Tag Archives: parking

Granada | Apartments with Parking

As in many historic Spanish cities, driving a car into the old centre of Granada can be quite a challenge. Private cars are forbidden to enter many of the central areas, or entry is restricted to residents, but even in areas where it is permitted you still need to be careful. Many of the main streets have a bus lane on the right, which you can’t use, and these are all watched on video cameras, so it’s very easy to get fined if you don’t know the neighbourhood.

You then have the problem of finding parking for your car. Street parking isn’t really an option, as there are hardly any spaces, which leaves you with the two following possibilities.

1. Public car parks

Public car parks are scarce in most residential and historic neighbourhoods, and also expensive, usually around 20 Euros a day. You should look up a list of Granada Car Parks before travelling and enter the address of your choice on your GPS navigating system, but even after arriving successfully there is no guarantee that there will be free spaces.

2. Apartments with parking

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The best option if you’re travelling by car, whether it’s your own or a rental, is to rent an apartment with onsite parking. Our preferred apartments for this purpose are veoapartment San José, located in the lower Albaicín, which is close to both the Alhambra and Cathedral, as well as being an important historic neighbourhood. These apartments have a spacious underground parking area large enough to accommodate minivans, and with plenty of room to manouevre.

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An apartment with its own garage makes parking easy, and you can take your luggage up to your apartment in the elevator. The San Jose complex has apartments of various sizes and price levels available, many of them with private terraces with views of the Alhambra or Cathedral. For example, 2-bedroom Veoapartment San José, with a terrace looking towards the Cathedral.

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The photos here show the apartment building in the square, and the entrance to the underground car park.

When you do a search on the veoapartment website, apply the “Parking” filter to the search results. This will reduce the number of available apartments to those which have parking at the apartment. If you want to use the garage, just fill in the space on the online booking form when making your booking.

Seville | Free Parking Guide

Seville Street Parking Map - click on image to enlarge

Seville Street Parking Map – click on image to enlarge

A frequent question of apartment guests who are travelling by car, whether their own or a rental, is about the possibility of free on-street parking in Seville.  Having to pay for a nice apartment and good food every day during your holidays, it is natural that they want to economise on the “accommodation” of the car…

In a previous post, we discussed the different options for affordable garage parking. This post is part 2 on the parking theme: How and where to park for free on the street.

On the map here we have marked streets inside the historic centre and around where you may be able to find a parking space.

1. Safety – Is it safe to leave my rental car on the street?

In our opinion, the answer is “yes”, though with some reservations. Although theft of and from cars has dramatically decreased over the last 15 years, and is not a big risk in the centre of Seville and its immediate surroundings, it is of course, still important not to leave bags or valuables in your car, and as far as possible not to leave any visible “signs” that it belongs to a foreign tourist (though admittedly this is tricky if you come in your own car with foreign license plates).

In many areas, there are people who hang around empty parking spaces, intent on “helping” you park your car or indicating a free space for a fee. In Spain, they are called “aparca-coches” (car-parkers) or more frequently “gorilas”. As you may deduce from the latter expression, Spaniards do not place much value on this service. In fact in Seville, the local police are trying to eradicate the practice, though without much success so far. There are still many of these people on the streets, but at least their attitude when asking for money has become less aggressive. In terms of the car, there is little or no risk, even if you don’t pay. Legal car-parkers, who have a badge and will issue you with a ticket, are few and far between, and you’re pretty unlikely to see one!

Another issue, related to security, is the possibility of the car being scratched or damaged by inconsiderate or inept drivers while parked on the street. This IS a risk which you have to consider, especially bearing in mind the standard policies of car rental companies regarding damage to their cars. In southern Spain, car drivers are often careless when parking in front of, or behind, your car. Bumping the other car (parking “by touch”), and even pushing to increase the parking space, is common practice. Double parking is also a frequent problem, though generally the car is left with the hand-brake off in case you need to push it out of the way if you have been blocked in. On narrow streets within the centre, be aware of the width available  for passing traffic, as wider vehicles might scratch the side of your car when.

2. Neighbourhoods – Where can I find a space?

As previously mentioned, it is extremely difficult to find a free space in the centre, but it’s not impossible.

Macarena neighbourhood: around calle Feria, inside the historic centre, and outside, north of calle Resolana, towards the Macarena hospital.

San Vicente neighbourhood: mainly on calle Torneo (which goes alongside the river), and some of the smaller side streets towards the Alameda de Hercules.

Santa Cruz neighbourhood: virtually impossible, so not recommended. Try east of calle Recaredo (outside the historic centre).

Triana neighbourhood: Calle Pages del Corro and towards the west.

3. Time – When are your chances best?

The best time to find parking space on the street is early morning (08:00-08:30), lunch time (14:00-16:00 hours) and after 8.00pm, when people leave the city centre. Generally, your chances are much better at the week-end. You might consider paid public garage parking on arrival, and then look for a street parking space later once you’ve unloaded your luggage, or on the following day.

4. Restricted areas – Where is it forbidden to park?

There are no general parking restrictions in the centre of Seville, which means you can park anywhere where it is not explicitly forbidden by traffic signs, or if you’re in a “zona azul” (blue zone), identified by traffic signs and blue lines on the road, which are paid meter parking only on weekdays and Saturdays (check times on the signs). We recommend being observant. Sometimes, you will see cars in a line or double parked in restricted areas. However, these will be locals who know the rules. Do not park there! Here’s an example: next to the food market on calle Feria there is an unloading bay. In the afternoons, the market is closed and the bay unoccupied, but a truck comes to hose down the market stalls, and your car will get towed away immediately if the space is needed for the truck.

If the police tow your car away, they will leave a sticker on the ground where the car was parked. It will be taken to the pound on Avenida Blas Infante, next to Parque de los Principes in the los Remedios neighbourhood, where it can be collected once you’ve paid the fine (around the 200€ mark).

Hopefully this has not been too discouraging 😉 and as a counter-balance, a final word on Spanish police: we have found them to be more lenient than central Europe police forces. This is due to the fact that Spanish administration, in general, is less likely to act on its own initiative. They are more likely to react when there is a specific complaint from somebody, as in the market example above.

Seville | Affordable Garage Parking

Many guests at our Seville apartments stay there as part of a longer trip by car through Andalusia or other regions of Spain. For these travellers, a convenient and affordable parking space close to their apartment is of vital importance. We know that for many this is almost as important in deciding where to stay as the apartment’s design and location.

Here’s a brief overview of parking options when you stay at one of our Seville apartments:

1. Apartments with a private parking space

Some of our apartments have a private parking space either in the building, or nearby. In the photo you can see a typical example, the Plaza Santa Cruz A apartment, which is located in the famous parking-garage-santa-cruzSanta Cruz neighbourhood, in the very centre of Seville, which has a parking garage under the building.

Other apartments with private parking include Ibarra Terrace, also in the Santa Cruz and featuring a rooftop swimming pool, the Hernandez apartment in El Centro, and also the Font Terrace and San Lorenzo Penthouse apartments which are in the San Vicente neighbourhood. All of these not only have parking available, but the apartments are decorated and equipped to the highest standard to ensure you enjoy your time in Seville.

2. Public parking for 10 Euros per day

Veoapartment has an agreement with 3 public parking garages in Seville for a budget parking rate of only 10 Euros per day.
parking-mercado-trianaThe car parks are all on or near the ring road around the historic centre of Seville. All our apartments are within a 15-minute walk of one of them, though most  are closer.

The photo shows the “Mercado de Triana” car park, at the end of the Triana bridge, on the corner of calle Betis and the Plaza del Altozano. It is next to the Triana food market, which gives it its name.

It is necessary to register as a user of the car park to receive the reduced rate, but registering has the advantage that you receive a permanent user card, which allows you to leave and re-enter the car park as often as you want.

Keep in mind that the parking space has to be reserved with us in advance.

Parking in Seville

parking in sevilleFinding safe well-located parking in Seville can not only be difficult but also expensive. We are happy to announce that we now have an arrangement with three centrally-located underground parking lots and are able to offer reduced rates for our apartment guests. Our discounted rates are:

  • 1 day:  10 €
  • 1 week:  60 €
  • 2 weeks: 90 €
  • 1 month: 120 €

Because the car parks are located on the ring road they are easy to find and convenient to reach, and if you need to take a taxi to reach your apartment, the money you’ve saved on parking will pay for it.

Visit our Parking Information Page to find out how to arrange for this special reduced-rate parking during your stay with us.

parking lotsP1 – Mercado del Arenal | P2 – Mercado de Triana | P3 – José Laguillo

Granada Apartments with Parking

Although cars are generally not much help in getting around the picturesque narrow streets in the old centres of Spain’s historic cities, many people nowadays are choosing to visit several destinations on their vacations, spending a few nights in each place, and find that a car is essential for these journeys.

san jose 1San Jose 1

This is not without its problems. Many hotels and apartments, particularly in those neighbourhoods close to the sights and monuments, don’t have garage parking, or if they do there are only limited spaces available, or they are offsite, sometimes several streets away.

Veoapartment has just acquired two fantastic holiday rental apartments in Granada with their own private parking that combine the best of both worlds. Located in the old Moorish quarter of the Albaicín in a building with many traditional architectural features including a plant-filled central courtyard and balconies, the apartments have light, modern, uncluttered interiors with everything you could need for a comfortable stay.

san jose terraceSan Jose Terrace

San Jose 1 is a one bedroom duplex apartment for up to four people, and San Jose Terrace a two bedroom apartment for up to six. Both have fabulous views over the city to the cathedral and beyond.