To find a parking space for a vehicle in a target area, a connection server stores connection data associated with the target area for a plurality of data servers. A search request to find a parking space in the target area is addressed to the connection server. The connection server uses the association data to establish a connection to the data servers and, in the process, queries whether availability data relating to available parking spaces in the target area are stored in the respective database. In a first query stage, the data servers are preselected, in which case first parking space data based on the target area are requested by the connection server and corresponding first feedback data from the data servers are used to respond whether the respective data server contains parking space data relating to the target area. Based on the first feedback data, the connection server decides which of the respective data servers are preselected, and at least one data server is selected as a selection server, and second feedback data, more detailed than the respective first feedback data, are respectively retrieved in a second query stage of the selection server.