You can't drive into the Cité as a visitor, so every visitor parks outside: at P0, P1 or P2 by the Narbonnaise and Aude gates, or down in the Bastide. The Cité car parks charge €1 per 15 minutes for the first two hours.
How I'd park: for a short visit, P2 at the Aude Gate. For a full day, the Bastide's underground car parks at €1 an hour, then a 20-minute walk over the Pont Vieux.
Parking in Carcassonne: €8 at the gates or €1 an hour below
1. Don't follow the satnav uphill
A June 2026 hotel guide says bollards guard the gates and hotels inside give guests an access code. No official page says so; ask your hotel. Everyone else parks outside the walls.
2. Count €8 for two hours at P2
The tourist office gives the same day rate for P1 Porte Narbonnaise, P0 and P2 Porte d'Aude: €1 per 15 minutes up to two hours, so €8. After that it's €0.50 per 45 minutes, up to 12 hours. Read that way, four hours is about €9.50 and ten hours about €13.50. No operator or height is published.
3. Use the Bastide for a long day
The underground car parks in the lower town are P3 Gambetta (403 spaces), P4 André Chénier (340) and P5 Jacobins (211). All three give 30 minutes free, then €1 an hour. Six hours is about €6, against roughly €11 at P2. The tourist office calls it a twenty-minute walk to the Cité.
4. Or ride bus 3 or 4 up
RTCA's line 3 runs from the Canal du Midi to the Narbonnaise Gate and line 4 to Saint-Gimer, below the Aude Gate. A ticket is €1.20 for an hour, €1 in the app, or €10 for ten trips. Two adults going up and back pay €4.80, so a six-hour Bastide day with the bus is €10.80, close to P2. Alone, or on foot, it's half.
5. Read the zone before you pay
On the street, the tourist office lists a green zone at €0.50 per 35 minutes (5 hours maximum) and an orange zone at €0.30 per 20 minutes, then €0.50 per 30 minutes (2 hours maximum). PayByPhone works. The paid hours, Sunday rules and the FPS (the French unpaid-parking charge) aren't published anywhere I could read, so the meter wins.
The mistake I'd expect most is paying €8 at the gate for a day trip. Two hours at the Cité is the price of eight in the Bastide.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| P2 Porte d'Aude (Cité)Below the Aude Gate, west side of the Cité. Bookable through the city site; operator not named | €1 per 15 minutes up to 2 hours (€8), then €0.50 per 45 minutes up to 12 hours. Free 20:00–08:00. Height not published. | Not published. |
| P1 Porte Narbonnaise (Cité)East side, by the Narbonnaise Gate, Chemin de Montlegun; also the coach and camper car park | Cars: €1 per 15 minutes up to 2 hours, then €0.50 per 45 minutes up to 12 hours; free 20:00–08:00. Campers overnight from €20 per 24 hours. Height not published. | Not published. |
| P0 Porte Narbonnaise (Cité)Next to P1 by the Narbonnaise Gate | Same day rate as P1 and P2, but €3 flat at night, 20:00–08:00. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Pont NeufBy the Pont Neuf, between the Bastide and the Cité | 30 minutes free, then €1 per 15 minutes up to 2 h 15, then €0.50 per 30 minutes. Free 20:00–08:00. Height not published. | Not published. |
| P4 André Chénier (Bastide, underground)Square André Chénier, by the station and the Canal du Midi; 340 spaces | 30 minutes free, then €1 an hour. Height not published. | One Révéo 22 kW Type 2 point (bring your own cable) per a charger directory; price not published. |
| P3 Gambetta (Bastide, underground)Square Gambetta, the Bastide end of the Pont Vieux; 403 spaces | 30 minutes free, then €1 an hour. Height not published. | Not published. |
| P5 Jacobins (Bastide, underground)Bastide Saint-Louis; 211 spaces | 30 minutes free, then €1 an hour. Height not published. | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | P4 André Chénier (Bastide, underground) | €1.50 | first 0.5 h free, once a day · First 30 minutes free |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Pont Neuf | €6 | 30 minutes free; longer stays not priced here |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, green zone (5 hours) | €2 | Tourist office: green zone €0.50 per 35 minutes, 5 hours maximum; orange zone €0.30 per 20 minutes then €0.50 per 30 minutes, 2 hours maximum. PayByPhone works. Paid hours, Sunday rules and the FPS amount are not published anywhere I could read. |
| A full day (10 h) | P4 André Chénier (Bastide, underground) | €9.50 | first 0.5 h free, once a day · First 30 minutes free |
| …and the cheapest central garage | P2 Porte d'Aude (Cité) | €13.50 | €8 for two hours; 10 and 12 hours assume €0.50 per 45 minutes after that |
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Towed in Carcassonne: Saturday's market is the tow trap
1. Clear the market streets by Friday night
A city order of 3 September 2026 bans parking every Saturday from 04:00 to 14:00 on the Promenade des Tilleuls car park, the service roads of the Boulevard du Commandant Roumens and the even-numbered service road of the Boulevard Barbès. The order calls it "very obstructive" and orders immediate impound.
2. Know who has your car
The city's pound is run under concession by S.A.S. BIA Belle Isle Auto, five years from 11 July 2025. It made 988 impounds in 2025, nearly three a day. Neither the city nor the operator publishes the pound address, so search the plate on the interior ministry's Ma Sécurité pound finder. If you think the car was stolen, ring 17.
3. Bring about €280
The council report says the operator charges the national maximum. From 1 October 2026 that's €135 to tow and €7.15 a day, so one night is €142.15. A "very obstructive" fine is €135 on top, which makes €277.15. Bring passport, licence, registration document and insurance; with a hire car, ring the rental company first.
A thousand tows a year in a town of 46,000 isn't a bluff. I'd be off the market streets by Friday night.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The city's pound is a public-service concession held by S.A.S. BIA Belle Isle Auto, five years from 11 July 2025. It carried out 988 impounds in 2025. The council report says its fees follow the national maximums
- Phone
- Police emergency, if you think the car was stolen: 17
Tourist office (Carcassonne): +33 4 68 10 24 30 - Collect it at
- The pound address is not published by the city or the operator. Search the plate on the interior ministry's Ma Sécurité pound finder.
- Hours
- Not published.
- What it costs
- National cap from 1 October 2026: tow €135, storage €7.15 a day, €15.20 if the truck came but didn't tow. Tow plus one day: €142.15. Add a €135 'very obstructive' fine and it's €277.15. In 2025 the operator averaged €137.34 per impound.
- Bring
- Originals: passport, driving licence, registration document, insurance. With a hire car, ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Carcassonne: 28 Tesla stalls and slow Révéo posts
1. Fast-charge at La Galerie
Tesla's La Galerie Supercharger on Boulevard Henry Bouffet has 28 stalls at up to 250 kW, open 24/7. Tesla says other CCS cars can use it; the price shows in the app.
2. Try Rue Gustave Eiffel as a backup
The Seety app lists a 300 kW site with CCS and CHAdeMO at €0.66 per kWh, plus €0.36 a minute once charging ends. The operator isn't named, so I'd treat it as a second choice.
3. Top up slowly in the Bastide
Révéo, the Aude network run by SYADEN, has 22 kW posts inside the André Chénier car park and on Boulevard Jean Jaurès. That's a Type 2 socket and no tethered cable. Révéo's price wasn't on any page I could read.
I'd charge at La Galerie on the way in and park in the Bastide with a full battery.
Where to charge
- Tesla Supercharger La Galerie — 28 stalls — Boulevard Henry Bouffet, open 24/7. Up to 250 kW; Tesla says other CCS cars can use it. Price shown in the Tesla app
- Révéo (SYADEN), the Aude public network — 22 kW posts in town: inside André Chénier car park, on Boulevard Jean Jaurès, Chemin de la Madeleine, Avenue Claude Bernard. Type 2 plus a household socket; open 24/7 per a charger directory. Tariff not published on any page I could read
- Rue Gustave Eiffel fast chargers — 445 rue Gustave Eiffel, east side of town. Listed by the Seety app at 300 kW, CCS and CHAdeMO, €0.66 per kWh and €0.36 a minute once charging ends. Operator not named
Free parking in Carcassonne: Night at the gates and a free Bastide shuttle
1. Come after 20:00 for free parking
P1, P2 and the Pont Neuf car park are free from 20:00 to 08:00. P0 is the exception, at €3 flat for the night.
2. Use the free half hour
The Bastide car parks give 30 minutes free and the MJC car park a full free hour.
3. Ride TOUC around the Bastide
TOUC is a free all-electric shuttle inside the Bastide Saint-Louis, no booking. It doesn't climb to the Cité; there's no official park and ride.
4. Bring the camper to P1 or the aire
From 1 April to 31 October campers may sleep on board only in two places. P1 Porte Narbonnaise is from €20 per 24 hours. The Camping de la Cité aire has 38 spaces, water and drainage, no electricity, from €15.
5. Sleep where parking is included
Three hotels say on their own sites that parking is free: Mercure Carcassonne La Cité, five minutes' walk from the walls, ibis Styles Carcassonne La Cité, and B&B Hotel Carcassonne Rocadest, with 70 spaces.
My cheapest Cité day: Bastide car park, walk up, come back to the gate car parks after dark.
Free or nearly-free spots
P1, P2 and Pont Neuf free 20:00–08:00
The tourist office gives the Cité car parks P1, P2 and Pont Neuf as free from 20:00 to 08:00. Arrive after eight for the lit ramparts and pay nothing; P0 charges €3 at night.
First 30 minutes in the Bastide car parks
Gambetta, André Chénier and Jacobins give 30 minutes free, then €1 an hour; the MJC car park gives the first hour free.
TOUC, the free Bastide shuttle
The tourist office lists TOUC, a free all-electric shuttle inside the Bastide Saint-Louis; wave it down at a stop. It does not go up to the Cité: for that, buses 2, 3 and 4 run from the Canal du Midi.
Hotels and their parking
- Hôtel Mercure Carcassonne La Cité — 18 rue Camille Saint-Saëns, 11000 Carcassonne Map. Its own page: two closed, free car parks on site, five minutes' walk from the Cité
- ibis Styles Carcassonne La Cité — 2 rue Darius Milhaud, 11000 Carcassonne Map. Its own page: private, secure, shaded free parking; about 750 m to the Narbonnaise Gate
- B&B HOTEL Carcassonne Rocadest La Cité — Rue Joséphine Baker, 11000 Carcassonne Map. Its own page: a private, free outdoor car park with 70 spaces, plus an EV charging point
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Saturday market order of 3 September 2026: no parking 04:00–14:00 on the Promenade des Tilleuls car park, the Bd du Cdt Roumens service roads and the even-numbered Bd Barbès service road. The order classes it 'very obstructive' with immediate impound.
- The Cité is closed to visitors' cars. A June 2026 hotel guide says bollards guard the gates; if your hotel is inside the walls, ask it for the access procedure before you arrive.
- Cité car parks run by 15-minute steps for two hours: €8 for two hours is four times the Bastide rate. Over two hours the tariff drops to €0.50 per 45 minutes.
- Carcassonne has no low-emission zone, so no Crit'Air sticker is needed for the town. Toulouse, Montpellier, Nîmes and Perpignan do have zones.
- From 1 April to 31 October, campers may sleep on board only in the equipped areas: P1 and the Camping de la Cité aire.
- In July and August coaches can't drop off at the Narbonnaise Gate 'stop minute'; they go straight to P1. Expect coach traffic on Chemin de Montlegun.
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.