Nuremberg has no low-emission zone, so a foreign car needs no green sticker here. The city says every air-quality limit is met, so there are no diesel bans either.
My plan: drive into a car park inside the walls at €2 an hour, €20 a day, which is cheaper than the €2.50 kerb, and walk. In Advent I'd leave the car at a P+R and take the U-Bahn.
Parking in Nuremberg: Under the walls, the car park beats the kerb
1. Keep the green sticker for Munich
Nuremberg's environment office says the city meets every limit value and needs no diesel bans. There's no Umweltzone either; nordbayern reported the city didn't want one. Driving on to Munich, Augsburg or Regensburg? Those do have zones, so buy the sticker anyway.
2. Park under the old town for €2
Three Altstadt car parks run by PS Parkhaus Service charge €2 per started hour and €20 for 24 hours, with a 2.00 m entrance. Parkhaus Hauptmarkt is entered from Schustergasse, a few steps from the market square. Jakobsmarkt sits in the south-west of the walls, and Sterntor by the Sterntor gate, near the station. All three open around the clock and read your plate on the way in.
3. Use the €2.50 kerb only for errands
The city's fee rules charge €0.50 per 12 minutes, so €2.50 an hour, inside the walls, on the west side of Königstorgraben and on Bahnhofsplatz. Everywhere else it's €0.50 per 15 minutes, €2 an hour. The Altstadt has about 800 paid short-stay spaces, and PayByPhone works on all of them. The ticket starts the moment you buy it, and you can stop it early.
4. Don't assume Sunday is free
When the Altstadt became residents' parking in 2021, nordbayern reported that visitors on the shared spaces pay 08:00–22:00, Monday to Sunday, for up to four hours. The city publishes no single timetable, so the sign at the machine wins. Four hours at the kerb is €10; four hours in Parkhaus Hauptmarkt is €8.
5. Check the live count before you turn in
The city's car park page shows 19 car parks with over 5,300 spaces, updated every 15 minutes. The dearest I found is Adlerstraße: €3 the first hour, €1 per half hour after that, €30 a day. On the plus side it takes Apple Pay and Google Pay and has a charger.
The kerb is for a ten-minute drop-off. For anything longer I'd go underground at €2.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Parkhaus Hauptmarkt (PS Parkhaus Service)Augustinerstraße 4, entry from Schustergasse, by the market square; open 24 hours, plate recognition | €2 per started hour, €20 for 24 hours. Week €90, month €175. | Not published. |
| Parkhaus Jakobsmarkt (PS Parkhaus Service)Zirkelschmiedsgasse 9, south-west corner of the walled town; open 24 hours; cash, card and mobile pay | €2 per started hour, €20 for 24 hours. Week €90, month €175. | Not published. |
| Parkhaus Sterntor (PS Parkhaus Service)Grasersgasse 25, entry at the Sterntor gate near the main station; open 24 hours | €2 per started hour, €20 for 24 hours. Theatre-goers pay €4 with a valid ticket, up to 8 hours after the show starts. | Not published. |
| AdlerparkhausAdlerstraße 4-8, in the walled town; open 24/7; pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or cash | €3 the first hour, then €1 per half hour, €30 a day. Lost ticket at least €35. | A charging station is listed; number and 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 | P+R Herrnhütte (U2), 536 spaces | Free | N-ERGIE says P+R parking is free with a valid public-transport ticket; VAG's own page shows spaces but no price. Overnight rules are not published, so I treat it as day parking. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Parkhaus Hauptmarkt (PS Parkhaus Service) | €4 | height 2.00 m |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb inside the walls | €5 | €0.50 per 12 minutes inside the walls, on the west side of Königstorgraben and on Bahnhofsplatz; €0.50 per 15 minutes elsewhere. The four-hour limit and 08:00–22:00 daily hours come from a 2021 nordbayern report, not a city page. |
| A full day (10 h) | P+R Herrnhütte (U2), 536 spaces | Free | N-ERGIE says P+R parking is free with a valid public-transport ticket; VAG's own page shows spaces but no price. Overnight rules are not published, so I treat it as day parking. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Parkhaus Hauptmarkt (PS Parkhaus Service) | €20 | height 2.00 m |
| 24 hours | Parkhaus Hauptmarkt (PS Parkhaus Service) | €20 | height 2.00 m |
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Towed in Nuremberg: Here the police order the tow, and nobody prints the bill
1. Ring the police, not the city
Since a 2019 rule change, only the police can order a car removed, nordbayern reported. The number listed for Polizeiinspektion Nürnberg-Mitte is 0911 2112-0. Ask them first whether the car was towed or stolen.
2. Ask where the car is
Neither the city nor the police publishes a car pound address, opening hours or a fee table for Nuremberg. The police told the paper that the city lacks Munich's space for a big pound. So the phone call is the only map.
3. Bring papers and a payment card
With no published fee, I'm not going to invent one. I'd carry passport, licence and the registration document. In a hire car, ring the rental company before you take a taxi anywhere.
In the first five weeks of the 2019 rule, police towed 83 cars from fire-access lanes, mostly in the Altstadt. Those lanes are where they look.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Only the police can order a tow in Nuremberg (rule in force since March 2019, as reported by nordbayern). The city and police publish no pound, hours or fee table
- Phone
- Polizeiinspektion Nürnberg-Mitte / police headquarters switchboard: 0911 2112 0
Emergency only: 110 - Collect it at
- Not published. Ask the police at Polizeiinspektion Nürnberg-Mitte where the car was taken.
- Hours
- Pound hours not published. The police line is staffed around the clock.
- What it costs
- No official tow or storage fee is published for Nuremberg. I'm not going to guess one.
- Bring
- Nothing official is listed. I would bring passport, driving licence and the registration document; for a hire car, ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Nuremberg: N-ERGIE's plugs wait at the P+R
1. Charge at Herrnhütte or Langwasser Süd
The city utility N-ERGIE lists charging points at three P+R sites: 36 at Herrnhütte, 32 at Langwasser Süd and 26 at Am Wegfeld. You charge, then ride the U-Bahn or tram into town. In the Altstadt, the Adlerstraße car park has a charger too, number unpublished.
2. Read the screen for your price
N-ERGIE's price list, valid from 1 September 2026, gives its own contract customers 42 ct/kWh for normal charging and 52 ct for fast. A price for a visitor paying on the spot isn't on that page, so check the charger or app before you plug in.
3. Unplug before the blocking fee
After 240 minutes on AC, or 60 minutes on fast DC, the meter adds 10 ct a minute. Leave the car on an AC post for six hours in the day and that's €12 on top. Between 20:00 and 08:00 AC posts charge no blocking fee.
My pick is an evening AC charge at a P+R: the blocking clock is off.
Where to charge
- N-ERGIE at the P+R sites — P+R Herrnhütte (36 points), Langwasser Süd (32), Am Wegfeld (26). Counts from N-ERGIE's 2024 article. From 1 September 2026 contract customers pay 42 ct/kWh normal, 52 ct fast; no walk-up price on that page. Blocking fee 10 ct a minute after 240 min (AC) or 60 min (DC); none on AC 20:00–08:00
- Adlerparkhaus charger — Adlerparkhaus, in the old town. The car park lists a charging station without a count or price; parking is €3 the first hour
Free parking in Nuremberg: A transit ticket is your parking ticket
1. Park free at a P+R
N-ERGIE says the P+R sites are free as long as you hold a valid public-transport ticket. The transport company VAG lists Herrnhütte with 536 spaces on the U2, Langwasser Süd with 300 on the U1, and Am Wegfeld on trams 4 and 10. Against €20 a day under the walls, that's the saving I'd take.
2. Skip Röthenbach
The old P+R garage at Röthenbach was demolished. Since 19 May 2025 a contractor runs a temporary paid car park on the site.
3. Don't expect free hotel parking
I found no Nuremberg hotel whose own website says parking is free. B&B's Plärrer, West and City hotels list paid parking, subject to availability.
Park under the walls or at a P+R, and leave the kerb alone. Prices were checked on 5 October 2026; where only a newspaper had the figure, I've said so.
Free or nearly-free spots
P+R with a transit ticket
N-ERGIE says the P+R sites are free with a valid public-transport ticket. Herrnhütte has 536 spaces on the U2; Langwasser Süd 300 on the U1; Am Wegfeld is on trams 4 and 10.
Not Röthenbach any more
The old P+R garage at Röthenbach was demolished; since 19 May 2025 a contractor runs a temporary paid car park on the site.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Nuremberg has no Umweltzone and no diesel bans: the city says all limit values are met. Munich, Augsburg and Regensburg do have zones, so buy a green sticker if you are driving on.
- Since 2021 the Altstadt is residents' parking; visitors may use the shared spaces with a ticket. nordbayern reported the hours as 08:00–22:00 Monday to Sunday, four hours maximum. Read the sign at the machine.
- During the Christkindlesmarkt (27 November–24 December 2026) the city advises against arriving by car.
- PS Parkhaus Service car parks have a 2.00 m entrance height; a roof box or van may not fit.
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.