Rothenburg's core old town is closed to traffic from 19:00 to 06:00, and inside the walls you get two paid hours at most. The five numbered car parks outside the walls, P1 to P5, are the real answer: €1.30 an hour, €8 a day, free from 18:00 to 09:00.
For a day visit I'd park at P4 Galgentor or P5 Bezoldweg and walk in. Arrive after 16:00, leave by 10:00 the next morning, and the night costs €3.90.
Parking in Rothenburg ob der Tauber: P1 to P5 outside the walls, two hours inside
1. Don't buy a green sticker for Rothenburg
Bavaria's official portal, updated 3 August 2026, lists low-emission zones in Augsburg, Regensburg and Munich only. Rothenburg isn't one of them, so a foreign car needs no sticker here. You'll want one if Munich is next on the trip.
2. Leave the car outside the walls
The tourist board recommends driving into the old town only if you know the area. Inside, you may park only in marked short-term bays: €2 an hour, 08:00–20:00, two hours maximum. That's €4, and then you have to move. Motorhomes and lorries can't park inside the walls at all, and nothing 2.85 m or taller gets in without a height permit.
3. Park at P4 or P5 for the day
P4 Galgentor and P5 Bezoldweg take cars and motorbikes only; P5 is for cars up to 2 m actual height. P1 Friedrich-Hörner-Weg, P2 Nördlinger Straße and P3 Schweinsdorfer Straße also take coaches. The city publishes no space counts and no prices that differ by car park.
4. Buy the €8 ticket from hour seven
All five charge €1.30 an hour from 09:00 to 18:00, or €8 for a day ticket. Six hours cost €7.80 and seven cost €9.10, so the day ticket wins from the seventh hour. Pay at the machine or by app; the Prinzhotel names Parkster (a parking app), which lets you extend from your phone.
5. Staying a week? Buy the annual card
Anyone can buy a ParkdauerKarte: €60 for a year at all the large car parks, €40 for P2 and P3 only. Eight €8 day tickets cost €64, so from the eighth paying day the year card is cheaper. There's also a seven-day visitor card for the outer car parks, but its price isn't published.
The meter is cheap here. The thing that catches people is the two-hour limit inside the walls.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | Height | EV |
|---|---|---|---|
| P4 GalgentorBy the Galgentor, east side of the walls; cars and motorbikes only. The Prinzhotel puts the walk to the Weiberturm at about two minutes | €1.30 an hour 09:00–18:00, €8 day ticket, free 18:00–09:00. RothenburgPlusKarte holders get two hours free. Spaces and height not published. | not published | None listed by the city. |
| P5 BezoldwegBezoldweg, outside the walls; cars and motorbikes only, cars up to 2 m actual height | €1.30 an hour 09:00–18:00, €8 day ticket, free 18:00–09:00. RothenburgPlusKarte holders get two hours free. Spaces not published. | 2 m | Charging point listed by the tourist board; power and price not published. |
| P1 Friedrich-Hörner-WegFriedrich-Hörner-Weg; cars, motorbikes, coaches and lorries | €1.30 an hour 09:00–18:00, €8 day ticket, free 18:00–09:00. RothenburgPlusKarte holders get two hours free. Coaches and lorries €2.50 an hour 09:00–18:00. | not published | Stadtwerke Rothenburg charging point listed by the tourist board; power and price not published. |
| P2 Nördlinger StraßeNördlinger Straße; cars, motorbikes, motorhomes, coaches, lorries up to 7.5 t. Motorhome bays with electricity, water and waste disposal | €1.30 an hour 09:00–18:00, €8 day ticket, free 18:00–09:00. RothenburgPlusKarte holders get two hours free. Motorhomes €2.50 an hour around the clock, €20 a day max. | not published | Not published. |
| P3 Schweinsdorfer StraßeSchweinsdorfer Straße; cars, motorbikes, motorhomes, coaches, lorries. Water and waste disposal for motorhomes, no electricity. The city recommends P3 for sleeping in a motorhome because a neighbouring venue often runs late at weekends | €1.30 an hour 09:00–18:00, €8 day ticket, free 18:00–09:00. RothenburgPlusKarte holders get two hours free. Motorhomes €2.50 an hour around the clock, €20 a day max. | 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 | P4 Galgentor | €2.60 | €8 day ticket; free 18:00–09:00 |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Old-town short-term bay, 2 hours max | €4 | €2 an hour, 08:00–20:00, two hours maximum, by machine or app; free 20:00–08:00. The city doesn't say whether Sundays are charged. Overstaying costs €20–€40 under the national catalogue. RothenburgPlusKarte gives the first hour free. |
| A full day (10 h) | P4 Galgentor | €8 | €8 day ticket; free 18:00–09:00 |
| 24 hours | P4 Galgentor | €8 | €8 day ticket; free 18:00–09:00 |
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Towed in Rothenburg ob der Tauber: No pound published, so ring the police on 971-0
1. Call the Rothenburg police first
The city publishes no towing firm, car pound or tow fee. If the car has gone, ring the Polizeiinspektion Rothenburg on 09861 971-0, the number in a July 2026 police press release. Emergencies are 110.
2. Expect a €20 to €40 ticket first
Germany's national catalogue sets the fine for no ticket or overstaying: €20 up to 30 minutes, €25 up to an hour, €30 up to two, €35 up to three, €40 beyond. Stay three hours in a two-hour old-town bay and you've paid €4 plus a €25 ticket. Paying for P4 instead would have been €3.90.
3. Don't drive the core after 19:00
The night ban runs 19:00–06:00, with extra closures during festivals. The tourist board says hotels and businesses can be reached by car at any time, so drive straight to your hotel and nowhere else.
I couldn't find a single published Rothenburg tow fee, and I'm not going to guess one.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The city publishes no towing firm, pound or tow fee. Parking is enforced by the city; for a missing car, the Rothenburg police are the contact
- Phone
- Polizeiinspektion Rothenburg (police station), from a July 2026 police press release: 09861 971 0
Police emergency: 110
City hall switchboard (Stadt Rothenburg): 09861 404 0 - Collect it at
- Not published. Ask the Rothenburg police where the car went.
- Hours
- Pound hours not published.
- What it costs
- No tow or storage fee is published for Rothenburg. Parking tickets follow the national catalogue: €20 up to 30 minutes over, €25 up to an hour, €30 up to two, €35 up to three, €40 beyond.
- 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 Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Chargers at P1 and P5, prices nowhere
1. Charge at P5 or P1
The tourist board lists 17 charging locations. Public ones include P5 Bezoldweg, the Stadtwerke (municipal utility) point at P1, Kapellenplatz, VR Bank and Lidl. It gives no power, connector or price for any of them, so read the screen.
2. Don't count on Bavaria's free three hours
The city says electric cars park free for up to three hours on public spaces in Bavaria, with the disc set. The rule is written for plates ending in E, a German plate. It says nothing about foreign electric cars, and the old town still stops you at two hours. I'd pay.
3. Book a hotel with its own plug
Several hotels are on the same list, among them Hotel Rappen, Altes Brauhaus, Kreuzerhof, Reichsküchenmeister and Sonne. Overnight charging is easier at a hotel than at a car park nobody publishes a tariff for.
If I needed a full battery, I'd ask the hotel before booking.
Where to charge
- P5 Bezoldweg — P5 Bezoldweg, outside the walls. Listed by the tourist board and the city's parking page; no power, connector or price published
- Stadtwerke Rothenburg at P1 — P1 Friedrich-Hörner-Weg. Run by the municipal utility; tariff not published
- Kapellenplatz — Kapellenplatz, inside the walls (two-hour limit applies). Linked to Stadtwerke Rothenburg by the tourist board; no tariff published
Free parking in Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Free after 18:00 at P1–P5, no park and ride
1. Arrive after 16:00, leave by 10:00
The large car parks are free from 18:00 to 09:00 for cars, coaches and lorries. Park at 16:00, leave at 10:00, and you've paid for three hours: €3.90 for the night. Motorhomes are the exception: €2.50 an hour around the clock, capped at €20 a day, at P2 or P3 only.
2. Use the old-town bays only after 20:00
Short-term bays inside the walls are free from 20:00 to 08:00. But the core is closed to traffic from 19:00, so in practice that's for hotel guests already inside.
3. Treat P1–P5 as park and ride
Rothenburg has no official park and ride and needs none. The first car parks come about 2 km after A7 exit 108, and the tourist board puts the old town a few minutes' walk away. P4's walk to the Weiberturm is about two minutes, according to the Prinzhotel.
4. Ask your hotel for a GästeVignette
This guest pass gives 24 hours' free parking for one plate: €8 at the large car parks, €30 in the old-town bays. Participating hotels and the city's traffic office sell it. The tourist board's 2026 hotel guide lists free parking at Hotel Rappen and Hotel Merian, but I couldn't confirm that on their own websites.
I'd sleep inside the walls and leave the car outside them.
Free or nearly-free spots
P1–P5 free 18:00–09:00
Cars, coaches and lorries park free at all five large car parks from 18:00 to 09:00. Park at P4 Galgentor at 16:00, leave at 10:00, and you pay €3.90. Not for motorhomes, which pay €2.50 an hour around the clock.
Old-town bays 20:00–08:00
The short-term bays inside the walls are free from 20:00 to 08:00. The core old town is closed to traffic from 19:00, so this helps hotel guests already inside.
No park and ride: the outer car parks are it
Rothenburg has no official park and ride. P1 to P5 sit just outside the walls, the first about 2 km after A7 exit 108, a few minutes' walk from the old town according to the tourist board. No bus or ticket is involved.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- No Umweltzone: Bavaria's official portal (updated 3 August 2026) lists green zones only in Augsburg, Regensburg and Munich. No sticker needed for Rothenburg; buy one if Munich is on the route.
- Night driving ban in the core old town 19:00–06:00, with extra closures during festivals. The tourist board says hotels and businesses can be reached by car at any time.
- Vehicles 2.85 m and taller may not enter the old town without a HöhenVignette (height permit). Motorhomes and lorries may not park in the old town at all.
- Old-town short-term bays: two hours maximum. Overstay by an hour and the ticket is €25, more than six times what P4 would have cost for three hours (€3.90).
- Bavaria's three free hours for electric cars are written for German plates ending in E. The city says nothing about foreign electric cars.
- Hotels with free parking: the tourist board's 2026 hotel guide lists Hotel Rappen and Hotel Merian; I could not confirm it on the hotels' own websites, so none is listed here.
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.