Bologna's old town is a camera zone from 07:00 to 20:00 every day, Sundays included. A €6 day ticket bought before the gate is the difference between €6 and a fine of at least €83. Via Rizzoli, Indipendenza and Ugo Bassi are shut to cars round the clock.
My plan: leave the car at Tanari, buy the €1.30 P+Bus ticket at the machine and ride in. Sleeping in the centre? Let the hotel register your plate first.
Parking in Bologna: Seventeen gates, one T and €2.90 kerbs
ZTL Centro Storico (Sirio)
- Foreign plates
- No advance step. The hotel passes your plate to the comune and it goes on the authorised list for the stay; there are also paid daily and four-day access tickets.
- When
- Every day 07:00–20:00, Sundays and holidays included
- Fine
- €83–€332
1. Buy the ZTL ticket before the gate
The Sirio cameras watch 17 gates into the centre, 07:00–20:00, every day of the year. A day ticket is €6, four days €15, and either must be active before you pass. There's no paying afterwards. One plate gets at most three day tickets, or one four-day ticket, a month.
2. Keep out of the T, ticket or not
Via Rizzoli, Via Indipendenza and Via Ugo Bassi sit under a second camera system, Rita, 24 hours a day. The €6 ticket doesn't cover them. From 08:00 Saturday to 22:00 Sunday, and on holidays, they become the T-days: pedestrians only, disabled badges included.
3. Drive 30 off the main roads
Bologna went 30 km/h in January 2024. The regional court (TAR) annulled that plan in January 2026, and a new one put 30 km/h back on 258 km of streets from 20 April 2026. The viali ring and the main radial roads stay at 50. Read the signs, not last year's blog.
4. Pay €2.90 an hour, not €3.90
Since 2 May 2025 the blue lines cost €2.90 an hour in the centro storico and €3.90 inside the Cerchia del Mille, Monday to Saturday 08:00–20:00, with no day rate. Eight hours inside the Cerchia is €31.20. Pay with Sosta+, Telepass, EasyPark, MooneyGo or Smarticket. White lines are for residents, not free.
5. Take Staveco for a full day
Staveco sits on the southern ring, outside every gate. It reopened on 20 October 2025 with about 305 spaces: €2 an hour by day, €1 at night, €12 a day. Riva Reno is about €18 a day with a 2.00 m roof; Piazza VIII Agosto about €22. Riva di Reno is also a ZTL gate, so follow the car park signs exactly.
The classic mistake is trusting the sat nav through a gate at 19:55. I'd stop at the ring and walk the last ten minutes.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | Height | EV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staveco (TPER)Viale Panzacchi, on the southern ring outside the ZTL; reopened 20 October 2025 with a new raised deck, about 305 spaces, open 24 hours | €2 an hour by day, €1 at night, €12 a day, €180 a month (prices unchanged at the reopening). Height not published. | not published | Not published. |
| Riva Reno (underground)Entrance from Via del Rondone, west side of the centre; about 546 spaces, open 24 hours. Riva di Reno is also a ZTL gate, so follow the car park signs exactly | About €2.70 the first hour, €18 a day (2026 guide figures; operator page not checked). Height 2.00 m. | 2 m | Not published. |
| Piazza VIII Agosto (APCOA)Underground under Piazza VIII Agosto, entrance from Via Ciro Menotti, north edge of the centre; over 900 spaces, open 24 hours | Three prices in three years: €15 a day (2019), €20 (2025) and about €2.90 the first hour, €22 a day (2026). I use the newest. Height not published. | not published | Not published. |
| Tanari P+Bus (TPER)Via Luigi Tanari 17, north-west, about 2 km out; open 24 hours, holidays included. Bus 29B to the centre | €0.60 an hour, €30 a month; 24 hours free with the €1.30 P+Bus ticket from the car park machine. Tper's own page would not load; two guides agree. | not published | Not published. |
| Fiera Nord Michelino (trade fairs only)Via Michelino 38, by the BolognaFiere exhibition centre, ring-road exit 8; 5,500 spaces, staffed, open 07:00–19:30 on fair days only. Bus 35 | €20 a day flat during fairs, according to a 2025 fair report. Height 2.00 m on floors 1–3, 3.50 m on the ground and top floors. Cards and Telepass accepted. | 2 m | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Tanari P+Bus (TPER) | €1.20 | Free for 24 hours with a €1.30 P+Bus ticket |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Staveco (TPER) | €4 | €1 an hour at night |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, centro storico blue lines | €5.80 | €2.90 an hour in the centro storico and €3.90 inside the Cerchia del Mille since 2 May 2025, with no day rate. Outer zones are €2.20 or €1.80 an hour, with day rates of €11 or €9. White lines are for residents. |
| A full day (10 h) | Tanari P+Bus | €1.30 | The €1.30 P+Bus ticket from the car park machine makes 24 hours of parking free, according to two guides; Tper's page would not load. Whether it also covers the ride back is not stated, so budget €2.30 for the return bus. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Staveco (TPER) | €12 | €1 an hour at night |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, centro storico blue lines | €29.00 | €2.90 an hour in the centro storico and €3.90 inside the Cerchia del Mille since 2 May 2025, with no day rate. Outer zones are €2.20 or €1.80 an hour, with day rates of €11 or €9. White lines are for residents. |
| 24 hours | Tanari P+Bus | €1.30 | The €1.30 P+Bus ticket from the car park machine makes 24 hours of parking free, according to two guides; Tper's page would not load. Whether it also covers the ride back is not stated, so budget €2.30 for the return bus. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Staveco (TPER) | €12 | €1 an hour at night |
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Towed in Bologna: Bologna doesn't print its pound
1. Ring 112 if the car's gone
If the car isn't where you left it, call 112 and ask whether it was removed or stolen. The city's mobility line, listed by Bologna Welcome, is 051 2193042. With a hire car, ring the rental company as well.
2. Get the address before you leave
I checked Bologna Welcome, three parking guides and two newspaper archives: none gives the car pound address, its hours or the tow fee, and the city's own site wouldn't load from here. Ask the police for the address on the phone, then take a taxi.
3. Price the camera, not the truck
The fine that is published is the ZTL one: at least €83 under the national highway code. A 2026 guide gives €84 plus about €13 to post it, 30% off within five days and doubled after 60. That's €97 against a €6 ticket, sixteen times the price, and it reaches foreign owners by post.
I'd rather pay €6 at the gate than find out what Bologna's pound costs.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The Polizia Locale enforces parking in Bologna. Where a towed car goes, what it costs and when you can collect it is not published on any page I could reach; the city's own site would not load from here
- Phone
- Emergency and police: report a missing car, ask whether it was removed: 112
Comune di Bologna mobility and ZTL information line (as listed by Bologna Welcome): +39 051 2193042 - Collect it at
- Not published. I checked Bologna Welcome, three parking guides and two news archives; none gives a pound address.
- Hours
- Not published.
- What it costs
- Tow and storage fees are not published. What is published is the ZTL fine: at least €83 under the national highway code; a 2026 guide gives €84 plus about €13 to post it, 30% off if paid within five days, doubled after 60.
- Bring
- No list for visitors. I'd bring the registration document or rental contract, my licence and passport; with a hire car, ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Bologna: Electric gets in free; hybrids don't any more
1. Register the EV before parking free
Fully electric cars park free on the blue lines in every zone and may enter the ZTL. But the plate needs a permit first, physical or virtual, and without it you risk a fine. Whether a foreign-plated EV can register isn't published.
2. Treat a hybrid like petrol
From 1 January 2026 hybrids registered outside Bologna lost free ZTL access. A hybrid hire car needs the €6 ticket like everyone else.
3. Expect posts, not a city map
A March 2023 report counted about 120 car parks with live chargers, 98 on city land, split among several operators. None of the garages above publishes chargers. Read the price on the post before you plug in.
My advice: charge before you reach the viali, not inside them.
Where to charge
- Public chargers across the city — About 120 car parks with live chargers in 2023, 98 of them on city land, run by several operators; the city publishes no single map or tariff. The count is from a March 2023 report; newer totals were not published where I looked. Read the price on the post or the operator's app before plugging in
- Free blue-line parking for EVs, after registration — Every zone of the city, centre included. Fully electric cars park free and enter the ZTL, but only with a registered plate and permit (physical or virtual); without it you risk a fine. Whether a foreign-plated EV can register is not published
- Hybrids: no free pass since 2026 — ZTL Centro Storico. From 1 January 2026 hybrids registered outside Bologna lost free ZTL access; existing permits run until they expire. A hybrid hire car needs the €6 ticket like any petrol car
Free parking in Bologna: Tanari for €1.30, Certosa for nothing
1. Park at Tanari for €1.30
Tanari, about 2 km north-west, charges €0.60 an hour. Buy the €1.30 P+Bus ticket at the machine and 24 hours are free; bus 29B goes in. Whether it covers the ride back isn't stated, so budget €2.30 for that. €3.60 all in, against €12 at Staveco. Tper's own page wouldn't load; two guides agree.
2. Use the other P+Bus car parks
Prati di Caprara is €2.20 an hour on weekdays 09:00–18:00, free with a P+Bus ticket (buses 13, 38, 39). Antistadio (buses 14, 21) and Santa Viola (bus 13) charge the zone rate, or nothing with P+Bus.
3. Leave it free at Certosa
Certosa has 325 spaces, free 24 hours a day. It's an hour's walk, so take bus 19, 36, 38 or 39.
4. Park on Sunday, not Saturday
Blue lines are free on Sundays and public holidays, centre included. Saturday is a full paying day. The ZTL cameras still run on Sunday.
5. Ask the hotel for the €9 pass
Inside the centre, the hotel can sell a €9 pass: 24 hours on any blue line plus a Tper day ticket. Twelve paid hours at €2.90 would be €34.80. For a free hotel car park I found only B&B Hotel Bologna in Castel Maggiore, north of the city.
Every price here was checked on 13 October 2026; where Tper's or the city's own page wouldn't load, I've said so.
Free or nearly-free spots
Tanari P+Bus: €1.30 for 24 hours
Tanari charges €0.60 an hour, but the €1.30 P+Bus ticket from the machine makes 24 hours free. Bus 29B runs into the centre.
Prati di Caprara P+Bus
Prati di Caprara, 160 spaces: €2.20 an hour on weekdays 09:00–18:00, free all day with a P+Bus ticket. Buses 13, 38 and 39.
Antistadio and Santa Viola P+Bus
Antistadio (283 spaces, buses 14 and 21) and Santa Viola (52 spaces, bus 13) charge the zone's blue-line rate, or nothing with a P+Bus ticket.
Certosa: free around the clock
Certosa car park, 325 spaces on Viale Gandhi, is free 24 hours a day. It's about an hour's walk; buses 19, 36, 38 and 39 go in.
Blue lines: free on Sundays and holidays
The blue lines charge Monday to Saturday, 08:00–20:00 in the centre and 08:00–18:00 further out. Sundays and public holidays are free across the city, centre included. The ZTL cameras still run on Sundays.
Hotels and their parking
- B&B Hotel Bologna — Via Marino Serenari 13, 40013 Castel Maggiore Map. Its own page: free parking, subject to availability. In Castel Maggiore, north of the city, outside every ZTL. I found no hotel in the centre whose own site promises free parking
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The ZTL Centro Storico runs 07:00–20:00 every day, Sundays and holidays included, watched by the Sirio cameras at 17 gates. The €6 day ticket and €15 four-day ticket must be active before you pass; there is no paying afterwards. A plate gets at most three day tickets or one four-day ticket a month.
- Via Rizzoli, Via Indipendenza and Via Ugo Bassi (the T) are watched 24 hours by a second camera system, Rita. No ticket covers them. From 08:00 Saturday to 22:00 Sunday, and on holidays, the T is pedestrian only, disabled badges included.
- Hotel guests: the hotel or B&B sends your plate to the city so you aren't fined driving to it. Bologna Welcome gives no deadline and no price for this, and this site's Italy ZTL page lists Bologna among the cities that charge. Ask the hotel before you arrive.
- Città 30: Bologna went 30 km/h in January 2024. The regional administrative court (TAR) annulled the plan in January 2026; a new plan restored 30 km/h on 258 km of streets from 20 April 2026. The viali ring and the main radial roads stay at 50.
- The Garisenda tower started moving more than usual in November 2023; the area round the Two Towers is fenced and works are due to last until at least 2028. Expect diversions around Piazza di Porta Ravegnana.
- Car park prices in guides disagree. Piazza VIII Agosto is €15 a day in a 2019 guide, €20 in 2025 and about €22 in 2026. I use the newest figure; the machine at the exit decides.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.