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1) THE CONSEQUENCES
Amsterdam is not a very
friendly city for people who don't pay their "parking tax". Little vans roam
the streets ,with extremely motivated parking officers onboard looking for
cars that do not have a valid ticket displayed in the windshield.
Extreme joy is displayed upon discovery of such a vehicle, after which a
big, yellow clamp is attached to one of the wheels which will not come off
until € 76,75 has been paid to one of the offices of the "Stadstoezicht".
Might the car be left on the spot for 24 hours with the clamp still attached
(i.e. the fine has not been paid), it will be towed away, and € 190,= plus
€ 40 per 12 hours is happily added to the clampfee.
Needless to say that this is every visiting motorist's dream...
In the hotel we
used to sell special parking tickets for one or three days until the parking
office decided it was doing too well a job by delivering the cards to the
hotels. The rules heve been changed, and now we have to collect them ourselves.
Since we do not find the time to stand in line with everyone who has to pay
a fine etc... we had to cancel this service. (Eventhough it is supposed to
be a well arranged citycouncil business it took us, in the worst case so
far, two weeks to obtain new parkingcards!) These cards allow you to park
anywhere throughout the whole city, eventhough outside the city centre the
parking is about 50% cheaper. In case you have lots of spare time; they should
still be available at the parking offices.
| PARKING RATES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Timespan | In the city centre | Outside the centre (two areas) |
| Per hour from 9 AM/ 12 AM |
|
|
| Daytime ticket (9 AM-7 PM) |
|
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| Evening ticket (7 PM-12 AM) |
|
|
| Whole day (9 AM/ 12 AM) |
|
|
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|---|
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by night. |
UPDATE
The parking meters used to work only with coins. The new machines take only plastic. Also they don't dispense tickets anymore since the introduction of the automatic scan car that checks the number plates electronically and compares them with a database. Instead you have to enter your car's registration number upon paying, and that's it...
There is, like
in any "civilised" city nowadays, always the risk of people trying to break
into the car, or worse; trying to steal the car itself.
We always advise people to take everything out of the car; clothes,
bags, radios, blankets that might conceal parts of the interiour, empty cigaretteboxes,
everything. The object is to show people that there is absolutely nothing
left in the car that might be of interest to people with only one interest.
Eventhough the area around the hotel is a safe one, it only takes one
person foolish enough to try to have a look inside your car to potentially
ruin your otherwise enjoyable stay here. Try to stay ahead of those people
by not giving them any chances whatsoever.
parkingmeter
by day.
Alternatively, you could park the car in a garage. The closest ones near
the hotel are on Heinekenplein (€ 23,= per day) or on Waterlooplein, under
the "Stopera" building (€ 26,= per day)
Finally, don't let these words put you off. Amsterdam is still not a criminal city. But if you do have the choice, leave the car at home. The city is too small for wheels.
