Thread: getting Landrovered in Paris

Just back from Paris again. This time I saw a new use for Landrovers..and I will get to that later..but first

A friend once told me that the rarest sight you will see in Paris is a vacant parking spot...so I started looking.... and he was correct.
They last about milli-second.
No wonder everyone drives economical diesels...they spend all day driving around looking for somewhere to park.
Paris must be almost "floating".. what with the kilometers of Metro tunnels and the numerous underground car parks.
So parking ..especially in the streets..is a major problem and the Parisiens have it down to a fine art.

In level areas many leave their cars ( almost all are Manuals...Autos are very rare!) in neutral with the handbrake Off. This allows the "Shunt" parking process where you can shuffle the cars around you to make space.

Have a look at these pictures and you will get the idea.








Then checkout the right angle parking. The "Ghosts" in this pic. spent more than 10 minutes walking around the car before deciding to book it. Nowhere does the signage say that it must be parallel parking!..but alas the front wheels were outside the parking lines.



Finally to the Landrover. If you are in the wrong spot or blocking traffic... then the Municipal Landrover will get you and your car will have a Police escort to the Municipal pound for a costly retrieval ( a bit like our Clearways)
It is well equipped with 4 "skates", hydraulic lift and a "spinner knob" on the steering wheel so that it can be manouvered into tight spaces.





Cheers
Bob

Sorry..the photos did not load??..so as a short term fix I have changed the phantom images to the direct links which should give you some pics ...while I find out how to do this properly!!!
Bob

Originally Posted by Dmmos

Greats pics - It's funny, I've been in Manhattan for over a week now and driving around/parking looks like it would be quite easy! There are parking stations everywhere, at least midtown, that are never full, although very expensive... If you want poor choice for parking try Bowral on a Sunday

Yep, I reckon Paris is like Sundays in Bowral ....24/7 . As for cost, the Locals pay a reduced monthly fee for underground parking ( can't remember exactly how much) and a reduced fee of about 2 or 3 Euro (AUD $ 3-5)on the street overnight ie. everynight/weekdays..so it adds up.
There is nowhere within the Peripherique( ring-road) or nearby suburbs that is "free". (These photos were taken in Levallois..a suburb just outside central Paris where my mate has an apartment)
If you are a visitor without the Municipal permit..HEY!!!
In 2007 I parked a car underground.. Overnight.. before returning it to the hire mob..from memory about Euro 25/30?.. so AUD $35/45. A Melbourne city car park is say, $16 per day/$10 overnight??

So now you understand why there are an increasing number of "Scooters ( a bit like Italy) that can manouvre and park free on footpaths. ( thanks to Baron Haussman and his boulevards)

Cheers
Bob