Big city parking

It's a lot like the US; the more valuable real estate you are on, the more you pay for parking. So yes, expect high fees in expensive, densely populated cities, and no fees out in the countryside. You can look at hotel websites and get an idea. I'm looking at hotels in Zagreb and even there I'm looking at 22-24E for hotel parking if I want to be in the city center. On the outskirts, where I would have to take the tram in to sightsee, hotels have free parking.

If a hotel has free parking, they will proudly and prominently proclaim it since it's a bit rare - - otherwise probably not. My rule of thumb for in-city parking in the major cities is twenty-five euros per day - - but don't think you can get twelve hours for twelve euros, it's a sliding scale.

To illustrate further the previous replies, Hotel Uhland in Munich, for example, has free parking (rare), while hotel guests staying in the old central section of Salzburg will need to park in a public garage right outside the center (pay garage). I've both driven and used rail on previous trips. All things being equal, I prefer to use rail...usually cheaper and more convenient in the end and certainly much less stressful, especially if visiting big cities primarily.

Actually, it's a lot like the US - parking in cities is rarely free and often expensive. Like US cities, security is another consideration. In Amsterdam we parked under the Olympic Stadium. It was reasonably priced and secure. In Salzburg, I like to stay at the Institute San Sebastian. It's essentially staying in a college dorm. I had a car one time and they allowed me to park in their tiny lot for free. The cars were shoehorned in (by the mostly college age kids parked there). Getting them in an out was like those puzzles where you move the tiles around and actually quite fun, if you don't mind crawling in and out of the wrong door (or window) to get into/out of your car. As you get out of the city center, free parking becomes more available and reasonable. My advice, look for lodging with free parking in the outskirts that is within walking distance of public transport to get downtown. These won't be the places Rick suggests (his are always conveniently located downtown) so check out tripadvisor for reviews and locations.

The best part about having a car is being able to stay in affordable, quaint towns outside the big cities. You can still get the big city nightlife in Munich and Paris, your first and last destination (renting the car as you leave Munich and turning it in upon your arrival in Paris)

You're also looking at hefty drop-off fees for picking up in Munich and dropping off in Paris. If you're in the cities you've listed, you don't need a car while you're there.

"We're trying to calculate the cost of car VS train, starting in Munich and ending in Paris. For the train part, if you just want to get to Paris as fast as possible, you can take the ICE to Stuttgart and a TGV from there. Time: just over 6 hours. If you book well in advance (up to 92 days), you can get tickets online on the Bahn website for as low as €39 pP. (I just found a €39 fare for April 5, leaving Munich around 10:30.)

"The best part about having a car is being able to stay in affordable, quaint towns outside the big cities." In 10 years (over 15 weeks) in Germany, I have never rented a car, but I have stayed almost exclusively in "affordable, quaint towns". It only takes a little knowledge of the rail system and some planning.

Hi Lisa,
You might try what we do. We also lease/purchase a car through autofrance.net. Find yourself a smaller city near the major city that you want to go in to, the smaller city must have rail service in to the bigger city, and most European cities are connected by excellent rail service. Then stay in the smaller city, hotel rates are usually less expensive AND usually the hotels in these outskirt cities offer free parking; then just hop the train into the larger city. Example: In Italy we drove to Orte (about 40 minutes outside of Rome) parked the car for free in the hotel underground garage. The hotel rented us an entire suite for a lot less than what we would have paid for a regular room in Rome. Then we just hopped the train into Rome everyday, came back each night to a huge suite with full bath and lived like Kings and Queens.