Parking in French Car Parks

[Rob Cowell]

Car parks in French cities are in my experience usually underground or indoors, and come with 1.80 or 1.90 height restrictions. I reckon my 120 on 265/75/17 BFG ATs is 1.94 at the roof bars. Anyone have any experience parking a 120 in a 1.90 restricted car park? Not keen on getting wedged in. I assume they must really be higher than the stated figure.

Been a bit of a pain the last few weeks sometimes driving round and round looking for on street parking that also lets you stop for more than 15 minutes. Also makes it risky booking city centre hotels, so you end up condemned to eating dinner somewhere on a provincial ring road, or worse still, not drinking. Toulouse has a few large carparks for park and ride on the metro, outdoors, and still with a 1.90 restriction, as if this is the camping-car discouraging height.

 

[DH.120]

@Rob Cowell - I am with you there, always had issues finding hotels / stopovers when going through France as most have the underground car parks, usually end up spending more time on google maps looking at satellite images to see what parking is around! Same issue to be honest in German and Belgium cities.

Have tried to get into some, but always had to reverse out as would hit (not literally but would have if I hadn’t been spotted by one of my passengers) the height barrier before even getting in. Not sure I’d risk squeezing in one to be honest, all you need is a low light fitting or pipe and you would be well and truly shafted. Also some I’ve been in can have some weird angles on the entry and exits too, basically restricting the height too.

 

[AndyCook]

I avoid the cities, always find the traffic a nightmare anyway when I have passed Paris or Lyon. Remote areas and small towns and villages much nicer

 

[Rob Cowell]

I avoid the cities, always find the traffic a nightmare anyway when I have passed Paris or Lyon. Remote areas and small towns and villages much nicer

Maybe I should have just said towns. I wouldn't try and drive and park in Paris any more than I would in London. But it would be nice to stop in Nimes or Grenoble, for example, and stay somewhere nicer than the ring-road. 95% of my time in France is in very rural areas, but I also like a nice restaurant I can walk to, or more accurately walk home from. And I don't do tents

 

[Bob]

Just saw this thread, I my experience the French large towns worth visiting tend to have a park and ride facility if you are just stopping by. Nimes has for the buses, and Montpellier has a great tram for example. Like you, my 95 with roof rails measures 1.96m at the rear, so I resort to that method, as we stay in campsites. Smaller towns are good for on street parking usually

 

[Dave_S]

If a car park has a posted max height, assume its correct - yes, some have wriggle room, but equally I recall a mate whacking a sprinkler head that was at the posted height... personally, I'd err on the side of caution, whether in France or wherever. If you're under the stated max and have an issue, fair enough... but if you're over the stated max you don't have a leg to stand on, especially if it gets litigious...

 

[RichC4]

I parked in a multi-story with a1.8m max height which is only a hair over the roof bars. There was a light fitting that had come loose and slipped a bit and it hit the bars. So not much clearance over the posted height!