German cities,
like most major European and world cities, are old and congested.
Driving in these cities is generally more of a hassle than a necessity,
especially with the excellent public transportation available.
Still, there may be times when you want or need a car in town, or just
got lost leaving the airport and ended-up in downtown Berlin, so here's
some things to know and keep in mind regarding driving and parking in
German cities.
Driving
The central
parts of most German towns and cities feature a lovely system of narrow,
disjointed, one-way streets lined and clogged with cars. You may
find yourself feeling like a rat trapped in a maze. A recent study
determined that the average German spends 65 hours a year stuck in
traffic or waiting at traffic lights. Having said that, I can say
that driving in town, even "downtown", usually isn't too bad.
After the war, many German cities rebuilt their downtown districts and
designed them to make navigation a little easier. If you're used
to driving in urban areas, you should manage fine in most German cities.
Berlin residential street
Of course, the
best advice is to get a good city map, study it, and make sure you know
where you're going before you head out. Another piece of advice I
would offer is this: park your car somewhere convenient and use public
transportation to reach your final destination. This may save you
a considerable amount of time, money, and cursing. You'll find many German
cities have outlying Park + Ride locations for this purpose.
Pay attention
to signs and signals. Look closely for
and
signs-- miss one of these and you might become the new hood ornament on
a delivery truck. Traffic signals are usually easy to see, but sometimes right-of-way
signs may be difficult to spot. Also, look closely for parking or
no parking signs before you park on the street to make sure that you may
legally park there. Especially watch for the many hidden driveways
marked with obscure "Ausfahrt freihalten!" ("do not block the
exit") signs or you may return to find that the police have
performed their magic and made your car disappear. Some money will
have to disappear from your wallet to make the car reappear.
Another sign to
watch for is the
sign. This sign marks a bus lane. You'll find these along
some major boulevards in the larger cities. You may use this lane
only if you're turning right, and you must not enter the lane until just
before you make your turn. Taxis are often allowed to use this
lane as well.
Keep a sharp
eye out for unmarked intersections, especially in residential areas, and
yield the right-of-way to traffic approaching from the right.
German
motorists are rather "trigger-happy" when it comes to green lights.
Many drivers are already entering the intersection when the signal turns
green, so be prepared to go or expect some cranky honking from the guy
behind you just mere microseconds after the green comes on.
Typical town road
To avoid the
one-way maze, use larger two-way avenues and boulevards to get as close
to your destination as possible, then use the one-ways as needed to
finish the job. If you get lost in the one-way rat trap, be warned
that a couple of right turns will most likely put you in France instead
of back where you started.
You would think that the
Germans, with their collective obsessive/compulsive disorder, would have
something as simple as house numbering organized to a fault.
Instead, you have to consume a couple of liters of beer before it makes
any sense, which in and of itself probably says a lot.
Houses are often numbered up one side of the street, then back
down the other. When more houses were built along the same street,
they repeated the process. So on the four corners at one
intersection, you could have house numbers 20, 21, 40, and 110.
With house numbering in
disarray, it's no surprise that street names are as well. A street
can change names anywhere it wants to (even in the middle of the block),
and each name is guaranteed to be longer and just as irrelevant as the
last one. Helping to add syllables is the fact that attached to
each name is a suffix denoting the kind of roadway. For instance,
Strasse or Straße
is "street" and Weg is "lane". However, Allee is not
"alley", but rather "boulevard" or "avenue"; gasse is "alley."
There are others, but those are the usual suspects.
Many of the largest German cities have multi-level
intersections in their central areas. You'll often find that
through traffic passes in a tunnel under major signalized intersections.
In some of the busiest places, there may be extensive underground trafficways. Again, make sure you study a good city map before you
start out.
Congestion in
German cities is no better or worse than other European and world
cities. Rush hours are generally 7.00-9.00 and 16.00-18.00 on
weekdays. In some of the trendy nightlife districts, you may find
yourself staring at brake lights until well after 23.00. Popular
shopping areas will usually be congested and parking particularly hard to come by on
Saturdays.
Definitely be
on the watch for pedestrians. They always have the right-of-way in
zebra-marked crosswalks, but oftentimes they'll dart-out between cars
and other locations. In residential areas, be on the lookout for
children playing near streets-- you're required by law to pass by them at the
slowest speed possible without stalling your vehicle.
Basically,
driving in cities in Germany involves the same skill, patience, and
humor as
driving in cities in the US and elsewhere. Use common sense and
pay attention and you should do fine.
Parking
Your biggest
problem may not be navigating cities, but finding someplace to (legally)
stash your vehicle reasonably close to your destination. In most
German cities, you'll have a good selection of parking facilities.
There is the ubiquitous on-street parking as well as off-street parking
lots (Parkplatz), above-ground garages (Parkhaus), and
underground garages (Tiefgarage). Most large cities have
extensive parking facilities, and parking maps are usually available
from the tourist information offices. Unfortunately, there are
often not enough spaces to go around, and you may have to drive around a
little while before you find a place, all the while feeling like the
losing player of a round of musical chairs. Still, except on the busiest
days and during the peak times, you should be able to find a place
within a reasonable amount of time. Costs for parking in Germany
are a little on the pricey side.
On-street
parking
Parking on the street is the most common means of parking
in Germany. Unless specifically prohibited by a sign or general
regulation, on-street parking is usually permitted everywhere (see the
parking section of
the road rules page for laws regarding on-street parking).
The
sign along the street specifically indicates where such parking is
permitted, although when used it is usually accompanied by additional
signs indicating when parking is permitted, who is permitted to park, or
requiring the use of a parking permit, voucher, or disc. Here are
some examples:
 |
 |
 |
Parking only with a parking disc
You may only park for the length of time indicated (e.g. 2
hours). |
Parking requires purchase of a parking voucher (Parkschein) |
Parking only for residents with indicated permit number |
There are many more signs
related to parking on the German traffic signs
page (page 2) as well as
additional vocabulary used on signs.
As noted above,
on-street may require you to use a parking voucher, parking disc, or
parking meter. Here are directions on the use of each:
- Parking
vouchers (Parkschein) ("Pay & display"): The sign "mit
Parkschein" requires you to purchase a parking voucher before
leaving your vehicle. These are obtained from a nearby machine
(Parkscheinautomat)-- look for signs marking the
location of these. The operation of these machines varies, and
some of them will give you instructions in English-- press the
button marked with a British flag if there is one. Generally,
you'll want to locate the parking rates (Parkgebühr) on the
front of the machine. Determine how much time you'll need,
then deposit the corresponding amount. The display will
indicate how many minutes the amount you've inserted will buy.
On some machines, you can press the "+" or "-" buttons to add or
subtract time from that amount. If you add time, the machine
will indicate how much additional money to feed it. Once you've
selected and paid for the time you'll need, press the green or other
indicated button and the machine will dispense a small ticket
(voucher) as well as any change. Return to your vehicle and
place the voucher on the dashboard where it may be easily seen from
the outside. You must return to your vehicle before the
expiration time shown on the voucher. If the nearest voucher
machine is out of order, you should use another one in the same
area; you will usually find another one across the street, at the
other end of the block, or around the corner. If you cannot
locate another machine, use a parking disc instead (see below); you
can then stay up to the maximum length of time shown on the machine.
Some areas only require you to use a parking vouchers during certain
times; check the signs or schedule on the machine. Oftentimes,
the machines will turn off when parking vouchers are not required,
but push the buttons to be sure it's not just taking a nap.
 
Parking voucher
machine (left) and parking disc (right)
- Parking
discs (Parkscheibe): A parking disc is a blue cardboard
or plastic card with an adjustable time dial. You can obtain
these for free or nominal cost from most gas stations, newsstands,
tobacco shops, and police stations. Rental cars should already
have them (if yours doesn't, get one from the agent before leaving
with the car.) Signs indicating that you must use a parking
disc will also indicate the length of time you can park. Turn
the dial so that the arrow points to the time of your arrival,
rounded-up to the next half hour. For example, if you arrive
at 10:40, set the disc for 11:00. Then place the disc on your
dashboard. You must return to your vehicle within the
indicated time period. So, for instance, if you arrived at
10:40 and the signs said that you could park for 2 hours with a
parking disc, you would set your disc for 11:00 and you would have
to return to your vehicle by 13:00 (1:00pm). As with many
things in Germany, this mostly works on the honor system, but spot
checks are conducted. Many areas only require you to use a
parking disc during certain times; be sure to check the signs.
Outside of those times, you can usually park as long as you want,
but double-check for other signs showing some other restriction.
- Parking
meters (Parkuhr): Parking meters are not very
common in Germany, and rapidly becoming even less. If you do
stumble upon one, you'll see that they work just like their
US counterparts: deposit your money and return to your vehicle
before the time expires. In the event of a defective meter,
you must use a parking disc. You may then park up to the
maximum time normally permitted at that location (i.e. the maximum
time shown on the meter.)
Violations
Parking fines generally range from €5-25 and if you are obstructing
traffic or a driveway, your vehicle will almost surely be towed, and
quite quickly. In such an event, call the police to settle the
situation.
Parking lots
and garages
Besides indicating where parking is permitted on the
street, the
sign also gives directions to off-street parking facilities.
Directions to garages are usually indicated by
signs. In many larger cities and towns, there are electronic signs
indicating which lots and garages are available (Frei) or full (Besetzt),
or showing the number of available spaces. Parking facilities
are often numbered to assist you in finding them (e.g. lot P1,
garage P2, etc.)
Parking
availability sign
Very few lots allow you to
park for free. The ones that do usually require you to use a parking
disc (see above). The rest require payment, and you'll be
hard-pressed to find a lot or garage with an attendant. While some lots use parking vouchers
(see above), most use an automated centralized self-pay system.
When entering the parking lot/garage, you obtain a
time-stamped ticket from the entry gate. Park your vehicle and
take this ticket with you. When you are ready to leave, but
before you actually return to your vehicle, find a parking payment
machine (Kassenautomat). These are usually located near pedestrian
entrances. Insert the ticket you received from the entry gate into
the slot on the machine and the amount due will be displayed. Pay
the amount shown and the machine will return your ticket or dispense a
new one. If you also want a receipt, push the button marked "Quittung"
immediately thereafter. Then, return to your vehicle
and exit the lot/garage. At the exit gate, insert the ticket into
the machine there and the barrier will open. You generally have 15
minutes to reach the exit gate from the time you pay. If for some
reason you don't
make it within this time period, go back to the payment machine and
start the process again using the ticket that you received from the
previous payment.
Most lots and
garages are open 24 hours; however, some are not open overnight.
If you're going to be out late, make sure that the lot or garage you use
will still be open when you return!
Parking payment
machine
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