Como's walled town is a ZTL 24 hours a day, every day, and cameras on the gates have read plates on the way in and out since December 2018. One wrong turn is €83–€332, and the letter can reach a foreign address up to 360 days later.
My plan: park just outside the walls at Valduce, €27.50 for up to 14 daytime hours, and walk five minutes in. On a tight budget, I'd use Val Mulini on the southern edge, about €1 a day, and take the bus.
Parking in Como: Como's walls are the line: park outside them
1. Stay out of the Città Murata
The city ordinance closes the ZTL Città Murata 00:00–24:00 every day. The Piazza Volta area, next to the lakefront, is a pedestrian zone round the clock too. Cameras sit on gates such as Via Cinque Giornate, Via Diaz, Via Carducci and Via Indipendenza. Local news counted about 150 unauthorised entries a day in 2022.
2. Give your hotel the plate
Staying inside the walls? The hotel reports your plate to the Polizia Locale. That buys one entry on arrival day and one on departure day, 45 minutes each, enough to unload. Only a hotel with its own parking can cover the whole stay. I'd send the plate with the booking.
3. Pay the fine fast if it comes
The national fine is €83, cut to €58.10 if you pay within five days. A hire company adds its own handling fee on top. With a foreign plate the notice can take up to a year to arrive, so don't assume silence means you got away with it.
4. Park at Valduce for the day
Autosilo Valduce has 515 spaces on seven floors, open 24/7. By day it's €1.50 the first hour, €2 after, capped at €27.50 for 14 hours. Eight hours is €15.50. Overnight, from 20:30, the hours after the second drop to €0.50 with a €7.50 cap.
5. Compare before you pick another
Centro Lago by the stadium lists €3 the first hour and €24 a day, though one guide says €2.40 an hour. The city's Auguadri behind the law courts went up in March 2024 to €1.50, then €2, and €35 a day. At the station, Como San Giovanni is €1 an hour, €13 a day. No car park publishes a height limit.
6. Read the colour before the kerb
Street bays come in seven tariff colours. Red, round the walls on Viale Varese and Viale Lecco, is €2 an hour. Blue is €1, light blue €0.50 then €1. Orange, by the stadium and Villa Olmo, is €1 on weekdays and €2 at weekends. Two sources say paid 08:00–19:00, two say 20:00, and Telepass says most zones charge on Sunday. Pay at the meter or by app (Telepass, EasyPark, UnipolMove).
7. Buy the Swiss vignette only for Switzerland
From Milan on the A9 you stay in Italy. Coming down from Lugano through Chiasso, Swiss motorways need the CHF 40 vignette, valid 1 December to 31 January the year after. There's no short-stay version; buy the e-vignette online before the border.
The mistake I see most is following the satnav to a hotel in the old town without telling the hotel the plate.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Autosilo ValduceViale Lecco 9, by the Valduce hospital, outside the walls; 515 spaces on 7 floors, open 24/7 | Day (06:30–20:30): €1.50 first hour, €2 each hour after, €27.50 maximum for 14 hours. Night (20:30–06:30): €1.50, €2, then €0.50 an hour, €7.50 maximum. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Autosilo Auguadri (city, CSU)Via Auguadri 1, behind the law courts; 799 spaces, about 410 for visitors since 2024 | From 18 March 2024: €1.50 first hour, €2 from the second, €35 a day. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Centro LagoVia Sant'Elia 6, by the stadium and the lakefront; 356 covered spaces, open 24/7 | Telepass lists €1 for 30 minutes, €3 the first hour, €24 a day; Fleet Magazine gives €2.40 an hour. The machine wins. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Autosilo Val Mulini (city, CSU)Via Val Mulini, southern edge of town towards Camerlata; 636 spaces. Open 06:30–21:00; after 21:00 season-ticket holders only | About €1 a day: the 2019 event plan and a February 2024 report both give it; CSU publishes no current tariff. A €300 annual pass includes the bus. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Como San Giovanni station (Metropark)Via Venini, at the main railway station; 185 spaces | €1 an hour 07:00–20:00, €13 a day, free 20:00–07:00 (Telepass listing; Fleet Magazine also gives about €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 | Autosilo Val Mulini (city, CSU) | €1 | About €1/day per 2019 and 2024 reports; no current CSU tariff |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Como San Giovanni station (Metropark) | €2 | |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, red zone by the walls | €4 | Seven tariff areas: red €2 an hour round the walls, blue €1, light blue €0.50 then €1, orange €1 on weekdays and €2 at weekends, green from €1 or €5 for 11 hours, 'Vulcano' €3 around the clock. Telepass says most are paid on Sundays too. Pay at the meter or in an app; the sign wins. |
| A full day (10 h) | Autosilo Val Mulini (city, CSU) | €1 | About €1/day per 2019 and 2024 reports; no current CSU tariff |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Como San Giovanni station (Metropark) | €10 | |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, red zone by the walls | €20 | Seven tariff areas: red €2 an hour round the walls, blue €1, light blue €0.50 then €1, orange €1 on weekdays and €2 at weekends, green from €1 or €5 for 11 hours, 'Vulcano' €3 around the clock. Telepass says most are paid on Sundays too. Pay at the meter or in an app; the sign wins. |
| 24 hours | Autosilo Val Mulini (city, CSU) | €1 | About €1/day per 2019 and 2024 reports; no current CSU tariff |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Como San Giovanni station (Metropark) | €13 |
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Towed in Como: 313 cars towed in two months
1. Call the Polizia Locale first
Como's city police removed 313 vehicles in September and October 2024 and wrote 4,780 parking notices. If the car's gone, ring +39 031 252711, the number on the police's own activity report.
2. Go to Viale Innocenzo XI
The city publishes no pound address, opening hours or towing tariff. The police operations office is at Viale Innocenzo XI 18, so I'd start there. If the police have no record, ring 112.
3. Budget for the unknown
With no published tariff, I can't do the sum. Bring the licence, passport, registration or rental agreement, and a card.
Unpublished fees are the worst kind. Don't block a gate here.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The Polizia Locale (city police) of Como enforces parking and the ZTL; Como Servizi Urbani (CSU) runs the city car parks and the parking wardens. The city does not publish who tows, where the pound is or what it costs
- Phone
- Polizia Locale Como, switchboard (city activity report): +39 031 252711
Emergency, if you think the car was stolen: 112 - Collect it at
- No car pound address is published. Ask at the Polizia Locale operations office, Viale Innocenzo XI 18.
- Hours
- Not published.
- What it costs
- Towing and storage: not published. A ZTL entry is €83–€332 under article 7 of the Highway Code, €58.10 if paid within five days. A notice can reach a foreign address up to 360 days later.
- Bring
- The city lists nothing for visitors. I'd bring my driving licence, passport, the car's registration or rental agreement, and a card.
EV charging in Como: Como publishes no chargers
1. Bring your own charging app
Neither the Comune nor Como Servizi Urbani lists public chargers or prices. Find a point in your own app before you arrive.
2. Pay the blue line anyway
Telepass says electric cars aren't exempt from paid parking in Como. Charging in a blue bay still means a ticket.
3. Don't assume a ZTL pass
The ZTL ordinance I read gives electric cars no blanket right to enter. Ask the hotel to register the plate like any other car.
For an EV I'd sleep where the hotel has a socket.
Where to charge
- Comune di Como: no charger list — Neither the city nor CSU publishes public charging points or prices. Use your own charging app; electric cars pay at the blue lines like any other car, according to Telepass
- Car parks: chargers not published — Valduce, Auguadri, Val Mulini and Centro Lago list no chargers on any page I could read. Ask the car park before you rely on a charge
Free parking in Como: Sundays on Via Castelnuovo, a free deck at Tavernola
1. Use Val Mulini and the bus
Autosilo Val Mulini (636 spaces) is the closest Como gets to a park and ride. A 2019 event plan and a 2024 report both put it at about €1 a day. The bus is extra. It closes to visitors at 21:00. Against Valduce's €27.50, that's €26.50 saved before the fare.
2. Park free upstairs at Tavernola
Since April 2024 only the ground floor of Tavernola car park is paid; the upper level stays free. The Tavernola boat stop is next to it, and the 2019 event plan also names buses 6 and 11 into town.
3. Wait for Sunday on Via Castelnuovo
Via Castelnuovo is €2 a day on weekdays and free on Sundays and holidays, according to Telepass.
4. Sleep in a free garage
B&B Hotel Como City Center says on its own site that its garage is completely free, first come on arrival, no bookings. It's the only hotel I found that says so.
Every price here was checked against its source on 26 October 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
Via Castelnuovo: free on Sundays
The green-zone street by the former OPP site costs €1 for a morning or afternoon and €2 for the day on weekdays, and is free on Sundays and holidays, according to Telepass. The Castelnuovo car park next to it has 440 spaces.
Tavernola: free upper deck, boat in
Since April 2024 the ground level of the Tavernola car park is paid and the upper level stays free. It sits by the Tavernola boat stop, on the Cernobbio side.
Kerb after 19:00
Telepass and UnipolMove give blue-line hours as 08:00–19:00; Fleet Magazine and a hotel say 20:00. Read the meter before you leave the car.
Hotels and their parking
- B&B Hotel Como City Center — Via Innocenzo XI 15, 22100 Como Map. Its own page: a private garage, completely free, but first come, first served on arrival; no bookings. No charging mentioned
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The ZTL Città Murata runs 00:00–24:00 every day. The Piazza Volta pedestrian area (APU Alessandro Volta) is also closed round the clock. Cameras have watched the gates since December 2018, exits included.
- Hotel guests: the hotel reports your plate to the police. That covers one entry on arrival day and one on departure day, 45 minutes each. Only a hotel with its own parking can cover the whole stay.
- Coming from Switzerland via Chiasso, the Swiss motorways need a vignette: CHF 40, valid 1 December to 31 January of the following year. There is no short-stay version.
- Telepass lists Parking Jasca on Piazza Volta at €45 a day, €5 an hour at weekends. I couldn't confirm the approach avoids the camera gates, so I'd skip it.
- Car park heights are not published anywhere I could read. With a roof box or a van, ring ahead or use street parking outside the walls.
- Several 2024 street tariffs (Pulesin, Lazzago, Santarella) appear with different figures in Telepass and local news. I've only used numbers two sources agree on.
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.