Heidelberg dropped its low-emission zone on 1 March 2023, so a foreign car needs no green sticker here. The thing to watch is the roof: most Altstadt garages, including P12 Kornmarkt/Schloss by the castle funicular, are only 1.80 m high.
How I'd park: P12 for a castle day, €2.50 an hour, €9 for four hours, then the funicular up. For a long day, or a tall car, I'd leave it free at the Messplatz lot in Kirchheim and take public transport in.
Parking in Heidelberg: €3 at the kerb, €2.50 under the castle
1. Leave the green sticker question behind
The Karlsruhe regional council lifted Heidelberg's Umweltzone on 1 March 2023. From 2013 until then, only green-sticker cars could enter. There's nothing to buy or register for a foreign plate. Stuttgart still needs the sticker, so buy one if you're driving on.
2. Pay €1 per 20 minutes at the kerb
The council took street parking to €3 an hour, €1 per 20 minutes, in 2022, and its Bahnstadt page still lists that rate. Where the machine offers a Brötchenticket, the first 20 minutes are free. Machines take cash and contactless cards. The city publishes no Altstadt hours, so the sign wins. Two hours at the kerb is €6, a euro more than the garage below the castle.
3. Park at P12 for the castle
P12 Kornmarkt/Schloss belongs to Stadtwerke Heidelberg: 258 spaces, open 24 hours. It's €0.50 for 20 minutes, €2.50 an hour, €5 for two, €9 for four, €13.50 for eight and €19.50 for 24 hours, and €0.50 an hour at night. Height 1.80 m. The funicular's Kornmarkt station is next door.
4. Bring a tall car to Kaufhof
The city's list has one garage above two metres in the Altstadt core: P7 Kaufhof, 2.15 m, €1.50 an hour, €12 for eight hours. P10 Friedrich-Ebert-Platz is 2.10 m at P12's prices. P13 Karlsplatz, at the castle end, is 1.90 m, €2 an hour, €19 a day.
5. Trust the machine over any list
These prices come from the city's open-data file, last updated in January 2024. P12's tariff matches a current directory. P1 Poststraße doesn't: a February 2026 report gives €2.50 an hour and €20 a day, where the city file stops at €16. Read the board at the barrier.
The classic mistake is driving up Neue Schlossstraße hoping for a space by the castle. I'd stop at Kornmarkt and let the funicular climb.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | Height | EV |
|---|---|---|---|
| P12 Kornmarkt/Schloss (Stadtwerke)Neue Schlossstraße / Zwingerstraße, by the funicular's Kornmarkt station; 258 spaces, open 24 hours | €0.50 for 20 minutes, €2.50 an hour, €5 two hours, €9 four, €13.50 eight, €19.50 for 24 hours. Night €0.50 an hour. Height 1.80 m. | 1.8 m | Deck 4: two Type 2 (6.4 kW) and one Schuko socket; registration required. |
| P13 Karlsplatz/Rathaus (E.B. Parkgaragen)Under Karlsplatz, east end of the Altstadt; 295 spaces, open 24 hours | €1 for 30 minutes, €2 an hour, €8 four hours, €12 eight, €19 a day. Height 1.90 m. | 1.9 m | None listed. |
| P7 Kaufhof (Würzburger Stadtverkehrs)Plöck, behind the Hauptstraße near Bismarckplatz; 305 spaces, open 24 hours | €1.50 an hour, €12 for eight hours, €18 for twelve. Height 2.15 m, the tallest in the city's list. | 2.15 m | None listed. |
| P11 Universitätsbibliothek (PBW)Grabengasse / Sandgasse, mid-Altstadt; 185 spaces, opens 06:00 | €1.50 an hour, €12 for eight, €14 maximum in the city list. Height 1.80 m. | 1.8 m | One Type 2 and one Schuko on the lower level; registration required. |
| P1 Poststraße (Park und Tank)Poststraße, by Bismarckplatz; 592 spaces, open 24 hours | €2.50 an hour. A February 2026 report gives €20 a day and nights 21:00–07:00 at €0.50 an hour, €5 max; the city file tops out at €16. Height 1.80 m. | 1.8 m | Upper deck: two Type 2 (6.4 kW) and one Schuko. |
| P10 Friedrich-Ebert-Platz (Stadtwerke)Friedrich-Ebert-Platz, south edge of the Altstadt; 256 spaces | Same tariff as P12: €2.50 an hour, €19.50 for 24 hours. Height 2.10 m. | 2.1 m | Four Type 2 points on the upper deck, no extra cost beyond parking. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Messplatz lot, Kirchheim (free) | Free | Free for up to 10 hours with a parking disc, cars only (no motorhomes or trailers) under rules from February 2026. The city uses it as park and ride, but no ticket is included: buy your fare into town separately. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | P7 Kaufhof (Würzburger Stadtverkehrs) | €3 | height 2.15 m · Best for roof boxes and vans |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, pay-and-display | €6 | €1 per 20 minutes (€3 an hour) since 2022; the first 20 minutes are free with a 'Brötchenticket' where machines offer it. The city publishes no Altstadt hours or maximum stay; the Bahnstadt short ticket is capped at two or four hours depending on the page. No ticket: €20. |
| A full day (10 h) | Messplatz lot, Kirchheim (free) | Free | Free for up to 10 hours with a parking disc, cars only (no motorhomes or trailers) under rules from February 2026. The city uses it as park and ride, but no ticket is included: buy your fare into town separately. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | P11 Universitätsbibliothek (PBW) | €14 | height 1.80 m |
| 24 hours | P11 Universitätsbibliothek (PBW) | €14 | height 1.80 m |
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Towed in Heidelberg: Heidelberg tows for blocking, and prints no price
1. Know what gets towed
The city's enforcement service, the GVD (Gemeindevollzugsdienst), tows cars that obstruct. Its list: footpaths, cycle lanes, within 5 m of a junction, disabled bays, fire access, driveways, and anything that leaves less than 3.05 m for traffic to pass.
2. Ring the GVD first
Call 06221 58-30520 (mobile line 58-30523) and ask whether your car was moved. The office sits at the Amt für Mobilität, Bergheimer Straße 111. If they have no record, it may be theft: dial 110.
3. Expect a bill nobody publishes
Heidelberg publishes no car pound address, no hours and no tow fee. I looked on the city's parking, traffic-safety and enforcement pages. The parking fine comes on top: Germany's national catalogue gives €20 for no ticket up to 30 minutes and €40 after three hours.
4. Carry the papers
The city lists nothing. I'd bring my passport, driving licence and the registration document or rental agreement, and ring the hire company first.
A city that won't print its tow fee is one I don't test. Park in a garage.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The city's Gemeindevollzugsdienst (GVD), part of the Amt für Mobilität, orders tows of cars that obstruct: on footpaths or cycle lanes, within 5 m of a junction, in disabled bays, at fire access or driveways, or leaving less than 3.05 m to pass
- Phone
- GVD (city traffic enforcement): was my car towed?: +49 6221 5830520
GVD mobile line: +49 6221 5830523
Police emergency, if the GVD has no record and you think it was stolen: 110 - Collect it at
- No car pound address is published. The GVD's office is the Amt für Mobilität at Bergheimer Straße 111; ring before going.
- Hours
- Not published.
- What it costs
- Tow fee not published. The parking fine comes on top: Germany's national catalogue gives €20 for no ticket up to 30 minutes, €40 after three hours.
- Bring
- The city lists nothing. I would bring my passport, driving licence and the registration document or rental agreement, and ring the hire company first.
EV charging in Heidelberg: Free plugs in two Stadtwerke garages
1. Charge free at Friedrich-Ebert-Platz
P10 Friedrich-Ebert-Platz has four Type 2 points on the upper deck. The city's data lists them at no extra cost beyond the parking hour, and the roof is 2.10 m. P6 Henschel adds one more free Type 2.
2. Use Mathematikon for 22 kW
North of the river, P25 Mathematikon has two 22 kW and two 3.7 kW Type 2 points, again no extra cost on top of parking at €1.50 an hour.
3. Register before plugging in at P12
P12 has two 6.4 kW Type 2 points and a Schuko socket on deck 4, but the data says registration is required and gives no price. Hotel garages are clearer: Crowne Plaza (P3) charges €5 a charge, Europäischer Hof (P5) €5 for a four-hour token.
4. Don't hunt for free EV bays
The city says plainly that Heidelberg has no free parking spaces reserved for electric cars, whatever the state's Service BW portal claims.
My pick is P10: four free plugs, a high roof and a short walk to the Hauptstraße.
Where to charge
- P10 Friedrich-Ebert-Platz: 4 points, no extra cost — P10 Friedrich-Ebert-Platz, upper deck. Type 2, listed in the city's open data as no extra cost beyond the €2.50 parking hour; height 2.10 m
- P25 Mathematikon: two 22 kW points — P25 Mathematikon, Neuenheimer Feld, level -1. Two 22 kW and two 3.7 kW Type 2, no extra cost plus parking (€1.50 an hour); height 2.10 m
- P12 Kornmarkt/Schloss: register first — P12 Kornmarkt/Schloss, deck 4. Two Type 2 at 6.4 kW and a Schuko socket; registration required, price not published
Free parking in Heidelberg: A free lot in Kirchheim, and €0.50 nights
1. Park free at the Messplatz
The Messplatz lot in Kirchheim, west of Kirchheimer Weg at Harbigweg, is free for up to 10 hours with a parking disc. Rules from February 2026 limit it to cars: no motorhomes or trailers, no overnight stays. Against eight hours at P12 (€13.50), that's €13.50 saved, minus your fare.
2. Accept there's no official P+R list
I found no city page listing park-and-ride sites with prices. The Messplatz is the one the city uses as P+R, and no transport ticket is included.
3. Arrive after dark
In the city's data, P12, P10, P16 and P6 drop to €0.50 an hour at night. P1 Poststraße caps 21:00–07:00 at €5.
4. Don't count on hotel parking
I found no hotel whose own site says parking is free. Premier Inn Heidelberg City Bahnstadt charges €18 a night in a 2.20 m garage that can't be reserved.
If you remember one thing: Kornmarkt for the castle, the Messplatz for a long day. Every price here was checked against the city's own data on 13 October 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
Messplatz lot, Kirchheim
Free for up to 10 hours with a parking disc, cars only, west of Kirchheimer Weg at Harbigweg (rules from February 2026). The city treats it as park and ride; the fare in is extra.
20 free minutes at the kerb
The Brötchenticket gives 20 free minutes where the machine offers it; enough for a bakery or a pharmacy, not for the castle.
Nights at €0.50 an hour
P12, P10, P16 and P6 drop to €0.50 an hour at night in the city's data; P1 Poststraße caps 21:00–07:00 at €5.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Heidelberg's Umweltzone ended on 1 March 2023. Stuttgart still requires the green sticker, so buy one if your trip continues there.
- Most Altstadt garages are low: P12, P11, P9 and P1 are 1.80 m. A roof box belongs in P7 Kaufhof (2.15 m) or P10 (2.10 m).
- Graimbergweg up to the castle is closed for works from 17 June 2026, probably until the end of the year; the castle says to drive up via Neue Schlossstraße.
- Garage prices here come from the city's open-data file, whose metadata was last updated in January 2024. P12 matches a current directory; P1 does not. The machine at the barrier wins.
- No hotel I checked says on its own site that parking is free. Premier Inn Heidelberg City Bahnstadt charges €18 a night in a 2.20 m garage that can't be reserved.
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.