kenav

We will be in these regions from Sept. 19th - Oct 1st this year. (Yea!)

Wondering - On our first day we will be driving from Albi to Cordes sur Ciel and then Figeac and finally Rocamadour (to our hotel). Since Cordes is a town, I'm not particularly worried about parking there (unless there are strict rules that we don't know about). But what about Figeac? Are there designated parking areas in the center of the city?

What are the general rules of parking in these (Dordogne & Lot) towns (if there are any)?

Last year we were in Ortisei and Bolzano in Italy and figuring out the parking garages was, uh, interesting. (Do we pay before, or as we leave; where do we put in our CC, etc.) Don't want a ticket. We live in NYC and although we don't have a car we know how confusing the parking signs are in English! Can't mess with anything like that in French, for sure. (I know, I know - these places aren't like NYC.)

Help please?

Michael

Public parking areas are usually well marked, and some are "payant" and some are free. Paid parking is clearly indicated. One pays for a ticket obtained from a machine and which is then placed on the dashboard on the driver's side.

StuDudley

Actually, Cordes is a little difficult because you park down below town & walk up a steep hill to get to town. I think there are trains to shuttle you up there.

We've parked in open lots in Figeac. Look for them on the map in your Michelin Green Guide. Do not park anywhere there are blue parking lines (reserved for locals). Once parked, look for a Horadateur (not sure of the spelling) somewhere in the lot or on the street. There should be a "P" you can spot from a distance. Put your money in till you reach the time you expect to leave, receive a ticket, and put it on your dash. Note - the French take lunch seriously. If you arrive at 11:30 and put enough money in for 3 hrs (for example), the ticket will say that your "leave" time is 4PM - they subtract 1 1/2 hrs (or so) for lunch.

Don't know where your hotel is in Rocamadour, but like Cordes there is a big parking lot below & a train to take you into town.

Stu Dudley

Ackislander

We never had a problem finding public parking whether in cities or towns. Even the walled towns had substantial parking areas, usually (always?) within the town walls, unlike Italy. We were a week later in the year than you.

The exception would be Sarlat on a market day when part of the most convenient public parking is reserved for the stallholders in the market.

StCirq

There is parking at the top of the hill in Cordes, if you're an intrepid driver - it involves driving up a very steep and winding road and looking out for signs with the big blue P. If you are actually staying in Cordes, your hotel will give you a voucher for a different parking lot.

And the last time I was in Cordes, I parked in the lower town on one of the main streets at a metered spot and only with the help of a local found out that even after you put your money in the meter it won't work until you enter the license plate number of your car. Go figure.

None of these places has a parking garage, per se. But it's all pretty intuitive.

hetismij

As I recall Figeac had some free street parking, but that may have only been on a Sunday. Look for a blue "P" for car parking. It should be clear whether you need to pay or not.

You can also park above Rocamadour and get the lift down. All depends on where your hotel is. I am sure their website tells you where you can park.

annhig

hi kenav,

i suggest that you get hold of a michelin red guide to France. it has street maps of every town in France showing the ways in [and out] and car parks. we forgot to take it with us this year and i cursed myself every time we got to a town.

StuDudley

>>michelin red guide to France. it has street maps of every town in France<<

Every town ??? - only the larger towns or popular tourist destinations. There is no map of Cordes.

Stu Dudley

annhig

ok, virtually every town.

or is cordes a large village?

Michael

Cordes is a large hill village or small town, as you prefer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623313123155/

annhig

tongue was in the cheek there, Michael.

sadly that is not always evident on this board.

kerouac

Any town with a parking area, free or not, puts up extremely visible signs concerning parking.

Sue4

I think you are smart for asking this question and finding out about parking options in advance.
I had an (almost) horrible experience in one of those huge underground parking garages in Chartres. I had no idea what to do to get out of there! There was no one around, but fortunately a nice, English-speaking Frenchman appeared and told me what to do.

I don't remember the parking being difficult in Figeac, but I was overnighting there in a hotel.
Parking was quite easy in Rocamadour (up at the top) and free of charge.

Carlux

'Parking was quite easy in Rocamadour (up at the top) and free of charge.'
Just make sure you park at the top, l'Hospitalet, and dont try to get into town. There is virtually NO parking inside Rocamadour

If you are in an underground parking garage you will almost always need to pay at the 'Caisse', retrieve your ticket and then insert the paid up ticket as you leave the lot.
Some above ground lots are like this, with controlled entry.


Others have the 'Horodateur' which issues a ticket for a specified time - you just leave it inside showing through your wind-shield. These will be open lots, or streets.

I just had a horrible experience in a parking lot, but nothing to do with paying. I was walking through the lot, not noticing that the automatic bar was up. It slammed down on my head. No bump, no concussion, but still headachey. So watch out for those!

kenav

As for the "Caisse" - will that be a machine or a person? (OK you can stop laughing at my ignorance.) It sounds like you pay first in that case? How is that figured out when you don't know how long you'll be there?

We're used to the pay at a meter for a certain amount of time and put the paper slip in the windshield thingy, in NY. So that shouldn't be confusing to us. (Cross fingers)

We'll be staying at Domaine de la Rhue in Rocamadour. Then a few days later at the Hostellerie du Passeur in Les Eyzies. I believe both have parking areas. So not worried about that. It's just parking when we go exploring other places (towns specifically) in the Lot and Dordogne areas.

Michael

If you enter a parking lot where you take a card for the gate to open, you will pay at the Caisse afterwards. Most of the Caisses are simply machines where you introduce the card and the screen will display how much you owe. Undoubtedly there must be one place where a human being will take your money, but it is not always obvious where that Caisse is. (I am remembering an underground parking in Périgueux which I used multiple times this spring).

kenav

Micheal - Did you like Perigueux? Thought of maybe going there one afternoon to get a bit of a city feel vs. all the villages we will be in.

How did you know where the parking garage was there? Do you remmber where it was?

StCirq

<<Did you like Périgueux>>

Périgueux is a great city, once you get into it and past all the crap that surrounds it. There's ample parking there. I've never parked in a garage, always find street parking in the old quarter. There's a wonderful Saturday market there.

If you do go , read up on its history or you won't have a clue about all the wonderful things that surround you.

Michael

Between the Allée Tourny and the Cours Tourny there is free and paid parking, but both are usually full on market day. StCirq is correct, it is best to go there for the morning market on Wednesday or Saturday. We were there May/June this year, and had no problem parking in the Michel de Montaigne underground parking, and once above ground. It is right next to the historic section of the town, where parking is not allowed. It was the most convenient for us, because it avoided any up and down and my wife was in a wheelchair. As someone else mentioned, parking is free during lunch time. Getting to these parking lots is not easy if one does not know the town. It would be best to print out a Google map to see where these parking lots are located (the two mentioned form a right angle along the edge of the historic section). Parking in the Michel de Montaigne parking lot is cheap: 0.60€ per hour.

An excellent restaurant is <i>l'Essentiel</i>, which requires a reservation on market day. A fun place is <i>Pierrot Gourmet</i> which is on Place de l'Hôtel de Ville.

La Vésunna is worth a visit if you like modern architecture protecting Gallo-Roman ruins.

To whet your appetite:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623221148969/

Michael

I forgot one thing: If going there on market day, do not take the Ave. Daumesnil, which will get you caught in market day traffic.

BTW, I noticed that l'Essentiel is marked on the Google map if you zoom in for details.