We will be spending this weekend in Paris -- staying in a hotel about a half hour away and driving in for the day Saturday and Sunday. Can anyone recommend a parking garage where we can leave our car for the day? I've found out that there is one, for instance, under the Louvre, but I can't find out if it is possible to leave the car there the whole day or how much it costs to do so. (The car has plates that clearly indicate we are American and affiliated with American military which means it isn't a good idea to park on the street).
Thanks in advance.

Can't help with parking info, sorry.

However, have you considered coming in on the train or RER? Personally, I would do anything to avoid driving in Paris, and being in a marked American car I feel you would be a bit like a bulls-eye target, especially in a secluded parking garage. It is so easy to take public transportation into Paris, Maybe you could consider that if no one can help you further.

If you are that concerned about having the car in downtown Paris itself I suggest you leave it in a "safer" place and take the RER or SNCF commuter service if at all p;ossible. BTW, have there BEEN any incidents involving "American" cars anywhere in Europe lately or are you just assuming that something might happen?

We live in Germany and while we haven't been involved in an incident, there are times when we get cut off, etc. and it seems a little pointed. In Prague, we had some very rude comments shouted at us about the US while we were stuck in a traffic jam. Usually, we don't have any problems, but parking on the street in a large city, especially, seems to invite vandalism.

There are many public parking garages in Paris, the one under the Louvre is just one of them. I might pick one that was convenient to the route I was taking, near the edges and a metro station. YOu can park there all day, price is about 17 euro per day. Phone no. is 01-42-60-19-14 if you want to call them.

There are a couple web sites that have information on public parking garages in Paris. One I'm most familiar with is www.infoparking.com

Thanks, Christina! Just the info I was looking for.

loveeurope,

I would avoid driving into Paris on Saturday if at all possible - the city is very congested due to people coming in from the suburbs to shop... Sunday is great though.

That said, the garage at the Louvre is large and always has spots available IME (I remember it being quite expensive though). It's just the traffic jams on the rue de Rivoli and along the quais that will drive you nuts on Sat.

Hope this helps,
Andre

We usually drive to an RER station near Paris, park the car there and take the train into town.

If you check your Paris map, the public parking is marked with a blue P and they are all over the city. We've often parked under the St. Germain market for several days and had no problems. I assume they would all be just fine. There are attendants at all of them.

I really do recommend only driving part way and taking the train into town. It's easier on the driver's nerves. He can relax and enjoy the sights too.

Have a great trip.

Got to agree, I would do anything to avoid driving in Paris. We once spent an entire hour trying to get thru one traffic light. Could see our hotel in the distance, but only one or two autos got thru each light. Meanwhile, everyone was yelling, gesturing rudely, and jumping up and down, thru the sun roof, etc. Parisians are not noted for patience!!

Another option would be to take one of the "portes" off the peripherique in a more upscale neighborhood. For example, if you got off at the Porte D'Auteuil, that would put you in the Auteuil section of the 16th, which is a well off neighborhood with plenty of American expats living there. Your car is less likely to stand out and be vandalized there. In addition, there are a few garages along the Ave. Mozart near the Jasmin metro stop (a short drive from the Porte d'Auteuil). In the d'Auteuil neighborhood itself are a couple of metro stops.
I understand your concern. Here in Brussels there are a lot of British expats and, due to the right hand steering, British cars are easy to spot. They are vandalized more frequently. We had some British friends staying with us for a few weeks and their Jeep Cherokee (an American car with British steering--talk about inflammatory!) was broken into several times, even though it was clear there was nothing of value in the car and the other cars parked around it were always left untouched.

There is a huge underground garage right next to St. Sulpice. There is an Avis or Hertz inside it (I forget which). We found it to be an easy drive out of it to the major street along the river and on to the highway, and return as well. I know we looked at the rates and thought it was surprisingly inexpensive compared to most major cities of the world.