Parking in Bruges
 

We'll be spending 2 nights in Bruges this September and we'll have car. We don't plan on driving while we're staying in Bruges but we'll need a safe place to put our car.

I was a bit taken back when I emailed our hotel (Hotel De Tuilerieen) & they told me they offer parking at a rate $30EU per night! YIKES!! Any other options? We've never been to Bruges so I'm completely unfamiliar with the city. Hopefully there are some less expensive options.

Thank you!

There are several parking lots around the edge of the old town. We usually park overnight in the lot by (under) t'Zand and it costs us about 10 euro per night. Never any problems with break-ins etc. Parking within the old town itself is difficult to find and driving into the old town is no picnic either when the narrow, one-way streets are full (and I mean full) of pedestrians.
There is another large lot right by the train station...that one tends to fill up more quickly.

My wife and I stayed in Brugges two years ago and drove in to town using a good map and still go turned around. it was no big deal albeit a little stressful. we did this because the B&B we were staying at offered free parking with rate. However, i agree that driving in town is unadvisable and the rate your hotel offered seems high. I would drive in to drop your bags off and take the advice of the previous post and park outside the walls. it will take you all of 10 minutes to walk back to the hotel. no big deal. its a very small place.

I had an interesting experience in a Brugge parking garage last year that might be worth describing. When we were ready to leave, I put my ticket in the machine and it displayed the amount owed. I then put a 20 Euro note in the bill accepter and it repeatedly refused to accept the bill - even though the pictures of bills on the machines included a 20 Euro note. After 15 minutes of complete frustration, a local noticed my trouble and offered to help. The problem was that the machine would only accept a 20 Euro note if the cost exceeded a certain amount, which ours didn't.

The lesson learned - If the parking machine refuses to accept a bill, try something smaller. This may be true in other parts of Europe, but I first encountered this in Belgium.

By the way, parking garages in Brugge are large and there are several of them.

Street parking in Brugge is extremely limited because of the canals and narrow streets. So - your choices are to pay the hotel for their parking arrangements - or go for a public parking garage - which will probably be less - but may not be convenient to your hotel.

We just paid the hotel - because all the hassle of parking elsewhere and trekking around is not worth saving a few $. (And frankly 30EU doesn;t seem steep - overnight hotel parking here is just as much.)

Thanks all for the info. We'll definitely park outside the town walls. I also appreciate the orientation ----it's tough to get a true sense of how big a city is when you've never been!

If you park near the train station, you get a free shuttle bus to take you to the Grote Markt. If I were you, I'd drive to the hotel, drop off the luggage, then go and park near the station and go back to the hotel either walking or by city bus. I also think that the parking at the station is cheaper than the one at 't Zand, though I'm not completely sure about that.

A friend of mine recently stayed at De Tuilerieen, and said it was a wonderful place! Enjoy your stay!

Here's a list of all the public parkings in Brugge. http://www.interparking.com/en/index...0&cpr=1888
It also gives the rates and the city map. Unfortunately those windows don't pop-up on my PC.
I'm sure the parking lot at the station will be the cheapest (it used to be 2.50 euro per 24 hours but I believe they raised the price somewhat).

Only someone from NY could say that 30eu per night doesn't sound steep. JEEZ! to me it sounds like highway robbery! A Taxi ride from the train station to anywhere in brugge is only 7-8eu. I should think parking at the train station and taking a cab is also not a bad idea. Cab drivers were very friendly and spoke English.

FYI - We are staying the the Adornes Hotel in Brugge and parking is included.