The German town of Duisburg in the Ruhr Valley, central-western Germany, has already been getting some attention recently--despite its industrial feel (some call it the Unromantic Road), the region has been designated Europe's Capital of Culture for 2010, so everybody's jumping on the touring bandwagon.
But our big tip for Duisburg is to visit the car park. Really. Apparently lots of Germans already do: it's a multi-storey construction that has been renovated to look and sound like a beach, with:
fake palm trees, real sand and coastal scenes painted on the grey concrete walls. And giant speakers have been added to broadcast the cries of gulls and the crashing of waves on the beach.
And the Germans are so friendly, they say you don't even need to have a car to go in.
If you decide that train problems are a good enough reason to drive your own car to London's Heathrow Airport, you might be interested to know more about the new Q-Park secure car park that's just opened up, offering secure long term parking with a shuttle bus to all Heathrow terminals.
They're proud of it being a car park that returns your car just as you left it:
Upon arrival passengers' cars are photographed from multiple angles before being valet parked.
We'd like to get a nice poster-size print of our beautiful car included with the parking fees (which, like everything in London, are pretty expensive, but get cheaper the longer you leave your car there).
Let's be real. Skybus does not fly to Boston. It takes at least one click on Skybus' website for them to admit that "Boston" is actually Portsmouth, NH. To be fair, Newark Airport is in a separate state from New York City, and we most definitely consider flying into Newark as flying into New York. But this is way more of a stretch. Hey, at least it's not Bellingham, WA, which Skybus brands as "Seattle" despite the 90-mile distance and better proximity to Canada.
We nearly got a massive shopping complex built at Sydney's International Airport, until too many people freaked out at the possibility it could get hit by a plane. Now building enthusiasts are getting ready to start a new A$65 million car park instead.
With 10 million people flying through Sydney International a year, it's a busy place, and that's why they've now got 3000 additional parking places coming. Travelators and lifts will connect the car park directly to the Terminal 1 Departure Lounge. For international visitors who don't really need this car park, it might seem a far cry from the previously proposed shopping mall, but there are still plenty of duty-free shops (complete with grotesque anti-smoking ads) where you can hand over your last Aussie dollars.
We already knew about parking places for women only in Germany, but now you'll be pleased to know (half of you, anyway) that there are also these extra-safe spots in Swiss carparks. Unfortunately there's a problem: too many Swiss men are parking in these spots, so the whole plan of women having a shorter and safer distance to walk to their car at night just hasn't worked out.
But if you're hoping to drive and park safely around Switzerland soon, things might be OK. The city of Bern has decided to decorate these women-only spots with flowers and paint them pink, hoping that men will then be too embarrassed to park there. Well, maybe some men...
A while back Hertz banned us from renting their cars because of excessive parking tickets, no joke. We are fighting back by trying to help give visitors a clear view of the entire parking scene in a particular locale. We have put together our guide to parking in LA, and an accompanying map. On the map, we have plotted six LA public parking spots where we have had the most luck. Send along LA parking tips, tricks, and advice and comment here so other folks don't rack up steep parking fines, or worse yet, get towed.
It's been a few weeks since we unleashed the first-ever Jaunted Parking Guide for Los Angeles. And in that time, we've received plenty of tips about where to park in this sprawling city. But we're sure you readers out there have a few more tricks up your sleeve. So if you've recently had a run-in with a West Coast parking wench or you managed to talk your way out of a ticket or if you've found a great, secret parking space let us know. In the meantime, avoid the parking lot across from Holly's in Hollywood on Wilcox as they are charging $20 for you to park your own car.
It's customer service month at Daytona Beach International Airport in Florida, where they're giving out free key chains (!), free Cokes (!), free shoe shines, and free one-week long parking (!!!). To be eligible for the free parking, you must first "park in and exit the Airport lots in January" one time. AirTran passengers will receive unlimited free parking coupons. AND there's free WiFi. AND their security staff will mail you back any harmless confiscated items (nail scissors, more than 3 ounces of body lotion) you lost in line...FOR FREE!
Doesn't sound like a real airport, does it? Too bad you can't get too many places from DBIA--except maybe to a moment frozen in time, where you'll meet Kevin Seal (or your '80s VJ crush of choice) on an MTV Spring Break set.
There are far more connections into and out of Cincinnati (the airport's actually in Northern Kentucky), including a non-stop to Paris, which we had no idea about. Unfortunately for Cincinnati travelers, flying from CVG is anything but free. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, "With the average roundtrip ticket costing $570, CVG continues to be the nation's most expensive major airport to fly to or from." It's the third quarter in a row that the airport has topped the DOT's list. Blame Delta--they operate 80% of flights there.
A while back Hertz banned us from renting their cars because of excessive parking tickets, no joke. We are fighting back by trying to help give visitors a clear view of the entire parking scene in a particular locale. We have put together our guide to parking in LA, and an accompanying map. On the map, we have plotted six LA public parking spots where we have had the most luck. Send along LA parking tips, tricks, and advice and comment here so other folks don't rack up steep parking fines, or worse yet, get towed.
The tips are still rolling in after we released our Los Angeles parking guide into the wilds of the internet earlier this week. While we didn't cover West Hollywood on our map, a tipster lets us know that should you venture here, the city offers visitors and residents a debit (prepay) parking system, called Cash Key that is designed for use in parking meters. From the city's website:
Cash Keys are pre-programmed between $10.00 - $100.00 in increments of $10.00. When you fully insert the Cash Key, it displays the value remaining on the key. Since the meter cannot display decimal points, the screen indicates the current dollar amount rounded down to the nearest dollar. The meter then deducts $.25 from the programmed amount and adds that amount of time on the meter. To register an additional time on the meter, just re-insert the Cash Key.
The only catch is that when you purchase a cash key you are charged a $10 deposit fee in addition to the amount you put on your card. Of course, you get that fee back when you are finished with your card. So if you plan on driving around WeHo for a few days or months, this should save you from having to dig up quarters out of the seat of your rental car.
But if you're in West Hollywood for a quick stay, then consider this parking garage on Santa Monica and West Flores. The price is about $12 for 24 hours, meaning you can park your car overnight for a reasonable fee. It certainly beats the $30+ valet fee at area hotels and of course, that $35 parking ticket from the City of West Hollywood.
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by amandak
