FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CAR PARK
Just a reminder: Street parking in Paris is free from 8 PM to 9 AM, all day on Sundays, and on public holidays. Parking is the street costs €4 per hour, the fine is €35 if paid within 4 days.
The nearest car park is the "Parking Relais" Indigo Gallieni at the Bel-Est shopping center. The cost is €10.40 per day (see details below).
Car access: 1 Rue Jean Jaurès - 93170 Bagnolet
⚠️ Important: Take ONLY the middle lane (the other lanes lead to a much more expensive parking lot), then follow the signs for "Parc Relais" and take a ticket at the entrance barrier.
Pedestrian exit: In the center of the parking lot, follow "Hôtel Campanile" (yellow doors), then "sortie piétons" (=pedestrian exit). Open the door, go down the iron staircase, and pass through the green gate.
Pedestrian access: Between the entrance of Gallieni metro station and the McDonald's restaurant at the Auchan Bel-Est shopping center, 28 Av. du Général de Gaulle, 93170 Bagnolet.
During the shopping center's opening hours (8 AM > 10 PM Monday to Saturday and 8 AM > 1 PM on Sunday): Walk through McDonald's and go up to the 1st floor using the escalator ("accès parc niveau terrasse" = "terrace level park access").
When the shopping center is closed, ask for the green gate code at the Campanile Hotel reception, open the gate, go up to the 1st floor using the iron staircase, open the door with the parking ticket, and follow "Parc Relais".
Car exit: Pay at the exit barrier (coins or Visa/Mastercard/Amex), then keep right and turn right in front of the white tower (do not follow the blue "Autoroute A3" sign).
Here are some frequently asked questions:
"How far is it from the apartment? What is the maximum size allowed?"
The parking is located 1km away from the house (10 minutes by car, 15 minutes on foot).
The maximum indicated height is 1.90 m, but vehicles up to 2 m can pass.
"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.
"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.
"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.