Old Riga is parking zone R: €5 for the first hour and €8 for every hour after, every day from 06:00 to midnight, Sundays included. Forget to pay and Rīgas satiksme sends a notice for €53, the price of seven hours.
How I'd park: leave the car outside the Old Town in zone A or B, pay by app, and walk in across the canal. On Sundays zones A to D cost nothing.
Parking in Riga: Riga's €5 Old Town hour and the cheaper zones around it
1. Know the five zone letters
Rīgas satiksme, the city transport company, runs the kerb. Zone A is €2.50 the first hour, €3 after; B €2 then €2.50; C €1.50 then €2; D €1 then €1.50, with a €5 daily maximum according to Latvia's tourist board. Old Riga is R. These rates date from April 2015.
2. Remember zone R charges on Sunday
Zones A to D charge Monday to Friday 08:00–20:00 and Saturday 09:00–17:00; Sunday and public holidays are free. Zone R charges every day 06:00–24:00. Three hours in R is €5 + €8 + €8 = €21; the same three hours in zone A is €8.50. I'd only use R for a drop-off.
3. Pay within five minutes
You get 5 minutes to start paying and 15 minutes to leave once your time ends. Pay with the Rīgas satiksme, EuroPark or Mobilly apps, or at a meter by bank card. SMS to 1859 works only with a Mobilly account set up first. Whether a foreign number can register is unpublished.
4. Use a mall car park for long stays
Galleria Riga has a two-level car park open 24/7, paid through Mobilly; the first hour is free on Saturday and Sunday. Its tariff sits in an image I couldn't read. EuroPark runs Origo by the station and Jēkaba Arkāde; prices are on the machine, not online.
5. Fit winter tyres from 1 December
Latvia requires winter tyres on cars from 1 December to 1 March, with the mountain-and-snowflake mark; M+S alone doesn't count. There's no vignette for you: the road user charge starts above 3,000 kg gross weight. I found no low-emission zone in Riga either.
Riga is debating dearer kerb prices and paid evenings, but the transport committee chair says nothing changes this year.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Galleria Riga (Mobilly)Dzirnavu iela 67, entrance from Dzirnavu iela; two underground levels, open 24/7 | Prepaid through Mobilly (app, automatic payment or the cash machine on level −1). First hour free on Saturday and Sunday, once a day. Hourly tariff only in an image on the mall's page; height not published. | Eleport chargers; parking at the normal Mobilly tariff, charging price not published on the mall page. |
| Origo (EuroPark)Stacijas laukums 4, by Riga Central Station; listed as open 24 hours | Tariff on the signs and machines, not published online. You pay for the whole stay up front, by ticket or app. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Jēkaba Arkāde (EuroPark)Z. A. Meierovica bulvāris 8, at the edge of Old Riga; listed as open 24 hours | Tariff not published online. Height not published. | Not published. |
| Riga Central Station short-stay (Snabb)Station square at Riga Central Station; 8 spaces, opened January 2026 | First 10 minutes free, then €3.50 an hour, by the Snabb or Mobilly app. No subscriptions. Height not relevant (open lot). | Not published. |
| Zone R kerb, Old Riga (Rīgas satiksme)Street spaces inside Old Riga; charged every day 06:00–24:00 | €5 first hour, €8 each hour after. Unpaid: €53 notice. | No chargers published; free parking only for Latvian EVs with special plates. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Kerb, zone A | €5.50 | Rīgas satiksme zone A: €2.50 the first hour, €3 after (tariffs from 1 April 2015). Unpaid or more than an hour over: €20.50 notice, 20% off within 10 days. Old Riga is zone R: €5 then €8, every day. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Riga Central Station short-stay (Snabb) | €7 | First 10 minutes free; 8 spaces |
| A full day (10 h) | Kerb, zone A | €29.50 | Rīgas satiksme zone A: €2.50 the first hour, €3 after (tariffs from 1 April 2015). Unpaid or more than an hour over: €20.50 notice, 20% off within 10 days. Old Riga is zone R: €5 then €8, every day. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Riga Central Station short-stay (Snabb) | €35 | First 10 minutes free; 8 spaces |
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Towed in Riga: Riga's €53 notice and where the car goes
1. Read the notice on the windscreen
An unpaid space, or an overstay of more than an hour, costs a day at the 7-hour tariff: €20.50 in A, €17 in B, €13.50 in C, €10 in D, €53 in R. Overstay by 15–60 minutes and it's five hourly rates: €14.50 in A, €37 in R.
2. Pay within ten days for 20% off
Pay within 10 days and the notice drops by 20%, so R falls from €53 to €42.40. Pay by bank transfer, at a customer centre or at a meter. To dispute it, you have 30 days.
3. Ring 8585 if the car has gone
The municipal police order tows. The pound address and fees in force today are unpublished: the last council rule I could read set €4.45 a km and moved the pound to Kleistu iela 29, but it was repealed in June 2021. Ring Rīgas satiksme on 8585, or 112 if you think the car was stolen.
4. Collect it within 30 days
The municipal police say an uncollected car counts as abandoned after 30 days and goes for recycling. I'd go the same day.
Riga prints its parking fines to the cent; it's the towing it keeps quiet about.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The Riga municipal police decide on towing; a contracted service provider moves the car. Unpaid parking in Rīgas satiksme spaces is handled by post-payment notices, not tows
- Collect it at
- Current pound address unpublished. A 2021 council regulation (repealed June 2021) moved the special car park to Kleistu iela 29.
- Hours
- Not published.
- What it costs
- Post-payment notices: €20.50 A, €17 B, €13.50 C, €10 D, €53 R, €6 V; 15–60 minutes over a paid session: €14.50 A, €37 R. 20% off within 10 days; dispute within 30 days. Tow and storage fees in force: unpublished (the repealed 2021 rule gave €4.45 a km and €2.42 an hour for storage on day one). Uncollected after 30 days, the car counts as abandoned.
- Bring
- Nothing published for visitors. I'd bring my licence, passport, the car's registration papers or hire agreement, and ring 8585 first.
EV charging in Riga: Riga charges by the kWh, but the free parking isn't yours
1. Don't expect free EV parking
Latvia's tourist board says the free parking in Rīgas satiksme spaces is for electric cars with Latvian special plates with blue letters. A foreign EV pays like anyone else.
2. Budget about €0.40 a kWh
Eleport's March 2026 comparison puts Latvia's fast-charging median at €0.40 a kWh: Eleport €0.39 at most sites, Virši €0.28–0.42, IONITY €0.71 without membership. The state e-mobi network charges €0.23 a minute, not per kWh.
3. Leave within an hour of charging
At EuroPark lots, charging costs extra on top of parking, and you must move the car within 1 hour of finishing. Galleria Riga's Eleport chargers use the normal Mobilly parking tariff.
My pick for a quick top-up is Eleport at Galleria Riga, because the weekend hour is free.
Where to charge
- Eleport, fast charging — Stations across Riga, including Galleria Riga. €0.39 per kWh at most sites, €0.44 at some (Eleport's own March 2026 comparison)
- e-mobi (CSDD state network) — State fast chargers across Latvia; can be started with the Mobilly app. €0.23 a minute, not per kWh
- Galleria Riga car park — Galleria Riga, open 24/7. Eleport chargers at the normal Mobilly parking tariff; first hour free at weekends
Free parking in Riga: Riga's free Sundays and the missing park and ride
1. Park free on Sundays outside R
Zones A to D are free from Saturday 17:00 to Monday 08:00 and on public holidays. Zone R never stops charging before midnight.
2. Don't hunt for a park and ride
Riga has no park-and-ride network I could confirm. LSM reported in 2019 that the only one, a car park at Ulbrokas iela 13, saw about one user a day; its current status is unpublished. New mobility points at rail stops have short-stay bays only.
3. Use zone D as your park and ride
Zone D is €1 then €1.50, capped at €5 a day according to the tourist board. That's a full weekday for less than a quarter of three hours in zone R.
4. Grab ten free minutes at the station
A small lot at Riga Central Station gives the first 10 minutes free, then €3.50 an hour, paid by the Snabb or Mobilly app. It has eight spaces, so it's for drop-offs.
5. Pay €3 for Jūrmala, then park free
Jūrmala charges €3 a day to drive in, paid at Priedaine by cash, card or app. Inside, public parking is free all year, including Majori car park. The train to Majori is €1.50 each way, so two people pay €6 return against the car's €3.
I found no Riga hotel whose own website promises free parking; booking sites do, and I wouldn't trust that alone.
Free or nearly-free spots
Sundays and holidays in zones A–D
Rīgas satiksme charges zones A–D Mon–Fri 08:00–20:00 and Sat 09:00–17:00; outside those hours and on public holidays parking is free. Zone R (Old Riga) still charges 06:00–24:00 every day.
Zone D: €5 a day as a park and ride
Riga has no park and ride I could confirm. Zone D is €1 then €1.50 an hour with a €5 daily maximum, according to Latvia's tourist board; no transport ticket is included.
10 free minutes at Riga Central Station
Snabb's short-stay lot on the station square: first 10 minutes free, then €3.50 an hour. Eight spaces.
Free parking in Jūrmala after the €3 entry
Jūrmala charges €3 a day to drive in, but its public parking is free all year, including Majori car park at Lienes iela 5 by the tourist information centre.
Weekend hour at Galleria Riga
The mall's car park gives the first hour free on Saturday and Sunday, once a day.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Zone R (Old Riga) charges every day 06:00–24:00, Sundays and evenings included: €5 the first hour, €8 after. Three hours cost €21.
- You have 5 minutes to start paying and 15 minutes to leave after your time ends. SMS payment to 1859 needs a Mobilly account; whether foreign numbers work is unpublished.
- Free parking for electric cars is for Latvian EVs with special blue-letter plates; a foreign EV pays. The city is discussing ending the perk.
- Winter tyres with the mountain-and-snowflake mark are compulsory from 1 December to 1 March; studded tyres are allowed from 1 October to 1 May. M+S alone does not count.
- Latvia's road user charge applies only to vehicles over 3,000 kg gross weight, so an ordinary car needs no vignette. A heavy motorhome may.
- The city plans higher kerb prices, bigger zone A and possibly paid nights and weekends; not approved, and not before a year after any decision.
- Old Riga is closed to cars during big events: on 15–16 August 2026 it was shut from noon to 04:00 for Riga's birthday.
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.