We are a group of four couples and will have two rental cars in Spain in October. How hard will it be to find parking spaces when we (possibly) visit Granada, Cordoba, and Seville?

I have found lists of public parking lots, but research has indicated that parking may well be a problem. We want to be prepared if this is the case.

Any suggestions and information would be welcome and appreciated!

Byrd

Very difficult to park in tourist areas of all 3. A car in Seville is a real problem. Consider turning the cars in and using public transportation and taxis in the area. Don't know where you are coming from, but the AVE would be very efficient way to go back to Madrid.

I had hotel parking available in those cities.

We traveled with a rental car to those cities about 4-5 years ago in April. It was not all that hard to find parking but at that time it was about $30 a day. I would try to find a hotel that has parking.

If you do use a public garage pay attention. The one we used in Granada had a traffic light to monitor use of the ramp. In addition, you switched sides to use it, meaning going down you were on the inside and up on the outside. By dumb luck we made it in and out.

If I was only traveling to major cites in Spain I would just use the trains as you do not need a car in any of the cites. In our case we were also traveling in Portugal and the car made the most sense.

Agree with above posters. Train and taxi from the station to your hotel. Walk worry free!

Yhanks, everybody. We will be some distance from these cities, since we will be in Mlaaga at this point in our trip

We will have the cars, so may just take off to one or more of them.

Byrd

We found it easier to park the car when reaching our destination and then use public transportation (or walk) around town. When ready to leave town, retrive your car and go on your way. We traveled around Spain two years ago with that plan. The cities you are visiting are awesome and you will love your visit. We did not have a car at all in either Barcelona or Madrid.

Cars with non - Seville plates are often targeted by thieves in Seville. I've seen such cars with broken windows, also I've seen cars with little notes on the inside of the windscreen explaining that the driver is actually a local. Some advise leaving a local newspaper spread out on the seat. Parking is a nightmare, buses are easy and cabs are reasonably priced. I'd leave the car behind.

Parking in Malaga is also difficult in the center!
My suggestion is to get rid of the cars in Malaga and use bus or train to the other cities!

in Granada, head for the Alhambra [well-signposted]. there is a massive car park just below the walls which is very well populated and therefore unlikely to attract thieves.

we left our hire car there for 2 days and nights with no problems.

You can't deduct origin from number plates in Spain since many years. Only old cars still sport the old provincial plates. So no one can tell from where most cars are.
In all cities you find many parking garages at the edges of the historic city centers. It takes no rocket science to park in one of those, e.g. in Sevilla along the Guadalquivir river and walk 5mins to the old town.
If you just go there for a day trips and need parking for a few hours it takes no rocket science to find them. Just check a map in advance to know when you are close enough to "downtown" to drop the car.

Zippo said "Cars with non - Seville plates are often targeted by thieves in Seville."
I don't understand that , since 2000 we have had nationwide registration numbering system here in Spain. So for the past 12 years it has been increasingly hard to see where are car is from.

There are several ways to find parking garages in Spain. Use your GPS or Google maps.
This is an example.
http://goo.gl/maps/oHSjX
You will always see the Blue "P" sign The green "Libre" underneath mean parking spaces available. Not that they are free!

I was actually in those three cities with a rental car in October. Parking was very difficult, and in two cities, Granada and Seville, I just parked up the car in hotel/apartment car park and never used it, except for one daytrip to Cadiz.
For Cordoba, which was a stop between the other two, it took me a good hour to find a parking spot near enough for Mezquita-Cathedral (had a handicapped passenger). Eventually we found a disabled parking space not far (we had EU blue parking permit). One option is to park across the river in the newer part, where there are large parking lots for buses and cars, and even some free street parking (if you are lucky). On a previous trip to Seville, I left my car in underground parking near Plaza de Armas bus station, which was discounted if I got the ticket stamped by the hotel. Even in October, street parking will be very difficult anywhere in the centre and I won't even try to find a space.

Thank you all for all the suggestions and advice.

I will pass all this along to the rest of the group and we will plan accordingly!

Byrd

I had no problem finding parking in old Seville. We stayed at Hotel Eurostar Regina and I managed to find parking two or three times a day a within a half kilometer radius of the hotel. Keep a sharp lookout for street people standing between cars and waving their arms to indicate a free parking spot. Tip them a couple of euros.

Mark

If in Granada, I'd stay as far away from the old Arab quarter. While walking, I saw an America couple get stuck in a narrow street by one of what looked liked small poles that went up and down regulating the traffic.(I've never seen one of those before) The wife got out and tried to direct the husband and it ended up with both of them screaming at each other and the shopkeepers watching them like it was a one act play.

We drove all through that area and had no problems - but we did make sure our hotels offered parking. Street parking - as in any large city - is very difficult.

I can only guess why some find it hard to find a place to park a car in those cities, but when you think of street parking or spotting a huge vacant lot or a massive overground parking garage structure this can be difficult. I'd never expect to find street parking (often governed by restrictions for non-residents and/or short maximum stays anyway). And you may find the ramps to underground garages a bit hard to spot as you literally can't see the parking garage, but in fact are driving right over several hundred spaces underneath you.

I've been to Spain many times - often without a car and sometimes with a car. My decision usually involves around the cities I'll be visiting and the value of a car. Honestly I wouldn't rent a car for the cities you'll be visiting. The exception being if you had a great deal of time to explore the area between Granada and Sevilla. Otherwise if you have the standard 7 days or so you're really not going to find it worth it (IMHO).

Finding parking may not be the only consideration - the cost and also navigating the city center to get to the parking.

There will be a lot of signs for parking when you approach the city centres.
Here is an example of one such sign in Seville:
http://goo.gl/maps/YfNMY
As in this illustration they are not always easy to read.