Since 21 July 2025, eleven retractable bollards have closed Chania's old town and Venetian harbour to every car without a resident's tag. Deliveries get 07:00–09:00; hotel guests get no exception in the rules I read.
So I'd leave the car outside the walls. The free park-and-ride at Kladissos is the cheapest answer on a weekday. Nearer in, the municipal i-PARK kerb is €1 for the first hour and four hours at most.
Parking in Chania: Eleven bollards, then a four-hour kerb
1. Don't drive past Talos Square
The bollards stand at eleven entry points, from Theotokopoulou by Talos Square and the Firkas end of the harbour round to Daskalogianni and Splantzia. Only residents with a legal space, disabled drivers and emergency vehicles have tags. Your satnav knows the streets, not the bollards. If your hotel is inside, ask it where to unload before you arrive.
2. Pay the kerb with i-PARK CHANIA
Controlled bays run Monday to Saturday 07:00–21:00, with a four-hour maximum. The council's leaflet climbs by the half-hour: €1 for one hour, €1.80 for two, €3.10 for three, €4.80 for four. Several guides quote €0.80 an hour; the council sets the price, so I go by its leaflet. Pay in the app, which wants the plate in Latin letters with no spaces, or at a kiosk or mini-market. Top up €10 or more in the app and you get 12% extra time.
3. Keep out of residents' bays
Large blocks of Nea Chora, the streets round the bus station and the west side of Daskalogianni are now residents only. On 14 April 2026 the Traffic Police took the plates off at least ten cars on Daskalogianni, most of them hire cars. In the first half of 2026 Chania recorded 3,022 offences for parking in residents' spaces alone.
4. Pick a garage outside the walls
Guides agree on three private garages: Parking Plaza under the Sklavenitis supermarket at €2.30 an hour, open 07:00–02:00; Apollon on Patriarchou Grigoriou at €2.90 an hour, 24 hours; and Talos Parking at €3.60 for two hours. Do the sum for an afternoon: four hours at Apollon is €11.60, against €4.80 on the kerb. The council's own multi-storey, run by Kydon at Peridou 22, publishes no price I could read.
5. Arrive before ten in July and August
The town fills up in summer, and the free lot at Talos Square is full from mid-morning to late evening, according to guides. I'd be parked by ten or drive straight to Kladissos.
For a half day I'd take the kerb at €4.80; for a full day, the park-and-ride.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Parking Plaza (Sklavenitis)Peiraios 1–5, under the Sklavenitis supermarket, Nea Chora side; open 07:00–02:00 | €2.30 an hour, according to three guides; no operator price list found. Daily cap not published. | Not published. |
| Parking ApollonPatriarchou Grigoriou 9–11, covered, staffed, open 24 hours | €2.90 an hour, according to two guides. Four hours = €11.60. | One 22 kW Type 2 post on the Fortizo network, per-minute billing plus a connection fee. |
| Talos ParkingPartheniou Kelaidi, west of the old town near the KTEL bus station | €3.60 for two hours, according to two guides. | Not published. |
| Kydon municipal car parkPeridou 22 at Ypsilanton, a multi-storey run by the council's company Kydon, about ten minutes' walk from the old town | No price list I could read; the operator's site would not load. | Not published. |
| Former ABEA lot, Nea Chora (i-PARK)Nea Chora, about 100 spaces; closed to cars on Thursday mornings for the farmers' market | i-PARK kerb rates: €1 the first hour, €4.80 for four, four hours maximum; free 21:00–07:00. | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Kladissos park-and-ride (free, with free bus) | Free | About 300 free spaces; free electric buses Monday to Saturday, none on Sundays or holidays. The summer timetable ended on 15 September 2026; last winter's ran 07:00–22:40. Overnight rules not published. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Former ABEA lot, Nea Chora (i-PARK) | €1.80 | Four hours maximum; free overnight |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, i-PARK controlled bays | €1.80 | Four hours maximum. Council leaflet: €1 for one hour, €1.80 two, €3.10 three, €4.80 four; guides quote €0.80 an hour, the council's leaflet wins. Free after 21:00, Sundays and holidays. |
| A full day (10 h) | Kladissos park-and-ride (free, with free bus) | Free | About 300 free spaces; free electric buses Monday to Saturday, none on Sundays or holidays. The summer timetable ended on 15 September 2026; last winter's ran 07:00–22:40. Overnight rules not published. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Talos Parking | €18 | €3.60 for two hours, guide-sourced |
Partner link Flying in and hiring a car? Compare hire cars from different rental companies at DiscoverCars. We get a commission if you book through this link.
Towed in Chania: Plates off on Daskalogianni, a truck after six hours
1. Expect to lose plates, not get clamped
When an offence carries a licence suspension and you're not there, the police remove the number plates; your licence gets them back. A residents' bay is €30 and a 10-day suspension under the national road code. A disabled bay is €150, 60 days without licence or plates, and a tow.
2. Know when the truck comes
Since 13 September 2025 an illegally parked car gets a new ticket every three hours and is towed after the second. Block a bus stop or a disabled ramp and it goes at once.
3. Ring the Traffic Police first
The Chania Traffic Police sit at Leoforos Irakliou 23. The duty officer is on 28210 30634. For English, ring the Tourist Police in the same building on 28210 20880.
4. Don't expect a published fee
The police list no pound address, opening hours or towing fee for Chania. A 2022 Greek motoring report put a police tow at €77–100, before the fine. Bring your passport, licence and hire papers.
The Daskalogianni sweep shows what this town does: it goes for hire cars in residents' bays.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The Traffic Police (Τροχαία). In Chania what visitors meet most is plate removal: on 14 April 2026 officers took the plates off at least ten cars in residents' bays on Daskalogianni, most of them hire cars. Under the road code in force since 13 September 2025 a car is towed after a second three-hour ticket, or at once if it blocks a bus stop or disabled ramp
- Phone
- Chania Traffic Police, duty officer: 28210 30634
Chania Traffic Police, director: 28210 30631
Tourist Police Chania (automated line): 28210 20880
Emergency: 100 - Collect it at
- No pound address is published. Start with the Traffic Police at Leoforos Irakliou 23, which also houses the Tourist Police.
- Hours
- Collection hours are not published; ring the duty officer first.
- What it costs
- Not published for Chania. A 2022 NewsAuto report puts a police tow at about €77–100, plus storage and the fine. A residents' bay alone is €30 and a 10-day licence suspension.
- Bring
- Passport, driving licence (it gets removed plates back), the registration or rental papers and a card. For a hire car, ring the rental company too.
EV charging in Chania: No Supercharger on the island and two 22 kW posts
1. Don't plan on a Supercharger
Tesla's own list of Greek Superchargers names sites in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Ioannina and on the motorway, and none on Crete. Arrive charged from the ferry or the airport hire desk.
2. Plug in at Apollon
The Fortizo network lists two posts around Chania, both 22 kW AC Type 2 with one connector. One is in the Apollon garage, the other at the Chalkiadakis supermarket in Kounoupidiana on the Akrotiri road. They bill a connection fee plus a per-minute rate, not per kWh.
3. Check the ministry register
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport keeps the national list of public chargers, with operators and hours but no prices. Read the screen before you plug in.
I'd charge overnight at Apollon and park there anyway.
Where to charge
- Fortizo at Parking Apollon — Parking Apollon, central Chania. One 22 kW AC Type 2 connector. Billed as a connection fee plus a per-minute rate; the amounts are on the network's page, not per kWh
- Fortizo at Chalkiadakis, Kounoupidiana — Chalkiadakis Max, on the Akrotiri road. One 22 kW AC Type 2 connector at a supermarket; same per-minute billing
- No Tesla Supercharger on Crete — Tesla's Greek list names Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Ioannina, Atalanti and Psathopyrgos only. Use the ministry's national register for other public chargers; it lists operators and hours, not prices
Free parking in Chania: Kladissos, Markopoulo and Sunday on the kerb
1. Park free at Kladissos
The council's car park at Kladissos holds about 300 cars and is free, and so is the electric bus into town. This summer the buses ran every 20 minutes from 07:00 to about 01:00 until 15 September 2026, also from the second lot at the old Markopoulo camp. Last winter's timetable ran 07:00–22:40. There's no bus on Sundays or holidays.
2. Use the kerb on Sundays and evenings
i-PARK bays are free after 21:00, all day Sunday and on public holidays. The new lot on the old ABEA site in Nea Chora, about 100 spaces, is free 21:00–07:00, and closed to cars on Thursday mornings for the farmers' market.
3. Try Talos Square and the East Moat early
Guides list two free open lots against the walls: Talos Square on the west side and the East Moat by the open-air theatre. I didn't find a hotel whose own site says parking is free.
If you remember one thing: the old town is for walking now. Every price above was checked on 3 October 2026; where only guides print a number, I've said so.
Free or nearly-free spots
Kladissos and Markopoulo park-and-ride
Kladissos has about 300 free spaces; a second free lot is at the former Markopoulo camp. Free electric buses run Monday to Saturday to stops including the KTEL bus station and Chatzimichali Giannari.
Talos Square and the East Moat
Two free open lots against the walls, listed by several guides: Talos Square on the west and the East Moat by the open-air theatre. Talos fills from mid-morning in summer.
i-PARK bays on Sundays and evenings
Controlled bays charge Monday to Saturday 07:00–21:00. After 21:00, all day Sunday and on public holidays they're free. The former ABEA lot in Nea Chora is free 21:00–07:00.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Greece has no low-emission zone in Chania and the Athens plate-number ring (Daktylios) does not apply here. A foreign car has nothing to register; the barrier is physical: retractable bollards at 11 old-town and harbour entry points since 21 July 2025.
- Bollard tags go only to residents with a legal parking space, drivers with a disability of 67% or more, emergency vehicles, and building crews from 1 November to 31 March. Deliveries are allowed 07:00–09:00. The rules I read say nothing about hotel guests.
- Residents-only blocks now cover much of Nea Chora, the streets round the KTEL station and the west side of Daskalogianni. Chania recorded 3,022 offences for parking in residents' spaces in January–June 2026.
- A disabled bay or ramp: €150, 60 days without licence and plates, and an immediate tow. A pavement: 703 offences in Chania in the first half of 2026.
- The park-and-ride buses do not run on Sundays or public holidays, which is also when the kerb is free.
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.