- Many Montpellier residents still go to the beach by car. But finding a place to park is sometimes a bit complicated at the seaside.
- All the municipalities offer several hundred, even several thousand parking spaces more or less close to the sea. Some are free.
- But there are places where finding a parking lot is a real way of the cross.
As the tram does not go (for the moment?) To the sea, many people in Montpellier still take the car to go and splash in the Mediterranean. And the first challenge before making your way on the sand to spread your towel is… finding a place to park. 20 Minutes has scoured the parking lots by the sea. We tell you everything about prices, and the least (and most) painful solutions for parking. Who will win the parking match?
In Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, Prévost is ideal if you stay a long time
Our expedition begins in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, at the Prévost car park, which the regulars of Carré Mer and Bonaventure beach know well. Here, it's 5 euros to park by car, and 2.50 euros between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Expensive, especially if there is little left. "If you stay all day, it's cheaper than elsewhere," says a motorist. And if it is sometimes full in summer, it was still half busy on Tuesday. Note that the Pilou car park, not far from there, is much cheaper: 2 euros from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In Palavas-les-Flots, it's a bit tense in the city center
Direction Palavas-les-Flots. In this seaside resort, there are 5,000 places, of which 800 are free, in the large car park, at the entrance to the city, and 100 others are also free, but limited between 30 minutes and 1 hour, depending on the locations. For the others, we pay 1 euro an hour, between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. But depending on the corner, it's more or less the hassle to park. On the avenue de l'Evêché-de-Maguelone, it is never very complicated to find a place, even in the height of summer. On Tuesday, there were free spaces on the road and the two car parks by the pond were far from full.
Please note, however: in the two housing estates adjoining the pond, parking is payable everywhere. “Before, it was horrible here, says a resident of the Lamparos. I had to put studs in front of my house to prevent people who go to the beach from parking there. We could no longer park anywhere. With the opening of the new car park, near there, “it's really much better,” confides this Palavasienne.
If in this sector, motorists usually find their happiness quickly, in the city center, on the other hand, it is getting tense. The Arena parking lot was almost empty on Tuesday, but the waterfront spaces were taken by storm. Only a handful remained. Another solution for parking in Palavas-les-Flots: avenue Saint-Maurice. It has the advantage of having direct access to the beach.
In Carnon, the large Lido car park does the job
Here we are in Carnon. Here, only two car parks are chargeable in summer: Bassaget, which has 330 spaces and the charming Petit Travers, which has 530 spaces. We pay a quarter of an hour 0.40 euros, or 1.60 euros an hour. More expensive than in Palavas-les-Flots. However, the seaside resort has far more free places: more than 3,000.
To privilege, the car parks which border the avenue des Comtes-de-Melgueil, which are only a few minutes from the beach on foot. Place Cassan, still quiet at this time, is absolutely to be avoided in summer: finding a place here is an impossible task, and parking is somewhat anarchic. Just like the avenue that leads to the Petit Travers, to flee. Finally, there is the Lido car park in Carnon, which has 1,114 free spaces, and where you can park quite easily in the summer. "In the morning, there is absolutely no one here! “, Lets loose a Montpellier, who takes a stroll around the corner every day at dawn. Be careful, however: you no longer enter it via the Petit Travers, but through the Grand-Travers, at La Grande-Motte. It is the exit which is carried out by Carnon.
At Grande-Motte, the Grand-Travers road taken by storm
Last step of our journey: La Grande-Motte. It is in this popular seaside resort that there are the most parking spaces near Montpellier: nearly 9,000, of which more than 3,000 are free. The lucky ones will manage to park without paying, on the west median of the port, or the Jean-Baumel esplanade. The others, depending on the zone, will pay 0.80 euros or 1.50 euros per hour from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
At La Grande-Motte, there is a place where parking is taken over by summer: along private beaches, at the Grand Travers. If there were still a few places, this Tuesday, out of the 300 available, in July and August, it's a real Stations of the Cross to park on this little one. "In summer, I never come here, I am not suicidal! "Smiles a young motorist, who comes out of a sunbathing session. Also try the Grand Travers car park on the avenue: 0.80 euros per hour from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Free therefore, in the evening, for those who party in the private beaches of the area.
And it is… La Grande-Motte which wins the parking lot match
So who wins the parking game? In terms of number of places, Grande-Motte comes out on top, with nearly 9,000 places. In terms of the number of free places, the town imagined by Jean Balladur is tied with a few places with Carnon, more than 3,000 each. For the paying places, on the price side, it is at La Grande-Motte that we pay the least: 0.80 euros in certain areas. But if you spend the day at the beach, it is better to drop 5 euros at Prévost, in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone. As for the corners where finding a place is the least hassle, we have a preference for the avenue of the bishopric of Maguelone, in Palavas-les-Flots, and for the Lido car park.
Montpellier
Montpellier: Palavas, Carnon, La Grande-Motte ... How much does it cost to live by the sea?
Montpellier
Gard: In Grau-du-Roi, an oyster drive allows you to take your hamper without leaving your boat
- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Beach
- Car
- Parking
- Car park
- Montpellier
- Sea