Colmar's best parking fact is printed by its own tourist office: the upper decks of the Lacarre silo, levels 0 to 8, are free from 07:00 to 01:00. The long-stay car parks, Saint-Josse, Gare/Bleylé and the lower Lacarre levels, charge €3 for anything from one to 24 hours.
How I'd park: Lacarre or Saint-Josse, then walk. On a Christmas-market weekend I'd skip the centre and use the €5 park and ride at the Parc des Expositions.
Parking in Colmar: Colmar's €3 day and the split kerb
1. Skip the Crit'Air sticker here
Colmar has no low-emission zone (ZFE) in 2026, so a foreign car registers nothing. Service-Public counts 25 ZFEs in mainland France; Colmar isn't on the official lists and never brought one in. Driving on to Strasbourg? Its zone bans Crit'Air 4 and 5, and the sticker costs €5.11 posted abroad.
2. Pay the kerb in two blocks
Street parking is paid 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–19:00, never on Sundays or public holidays, so the lunch break is free. The orange zone is €2 an hour, €4 for two, €6.30 for three; the green zone is €1.50 an hour. Pay at the machine or with PayByPhone, EasyPark or Flowbird. Blue-zone bays are free with a European parking disc, for the time on the sign.
3. Never let a meter reach eight hours
The orange zone climbs to €25.40 for 7h45, and the official grid's last line is €35 for 8 hours in every zone. That top step is the figure I'd budget for an unpaid session. An older listing gives the FPS (forfait post-stationnement, the post-parking charge) as €25; the tourist office's newer grid wins.
4. Park all day for €3
Saint-Josse (487 spaces), Gare/Bleylé (803) and the lower levels −1 to −4 of Lacarre (298) all work the same way: first hour free, then €3 for 1 to 24 hours. The tourist office lists Saint-Josse as open Monday to Saturday 07:00–21:00, cars may stay overnight; a guide quoting the city says 24/7. Lacarre opens 07:00–01:00 Monday to Saturday and 13:00–20:00 on Sundays and holidays. Gare/Bleylé never closes.
5. Use Rapp only for short stops
Rapp (900 spaces, 24/7), Mairie (367) and Montagne Verte (690, 24/7) give the first hour free, then €3.30 up to 1h15 and €0.30 for every 15 minutes. From 10:00 to 19:00 at Rapp, is €3.30 that's €3.30 plus 31 quarters at €0.30: €12.60, four times Saint-Josse.
Nobody publishes a height for any of these car parks. With a roof box or a van, I'd ring the car park before driving in.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Saint-Josse (long stay)Entrance Rue Saint-Josse; 487 spaces. Mon–Sat 07:00–21:00 per the tourist office (a guide quoting the city says 24/7); cars may stay overnight. Tel. 03 89 20 12 15 | First hour free, then €3 for 1 to 24 hours. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Lacarre (silo and lower levels)Entrance Rue du Quartier Lacarre; 685 spaces (387 on levels 0–8, 298 on −1 to −4). Mon–Sat 07:00–01:00, Sun and holidays 13:00–20:00. Tel. 03 89 29 31 72 | Levels 0–8: free 07:00–01:00, €3 for the night 01:00–07:00. Levels −1 to −4: first hour free, then €3 for 1 to 24 hours. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Gare/Bleylé (long stay)Entrance Place de la Gare; 803 spaces, open 24/7. Tel. 03 89 29 44 87 | First hour free, then €3 for 1 to 24 hours (an older listing shows €1.60). Height not published. | Not published. |
| RappEntrance Boulevard du Champ de Mars; 900 spaces, open 24/7. Tel. 03 89 24 19 44 | 07:00–19:00: first hour free, €3.30 up to 1h15, then €0.30 per 15 minutes. 19:00–07:00: first hour free, €0.90 up to 1h15, then €0.20 per 15 minutes. No day cap published. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Mairie (town hall)Entrance Rue des Cloches; 367 spaces. The tourist office gives both 24/7 and Mon–Sat 07:00–21:00. Tel. 03 89 20 68 73 | First hour free, €3.30 up to 1h15, then €0.30 per 15 minutes; night pass €26. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Montagne VerteEntrance Rue Schwendi; 690 spaces incl. 19 for commercial vehicles and 16 family spaces, open 24/7. Tel. 03 68 09 03 81 | Same as Rapp: first hour free, €3.30 up to 1h15, then €0.30 per 15 minutes by day; €0.90 then €0.20 per 15 minutes 19:00–07:00. Height not published. | 8 charging spaces; price not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Saint-Josse (long stay) | €3 | First hour free; €3 covers 1 to 24 hours |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, orange zone | €4 | Orange zone €2, €4, €6.30 for 1–3 hours, €25.40 for 7h45 and €35 for 8 hours on the tourist office's grid; green zone €1.50 an hour. PayByPhone, EasyPark, Flowbird or the machine. An older listing gives the FPS as €25; the newer grid wins. |
| A full day (10 h) | Saint-Josse (long stay) | €3 | First hour free; €3 covers 1 to 24 hours |
| 24 hours | Saint-Josse (long stay) | €3 | First hour free; €3 covers 1 to 24 hours |
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Towed in Colmar: Colmar keeps its pound off the web
1. Search the plate before you panic
I couldn't find a pound address or phone published by the city. The interior ministry's Ma Sécurité site searches more than 1,100 French pounds by plate.
2. Budget €142.15 for one night
Colmar has no scale of its own, so the national ceiling applies. Since 1 October 2026 that's €135 to tow a car and €7.15 a day to store it, or €15.20 if the truck came but hadn't hooked the car. One day in the pound is €142.15, before the fine for the parking offence.
3. Ring 17 if the plate isn't listed
No tow on record? Dial 17, or 112. Bring your passport, licence, registration document and insurance to collect a car, plus the rental contract for a hire car.
4. Expect the parking charge by post
An unpaid meter in France is an FPS, a charge rather than a fine, and the notice goes to the registered keeper. In a hire car that's the rental company, which passes it on with its own fee. I pay the machine for the full stay.
Colmar doesn't publish a towing figure. I wouldn't test it on a market weekend.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Colmar publishes no pound operator, address or phone that I could find. Towing follows the national rules: police order the removal to a fourrière (car pound)
- Collect it at
- Not published by the city. Search the plate on the interior ministry's Ma Sécurité pound finder, which covers more than 1,100 French pounds.
- Hours
- Not published.
- What it costs
- National maximum for a car since 1 October 2026: €135 to tow, €7.15 a day storage, €15.20 if the truck came but the car wasn't hooked up. One day: €142.15, plus the parking fine.
- Bring
- Passport, driving licence, registration document and insurance; for a hire car, the rental contract, and ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Colmar: Eight bays at Montagne Verte, and a Vialis fast charger
1. Plug in at Montagne Verte
The tourist office lists 8 charging spaces among the 690 at Montagne Verte, open 24/7. No price is published, so read the screen first.
2. Use Vialis on Avenue de la Marne
A charger directory lists two points at 2 Avenue de la Marne, up to 64 kW with a CCS connector, open 24/7. Vialis, the local energy company, runs it on Freshmile; the price is in the app.
3. Charge overnight at the hotel
Both B&B HOTELS in Colmar list an EV charger on the chain's own site: Colmar Expo and Colmar Vignobles Ouest.
The city publishes no charging tariff of its own. My pick is Montagne Verte, because it never closes.
Where to charge
- Montagne Verte car park — 8 spaces — Montagne Verte, open 24/7. Listed by the tourist office; no tariff published, so read the screen
- Vialis / Freshmile, Avenue de la Marne — 2 Avenue de la Marne, open 24/7. A charger directory lists 2 points, CCS and a domestic socket, up to 64 kW, run by SAEM Vialis Colmar; price in the Freshmile app
Free parking in Colmar: Lacarre's free decks and a €5 Christmas shuttle
1. Use the Lacarre silo by day
Levels 0 to 8 at Lacarre (387 spaces) are free from 07:00 to 01:00 and €3 for the night from 01:00 to 07:00, says the tourist office. Yespark lists the silo as free too.
2. Park on the street after 19:00
The kerb is free from 19:00 to 09:00, 12:00 to 14:00, and all day on Sundays and public holidays.
3. Ride in from the Parc des Expositions
On Christmas-market weekends the Parc des Expositions park and ride costs €5 a day, and free shuttles run every 10 minutes to the Saint-Éloi stop. The 2026 days are 28–29 November and 5–6, 12–13 and 19–20 December, Saturday 09:00–23:30, Sunday 09:00–21:10. Against Rapp's €12.60, that's €7.60 saved.
4. Sleep where parking is free
The B&B HOTELS site lists free parking at B&B HOTEL Colmar Expo (video-watched, near the Parc des Expositions) and Colmar Vignobles Ouest (closed car park).
5. Know where coaches and campers go
Coaches use Place Lacarre and Rue de la Cavalerie at green-zone rates, free at lunch, at night and on Sundays. Motorhomes have an aire at 6 rue du Canal; users report €13 to €20 a night, and no official price is published.
Every price here was checked on 26 October 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
Lacarre silo, levels 0–8
Free from 07:00 to 01:00, €3 for the night (tourist office); Yespark lists the 387-space silo as free too.
The kerb at lunch, evenings and Sundays
Paid only 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–19:00, never on Sundays or public holidays.
Parc des Expositions: €5 P+R at Christmas
€5 a day with free shuttles every 10 minutes to Saint-Éloi on the eight market weekend days of 2026. Outside the market a listing gives 1,433 free spaces; the city publishes no year-round park and ride.
The first hour in every city car park
Mairie, Rapp, Lacarre, Saint-Josse, Gare/Bleylé and Montagne Verte all give the first hour free.
Hotels and their parking
- B&B HOTEL Colmar Expo — Near the Parc des Expositions and the station Map. The chain's own page: free parking with video surveillance and an EV charger
- B&B HOTEL Colmar Vignobles Ouest — West of Colmar, towards the vineyards Map. The chain's own page: free, closed car park and an EV charger
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- No car park in Colmar publishes a height limit. With a roof box, van or motorhome, ring the car park first; Montagne Verte has 19 spaces for commercial vehicles.
- During the Christmas markets (23 November–29 December 2026) a guide quoting the tourist office says the centre is closed to all vehicles. Covered car parks stay open; on 24 December Mairie, Saint-Josse and Lacarre close at about 18:00.
- Colmar has no ZFE, but Strasbourg's bans Crit'Air 4 and 5. Order the sticker from certificat-air.gouv.fr (€5.11 posted abroad) if Strasbourg is on the route.
- The tourist office gives two sets of hours for the Mairie car park (24/7 and Mon–Sat 07:00–21:00) and the city reportedly lists Saint-Josse as 24/7. Leave before 21:00 to be safe.
- Coaches park on Place Lacarre and Rue de la Cavalerie at green-zone rates; at Christmas a separate plan applies.
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.