Gdańsk's red sector around the Main Town charges every day, Sunday included, 09:00 to 20:00, and the third hour is the dearest at 10.80 zł. Miss a payment and the notice is 170 zł, or 300 zł after 14 days.
How I'd park: the city's Okopowa car park, 2.50 zł for the first hour and nothing at weekends, or a free P+R by a tram stop. Then walk in through the Main Town gates.
Parking in Gdańsk: Red means Sunday too, blue means weekdays
1. Treat red sectors as seven-day zones
The downtown zone (ŚSPP) covers three red sectors: Main Town, Old Town and Long Gardens. It charges daily 09:00–20:00. The wider blue sectors charge Monday to Friday 09:00–17:00, the green ones in Oliwa and Aniołki 09:00–15:00. Public holidays are free everywhere.
2. Leave before the third hour
Red is 7.50 zł, 9.00, 10.80, then back to 7.50 an hour. Four hours cost 34.80 zł; a full 11-hour day is 87.30 zł. Blue runs 5.00, 6.00, 7.20, then 5.00, so a paid weekday is 43.20 zł.
3. Type the plate exactly
Since 2021 a camera car scans about 4,000 cars a day, and its notices come by post. A typo at the meter counts as not paying. Pay at a GZD meter or in AnyPark, Electronic Parking, Flowbird, SkyCash or moBILET; the red code is GDAF, blue GDAA. The notice is 170 zł within 14 days, then 300 zł.
4. Park at Okopowa for 2.50 zł
The city's own Okopowa car park is the yellow sector: 378 spaces, open 24 hours, 2.50, 3.00, 3.60, then 2.50 zł an hour, charged weekdays 09:00–17:00 only. A paid day tops out at 21.60 zł. Forum Gdańsk next door has 1,008 spaces; 2025 reports put level 5 at 3 zł for the first hour and level 2 at 5 zł.
5. Don't drive into the Main Town
Its streets are for holders of resident identifiers, and every summer the restricted area grows. The city guard warns that ignoring the no-entry sign can cost up to 5,000 zł and 8 penalty points. Your satnav won't care.
For a full weekday, Okopowa beats the red kerb by 65.70 zł. That's my default.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Okopowa (city car park, yellow sector)ul. Okopowa, west edge of the Main Town; open 24 hours | 2.50 zł, 3.00, 3.60, then 2.50 an hour, charged Monday–Friday 09:00–17:00 only; 21.60 zł for a full paid day. 378 spaces. | Not published. |
| Forum Gdańskul. Targ Sienny 7, shopping centre beside the Main Town; open 24 hours | Priced by floor since February 2025: level 5 is 3 zł for the first hour, level 2 is 5 zł (press reports; the operator's list is not on the city page). 1,008 spaces. | 4 EV bays listed by GZD; price not published. |
| European Solidarity Centre (ECS)pl. Solidarności 1, by the shipyard gate; open 06:00–22:00 | Operator's tariff, not published on the city page. 287 spaces. | Not published. |
| Podwale Grodzkieul. Podwale Grodzkie 6, by the main railway station; open 24 hours | Operator's tariff, not published on the city page. 200 spaces. | Not published. |
| Polish Baltic Philharmonic, Ołowiankaul. Ołowianka 1, across the Motława from the Crane; open 24 hours | Operator's tariff, not published on the city page. 169 spaces. | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | P+R Siedlce (trams 10 and 12) | Free | All eight GZD P+R car parks are free and open 24 hours; no ticket is required. Siedlce is small, 45 spaces; Ujeścisko (167) and Łostowice-Świętokrzyska (99) are the larger tram sites. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Okopowa (city car park, yellow sector) | 5 zł ≈ €1.1 | Weekdays 09:00–17:00 only |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, red sector (ŚSPP) | 16.50 zł ≈ €3.8 | Charged every day including Sunday; free only on public holidays. A full 11-hour day is 87.30 zł. Not paying is 170 zł within 14 days of the notice, 300 zł after. |
| A full day (10 h) | P+R Siedlce (trams 10 and 12) | Free | All eight GZD P+R car parks are free and open 24 hours; no ticket is required. Siedlce is small, 45 spaces; Ujeścisko (167) and Łostowice-Świętokrzyska (99) are the larger tram sites. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Okopowa (city car park, yellow sector) | 21.60 zł ≈ €4.9 | Weekdays 09:00–17:00 only |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, red sector (ŚSPP) | 79.80 zł ≈ €18.3 | Charged every day including Sunday; free only on public holidays. A full 11-hour day is 87.30 zł. Not paying is 170 zł within 14 days of the notice, 300 zł after. |
| 24 hours | P+R Siedlce (trams 10 and 12) | Free | All eight GZD P+R car parks are free and open 24 hours; no ticket is required. Siedlce is small, 45 spaces; Ujeścisko (167) and Łostowice-Świętokrzyska (99) are the larger tram sites. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Okopowa (city car park, yellow sector) | 21.60 zł ≈ €4.9 | Weekdays 09:00–17:00 only |
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Towed in Gdańsk: Ring 986, then head to Elbląska Street
1. Phone the city guard first
Call 986 or 58 301 30 11 (Straż Miejska), or the police on 997. They confirm the tow and tell you which guarded car park has the car. I couldn't find that address published anywhere.
2. Collect the release at Elbląska 54/60
The guard's headquarters at Straż Miejska, ul. Elbląska 54/60 issues the written release (zezwolenie na odbiór). Bring ID and the registration document; the guard says the mPojazd phone app won't do.
3. Budget 564 zł for one night
The city's table for cars up to 3.5 tonnes is 520 zł for the tow and 44 zł per started day of storage, in force since 1 January 2022. One night makes 564 zł before any fine. That's the newest table the city has published, so ask at the desk. A wheel clamp costs nothing extra to remove.
The pound hides; the guard doesn't. Start with the phone.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The city guard (Straż Miejska) orders tows under article 130a of the road traffic act, and the police can too. The guard gives the address of the guarded car park by phone; it is not published
- Phone
- City guard emergency line: was it towed, and where to?: 986
City guard headquarters, ul. Elbląska 54/60: 58 301 30 11
Police: 997
GZD, the roads authority that runs the paid zone: 58 34 12 041 - Collect it at
- Get the written release at Straż Miejska, ul. Elbląska 54/60, then go to the guarded car park the guard names. The pound address itself is not published.
- Hours
- Hours of the pound are not published. Ring 986 first.
- What it costs
- City table for cars up to 3.5 t, in force since 1 January 2022: 520 zł for removal, 44 zł per started day of storage. One night: 564 zł before any fine. It is the newest table the city has published. Removing a wheel clamp costs nothing extra.
- Bring
- ID and the vehicle registration document; the guard says the mPojazd phone app is not accepted. For a hire car, ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Gdańsk: Free kerb for a battery car, 400 kW on the S7
1. Park a battery car free
GZD says fully electric cars are exempt from zone fees, with no extra permit, under a law of 21 November 2024. Plug-in hybrids need a free zero-rate card. GZD doesn't say how a foreign-plated EV is recognised by the camera car, so I'd email [email protected] before relying on it.
2. Expect 22 kW posts in town
In 2021 the city announced 138 charging points at 64 sites, 22 kW, built by Energa, seven of the sites in Śródmieście. No city price list followed. Forum Gdańsk lists four EV bays.
3. Fast-charge at Nowy Dwór Gdański
Coming up the S7 from Warsaw, the Orlen Charge hub opened with eight points of up to 400 kW. Pay in the Orlen Vitay app or at the terminal. No kWh price was published.
I'd arrive charged and let the free kerb do the rest.
Where to charge
- Paid-zone exemption for electric cars — All Gdańsk paid-zone sectors. GZD: fully electric cars pay nothing in the paid zones and need no identifier, under the law of 21 November 2024. Plug-in hybrids apply for a free zero-rate card. GZD does not say how foreign-plated EVs are recognised
- Energa 22 kW posts — 138 points at 64 sites across the city, seven sites in Śródmieście (2021 plan). Typically one post, two sockets and two bays reserved for plug-in cars while charging. The city published no tariff
- Orlen Charge hub, Nowy Dwór Gdański (S7) — ORLEN station, Nowy Dwór Gdański, on the S7 from Warsaw. Eight points, up to 400 kW each; pay in the Orlen Vitay app or at the terminal. No kWh price published
Free parking in Gdańsk: Eight free P+R car parks, open all night
1. Park at a P+R by the tram
GZD runs eight P+R car parks, all free, all open 24 hours, 963 spaces in total. P+R Siedlce has trams 10 and 12. P+R Łostowice-Świętokrzyska has trams 2, 4, 6 and 7. P+R Rębiechowo, 358 spaces, sits on the PKM railway near the airport.
2. Use blue sectors at weekends
Blue and green sectors stop charging on Friday afternoon and stay free until Monday 09:00. Red never takes a weekend off.
3. Come on a public holiday
On 1 and 11 November and 25–26 December the red sector is free too.
I found no hotel whose own site promises free parking, so I'd book with the P+R in mind. Every rate above was checked on GZD's own pages on 5 October 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
Eight free P+R car parks
All free, all open 24 hours: Siedlce (trams 10, 12), Łostowice-Świętokrzyska (trams 2, 4, 6, 7), Ujeścisko (tram 12), Rębiechowo (358 spaces, PKM railway), plus Jasień, Kiełpinek, Matarnia and Osowa.
Blue sectors at weekends
Blue sectors charge Monday to Friday 09:00–17:00, green 09:00–15:00. Evenings and weekends are free. Red sectors are not: they charge daily until 20:00.
Public holidays, red sector included
No zone charges on public holidays, among them 1 and 11 November and 25–26 December.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Gdańsk has no clean transport zone. In January 2026 Radio Gdańsk reported that the city office was not working on one. Nothing to register for a foreign car.
- The Main Town is permit-only for cars, and every summer the restricted area spreads to the Old Town streets. The city guard warns of fines up to 5,000 zł and 8 penalty points for ignoring the no-entry sign.
- The paid zone is growing: the Nowe Ogrody sector started on 1 September 2026, and Strzyża starts charging on 2 November 2026.
- Enforcement is by camera car, and notices from it come by post, not under the wiper. A mistyped plate at the meter is treated as no payment.
- Arriving from the south on the A1, the concession stretch Toruń–Rusocin is 29.90 zł for a car over 152 km; cash in złoty, euro or dollars, cards, or the AmberGO plate-reading app. The S7 from Warsaw has no car toll.
- Westerplatte has one car park left, by the visitor centre; works since February 2026 have closed part of Sucharskiego Street. Parking elsewhere on the peninsula is fined.
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.