Driving on big cities - what are your strategies?

I'll start with my answer next, but before I go there, I'd say most of the "big city driving nightmare" is much more about parking or very narrow medieval streets (which are only a fraction of any big metropolis) than anything else. First, my strategy is to have a good, reliable and up-to-date GPS. Many rental agencies don't bother upgrading theirs, and while a 2 years backlog of upgrades is not much for 99% of drivings in the hills of Toscana, it can and will be a problem for city driving where roads are temporarily closed, or traffic re-routed, all the time. Second, I just cool down and assume route mistakes will happen. This means assuming I'll sometimes get in the tuning lane, missing a boulevard exit or exiting one block too early, or taking the wrong roundabout exit (roundabouts are killers for that). I do this because once I assume I might mistake my route, I concentrate on the traffic signs to avoid much more serious mistakes like entering a one-way street, exceeding the speed limit or getting into a bus-lane with camera surveillance! So when I make routing mistakes, I just wait the GPS recalculate the route. Third, if possible I decide exactly where to park before even starting the car. Most of big European city driving frustration come out of lack of parking, so I almost always just look for a parking garage on the GPS or a map or Google and put it as my destination (instead of the place I actually want to go). If I plan on using street parking, I make sure of regulations - many cities reserve on-street parking for residents or deliveries only. Fourth, I adopt defensive driving for serious, especially at night in busy places where it is more difficult to spot pedestrians or cyclists. Fifth , I triple check the parking situation of the hotel I'm driving to, if that is the case.

All in, I think many people on Helpline overestimate the difficulties of big city driving. But not all drives on big cities are created equal. Here is how I see the situation: 1. Monument and attraction-hopping from your centrally located hotel. This is clearly what is most inefficient about using car in big cities, if you are already lodged near the attractions you will visit. Many of them are in pedestrianized plazas or restricted areas and here I agree driving might be more of a hassle. 2. Renting a car and immediately leaving the city. No big deal as many make it sound. You will just leave the premises, and drive (with the help of a good GPS!!!) to the highway exit through major thoroughfares. 3. Using the car you already rented for choosing a "satellite hotel". This strategy is very underestimated. If one already has a car rented, an interesting proposition is to choose a hotel in an industrial area or suburb, and use the car to drive to a major parking garage in the central area - then walk the day. This might save tons of money for traveling parties of 4-5 people, or allow you to stay in much better hotels for the same price - at expense of the privileged location 4. Substituting for taxi. It might sound crazy, but in some specific cases, renting a car for one day only is an amazing strategy to save money when you will, for instance, need to depart 3.30 to airport from your hotel with your whole extended family in a city where the airport is far away (Milano, München, Stockholm)

'with a car can see/do/experience twice if not three times the sites in the same amount of time' Preposterous. That would mean: a. You could leave Market Harborough, swing through Stratford-upon-Avon. stop by Battle, tour the castle at Dover and sleep in Dunkerque. b. You could leave Paris, swing through Waterloo and Aachen, and spend the night somewhere in the Rhine Gorge. c. You could leave Florence, visit every hill town RS mentions in Tuscany and be back in Florence for a late supper. d. You could leave Cadiz late in the day, preposition to Antequera for the night, see all there is to see in Granada in a day and then go spend the night Gaudix at half the price. Impossible. It'll never happen. What you have to do is plan your tail off, be tied to a schedule (since you bought tickets 'well in advance' for 'substantial savings' so you can't snag an extra cup of coffee, and you need the pleasure of toting your trash around on your back all day. Of course, if you straddle the middle ground, you can always use public transportation and rent a car for a day or two at some ungodly rate while paying for both the car and the train on the same day.

I don't understand the point of this thread and many of the comments. Driving sometimes does make sense. For larger parties/families where the cost of renting can be disbursed over the group. For seeing more remote sites and rural areas. For visiting small towns. Some countries (ie Greece) or regions are not well served by bus or train. Most of us are willing to give that advice when warranted. But why would most people want to stay in a hotel remote from the main tourist areas of a city and take a 30 minute or more ride into the city each day? Most of us prefer to step out of our hotel into the heart of a city. My least favorite experiences are staying at remote hotels. Why would most people want to pay for parking, rental and insurance if the car just sits there all day? Driving in Italian cities often leads to ZTL fines. Why risk it? Many Americans are not used to driving in heavily congested urban areas. Why bother when they are on vacation in a foreign country? I don't know how to respond to the joyrides on subways and trams. Is that a reference to some lines that are promoted for an overview of a city? If so, I suppose that characterization applies. But how is riding subways, busses or trams to get around a city like an amusement park?

City driving strategies... If staying in a hotel, pick one in the center or near a landmark. Follow the signs to the landmark, and when you get close to the destination, look for signs for the hotel. Unless you're staying in someone's private home, there's almost always plenty of signs pointing to your lodging. If just visiting a city for the day, follow the same strategy, but follow the blue and white parking signs. It really isn't that hard- follow the signs, follow the signs, follow the signs! Using this method, I've never gotten lost, never had problems finding my destination and never needed a GPS.

We've had two nightmare experiences driving in cities. One was trying to find a B&B in Dublin and one was trying to find our car rental place in Brussels. In both cases we planned to dump the car once we got there. Why were these experiences nightmares? Bumper to bumper traffic, one way streets, nowhere to park, loads of people walking into the street, and going about two blocks every half hour. Then there was the problem of not being able to find the place we were trying to get to. Or in the case of Dublin, finding it, but not being able to drive the car on the one way street and then not being able to get back again. And no signs -- Tom, when have you ever seen a sign for a B&B or small car rental office? My strategy is to never do it again.

This thread cracks me up. Defensive drivers, anyone? "One thing that I have yet to see a public transportation only folk admit is that the family with a car can see/do/experience twice if not three times the sites in the same amount of time as those who refuse to employ a car." OUTSIDE of a city, sure, depending where you are. Inside a major city (which was the point of the thread?) absolutely not. The real crux of the issue is that driving makes sense sometimes and doesn't othertimes yet some people are really attached to driving and will find weird ways to justify it and find a way to get some digs in at people who enjoy public transportation or just recognize when it's easier/faster/cheaper/BETTER. I personally get tired of always waiting for my driver friends, who refuse to use public transit then run 15-45 minutes late on a regular basis because they're stuck in gridlock, can't find parking, had to park far away, etc. And that's within Stuttgart, which is NOTHING like driving in a major European city in the sense that it's far easier and less congested. But as I marvel at near-miss accidents, actual accidents, and watch people attempt to park in 3 feet of space in Paris this week, I will think of y'all, my car-loving Helpline comrades. ;)