Could one of you regular tourers to France give me a rough idea of the most common ways to pay for parking? I'm mainly interested in what happens in rural areas. Do machines take cash only, or can I use a debit card? What about online parking apps?
Parking payment options?
- Thread starter acropolis22
- Start date
suavecarve
LIFE MEMBER
I dont think I have ever paid for parking a motorhome in rural France.
If youre talking about Aires that need payment then all 3 of your options are available. NB you may be better off with credit card than debit card for payment (which is a totally different discussion)
If youre talking about Aires that need payment then all 3 of your options are available. NB you may be better off with credit card than debit card for payment (which is a totally different discussion)
OP
OP
So town centre car parks are free? Sounds great. You are right, my question applied to aires as well. Why is a credit card better?
In town car parks in a lot of places the parking is free between 12 and two even if there is a charge at other times.
Like so many answers, it depends. Do you mean 'parking' while you go into a village for groceries, or are you talking about overnighting? In most part of rural France you probably won't have to pay. We Brits tend to worry about the 'appropriateness' of where we stop, but you will find you can just pull of the road. But on market day finding a place might be a bit more tasking, but you'll find one, even if you have to walk a bit further. The French will cheerfully park right beside a "No Parking" sign if it suits them.
Without understanding your reason for parking it is difficult to offer much more guidance. If you are talking about overnight parking, that is a whole new topic, as suavecarve has said.
Without understanding your reason for parking it is difficult to offer much more guidance. If you are talking about overnight parking, that is a whole new topic, as suavecarve has said.
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OP
OP
Thanks, that's helpful. No, I wasn't talking about overnighting, (other than in an aire). Just looking at Google Earth and seeing car parks in small towns that we could use to go shopping or sightseeing. Wondered how we would pay for parking, given that it can be a real drama in the UK, what with machines that don't work, or only take cash, or insist you pay with your phone. France sounds refreshingly simple. We will find out in January, I hope.
We got stuck in a pay-on-exit car park in Chamonix a few years ago. It only took card and wouldn't recognise our UK card
OP
OP
Yeah, not recognising a "foreign" card is a worry. Probably best to avoid pay on exit car parks then?
What might be a bit of fun would be to select one of the car-parks you have identified, and then use street view to see a) if there is any indication about paying, or b) if there is to see if you can get a close up of the machine/notice.
OP
OP
Yeah, tried that. Are you being ever so slightly sarcastic?
Just too many different problems to draw any conclusions. Can't always get close enough, StreetView doesn't match Earth images etc. etc. Not simple. So I asked my chums on Fun....... I only wanted a general idea.Subscribers do not see these advertisements
suavecarve
LIFE MEMBER
It also depends upon your "rural" france.
To me that would be non coastal, non city, leaving towns and villages, and if that town/village were not a Beaux village then I wouldnt expect to pay.
One of the things I would definitely do is purchase a blue badge. Same size and upon a quick look appears very similar to a disabled badge in this country, but these things cost 2-3 euros (or did) and available from most office du tourismes and some shops (like eleclerc). They have a timer on them and you set this when you leave your vehicle and take note of how long the parking bay is for. They are for use in the blue bays you see (parking spaces painted in blue) and are used all over Europe.
To me that would be non coastal, non city, leaving towns and villages, and if that town/village were not a Beaux village then I wouldnt expect to pay.
One of the things I would definitely do is purchase a blue badge. Same size and upon a quick look appears very similar to a disabled badge in this country, but these things cost 2-3 euros (or did) and available from most office du tourismes and some shops (like eleclerc). They have a timer on them and you set this when you leave your vehicle and take note of how long the parking bay is for. They are for use in the blue bays you see (parking spaces painted in blue) and are used all over Europe.
Absolutely not. It is exactly the sort of thing I do. I plan the very s**t out of everything (and usually do something different) and it is a great way to while away hours over winter. I am so anal that when choosing potential aires I measure the distance to the nearest boulangerie, and to the nearest bar for aperos.
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