Best Places to Park for the 2017 New Hampshire Film Festival
The New Hampshire Film Festival kicks off Thursday and the only thing you want to be parking is yourself in a sweet seat at The Music Hall (or another awesome venue.)
But, we’re pretty sure you arrived in an automobile and need to stash it in a legal, safe, and close spot.
We’ve got you covered!
Borrowing liberally from a popular #PortsmouthNH blog post on parking, here are the best spots to quickly get you into your theater and off of the pavement.
- If you can, get a spot in the High Hanover Parking Garage, 37 Hanover St., $1.50 per hour, no daily limit (all day free parking on Sunday for city residents.) It’s big (for Portsmouth, with 900 spaces and 18 handicap spaces) and if you remember otherwise from previous years(!) it now accepts credit cards (and not just cash) upon exiting. And, it’s a whopping 4-minute walk from the garage to the main NHFF venue, The Music Hall. Sweet.
- Our second-favorite pay-to-park spot for movie-goers would be the Bridge Street Lot, 40 Bridge St. It’s got 63 spaces, 2 handicap and is $1.50 per hour (but there is a 4-hour max.) This would be a grueling 2-minute walk to the Music Hall, but some of you could do it in 1.
- Looking for some secret parking? Portsmouth’s got that. Two of these spots are 1 minute or less from the Music Hall: TD Bank Lot, Between Chestnut and Fleet Street, 11 spaces; TD Bank Lot, Porter/Fleet Streets, 32 spaces. Both lots are free, (but only available after bankers’ hours.)
If this information is not enough, take a gander at ParkPortsmouth.com — Portsmouth’s parking which includes a handy link to the Twitter feed @ParkPortsmouth, which tells you if the main parking garage is–eek–full.*
- What to do if the Parking Garage is “Full”
We hope this won’t be the case on NHFF weekend, but if you find a Garage Full sign at the main entrance on Hanover Street don’t abandon all hope. Try this: drive around the block to the lower entrance on Fleet Street, where you should be able to enter. While the garage may be filling up, wind your way to roof, and you might find a spot just for you.
There you have it. Parking tips to quickly get you on your way to your NHFF film block, (or party). If all else fails, there is Uber from your hotel, or go old school in one of the city’s taxis.
(By J.L. Stevens)