expect a discount. The longer you stay, the better the discount.
Parking your car in an underground parking lot is obviously a safer bet than leaving it wedged in between cars where you might find your bumper has been used literally as a bumper.
Then there’s another reason for using Vinci Park. The attendants are extremely nice. Every time we’ve come to Vinci Park, the staff have been quite pleasant. This time was the best. We met Nabil who offered us a cup of coffee. BTW Nabil is very interested in perfecting his English so anyone interested in cultural exchange should contact me and I’ll forward messages.
Other parking options:
Prepaid City Parking Pass
{ 2 comments }
Your article is very helpful. I will be traveling to Paris this summer and have found that renting a car to drive between countries is more economical. I have been worried about parking.
Is there anything else I should know about parking in the VINCI park?
Good comments… it seems not so different that major US cities, where street parking is typically free after 6 pm and on sundays. I am headed to paris this June (2009), renting a car essentially to get out of town, but while in Paris, I am planning to look for a place along a subway line to mimimize cost. I don’t know if I will succeed, but given the plethora of public transport options, one can think of remote parking as well.
Cheers
Arezki
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