Parking in Cities
Where Will You Leave Your Rental Car?

So, for instance, see Paris, then rent your car for a drive to the Champagne region or Normandy then return your car to Paris. That way you can avoid parking in cities... at least in big ones.

You can plan your flights to be "open jaw," so you could fly into Rome and spend a few days. Then rent your car and drive through Italy and return your car in Milan.

Sooner or later, though, you'll want to stop in a city on your driving loop, and then you need to know that it's going to cost you. You have to think about where you're going to park too. Will you park in a hotel parking lot or a municipal lot?

In the U.S. you run into the same dilemma parking in cities. Parking in city hotels is always extra. Some hotels have reasonable parking rates and some charge up to $40 to park (28 Euros). If the hotel rates for parking are high, it pays to ask a sympathetic clerk if there are less expensive alternatives.

We were driving through Cincinnati one time and decided to stop for a baseball game. Our downtown hotel wanted $30 to park, but the desk clerk told us that we could park in the municipal lot across the street for only $10.

Think about whether the savings are worth it. Some cities can be a nightmare to drive in. I remember spending almost an hour trying to figure out the narrow, one-way streets in Florence and trying to find a parking garage that a hotel had sent us to on our own. That's why we loved that next visit when we had valet parking!

If you opt for a municipal parking garage, you have to think about safety and convenience. Is the car safe there? Are you safe getting to and from the garage? Can you drop off your bags at the hotel? If not, how far will you have to carry your bags to and from your hotel?

If you happen to end up with street parking, check with your hotel to make sure you are in a legal space. This varies from city to city and country to country. In smaller cities and smaller hotels, you're more apt to run into this. Make sure the car will be safe. You may need some sort of a parking disk or a note from the hotel on your dashboard so your won't get a ticket.

Driving and parking in cities, especially big cites, is best avoided... but if you must have a car in the city, have a plan and plan to pay for it.

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