FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CAR PARK
Finding a guest house in Paris with parking spaces is very very rare. In my opinion I consider this as a necessity especially for families. That’s why a free parking space is included with the room (when asked for with the reservation).
It is in an underground private car park. I have never experienced any security problems. A parking space is assigned. You will receive the remote control on arrival at the same time as the keys.
Here are some frequently asked questions:
"How far is it from the apartment? What is the maximum size allowed?"
The parking is located 230m away from the house (3 min on foot). Maximum height: 2,00m. Maximum width: 2,32m.
If your car is bigger than this you can always park in one of the local car parks in the area but at your own personal cost:
- Parking MEA, 27 rue Saint-Fargeau, 75020 PARIS, booking is necessary with Mrs Plé (+33 1 43 61 66 26 / +33 6 65 20 39 05). Family business, they are flexible and nice. Parking space outside but manned. 1 day is 30 EUR, 2 days and 3 days are 50 EUR, price on request for a longer duration. This car park is 900m away from the house (13 min on foot).
- Parking Gambetta, 211 avenue Gambetta, 75020 PARIS. Parking space outside but manned, 50 EUR per day (fixed price from noon to noon the day after). Very good service. More information here. The parking is 950m away from the house (13 min walk).
For your information parking is the street costs 4 EUR per hour (paid parking from 9am to 8pm from Monday to Saturday), the fine is 35 EUR if paid within 4 days.
"Can we park in front of the apartment just to load/ unload our luggage?"
It is forbidden to park in the Jules Siegfried street, and the same for the street opposite Iréné Blanc. The fine is 135 EUR and the police patrol regularly. So don’t play with fire... but you are allowed to stop for a few minutes in front of the house to unload the car as long as you don’t block the pavement.
"On the departure day can we keep the parking card up to the evening?"
I’ll collect the remote control with the keys at checkout for the next guests. You can always park in another car park nearby at your own cost: Parking MEA (see above) or the Parc Relais Gallieni (very cheap).
Reminder: parking is free in Paris in the street on Sundays and public holidays.
"Is the street & parking available 7/7 & 24/24"
Yes.
"We are travelling with a roof- rack, can we take it down and leave it in the room?"
Unfortunately this is impossible even if you promise to be careful. There is not enough space in the property for such an object. The solution would be to leave it on the car if it does pass the maximum height allowed, or take it off but leave it inside the car. If you send me a request in advance I may be able to store it in my home.
"We are travelling with bikes. Can we leave them in the apartment?"
You can secure your bikes in the garden in front of the house. For your info: There is a bicycle network in Paris called Vélib' which has 1000 bikes locations all over Paris. Very practical and inexpensive.
"We are coming with 2 vehicles can we have an extra card for the car park?"
There is only one free parking space per apartment. I do not allocate any extra parking spaces for additional cars which can be parked in a car park nearby at your own cost: Parking MEA (see above) or the Parc Relais Gallieni (very cheap).
"What does the car park look like?"
"Do we need a car for holidays in Paris?"
Honestly ? No no & no ! For lots of different reasons.
- Paris has one of the best public transport systems in the world. With 60 bus routes & more than 300 underground stations with trains every few minutes low priced tickets. The flat itself has 2 underground lines & 3 bus routes just 500m away. Why hesitate ??
- Driving in Paris is very stressful! If you don’t drive off the minute the light turns to green you can be sure of dozens of Parisian car hooting drivers ! Undisciplined pedestrians & drivers who never give way. Respect the highway code scrupulously (some roads are so badly designed that you could find yourself in the bus lane without meaning to). Beware of the radars for speeding and jumping the lights and be ready to avoid scooters all the time.
- The traffic jams become uncontrollable particularly at rush hour (7h30am – 10am and 5pm – 8pm during the week), when it rains and when there are lots of events organised in the capital (demonstrations, marches, Paris Marathon, Christmas shopping, the Music Festival & the 14th of July procession)
- Parking spaces are very rare and cars are often scratched by drivers who park bumper to bumper (which incidentally makes my German clients furious as in Germany the same situation needs to write an accident report). Good to know if you rent a car.
- You need to have a "Crit'Air" sticker (certificate of air quality).
In my experience the only people needing to move around by car are those who have difficulty walking or those going to visit places on the outskirts of the town centre (the House of Monet at Giverny or the Chantilly Castle etc.).
If arriving from a train station or an airport the taxis are perfectly capable of taking you.