San Sebastián's centre is a low-emission zone (ZBE), and a foreign-plated car must be declared to the city online before it drives in, even an electric one. Cameras read plates around the clock, and the fine is €200.
My plan: file the declaration anyway, leave the car at the free Illunbe park and ride and take the bus. If I have to park in the centre, Plaza Cataluña is the cheapest garage I found, €31.60 for 24 hours.
Parking in San Sebastián: €2.87 for 90 minutes, €37.65 for a day
1. Declare a foreign car before the ZBE
The city's rule is blunt: every vehicle registered abroad files a declaración responsable (a sworn declaration) before entering, hybrids, EVs and motorbikes included. You give the plate, vehicle type, first-registration date, fuel and the technical sheet. No fee is published, and if your data qualify, the city sends no reply.
2. Check your car's year
Until the end of 2027, petrol and diesel cars first registered before 1 January 2006 can't enter at all. From 2028 the rules tighten again. Fines started in March 2025, and both RACE and a local guide put them at €200.
3. Read the sector, then the clock
On-street parking is the OTA (Donostia's pay-and-display). The ordinance sets Monday–Friday 09:00–13:30 and 15:30–20:00, Saturday mornings, and Saturday evenings too in the Parte Vieja and Centro. Sunday is free except in the Parte Vieja and on Paseo Barandiarán, 10:00–18:00. From June to September, Gros by the Zurriola and Antiguo by Ondarreta also charge at weekends. The tourist board gives Saturday as 09:30, not 09:00; the meter's own panel wins.
4. Pay €2.87, then move after 90 minutes
The tourist board's figure for the central zones is €2.87 for 90 minutes, which is also the maximum stay there. Outer zones allow 3, 5 or 9 hours; I couldn't find those prices published. Pay by coin (5 cents to €2), card or the ElParking app. When time's up, the ordinance says you move the car to another sector. No ticket is €50; overstaying is €30, and you can cancel it within an hour for a fee the city doesn't print online.
5. Pick Plaza Cataluña or the Okendo trio
Telpark's own pages, checked today: Plaza Cataluña is €2.55 the first hour, €31.60 a day. Okendo, La Concha and Boulevard are €3.65 and €37.65. Okendo's height limit is 1.85 m; Telpark lists "gauge 220" for the others. Okendo and Boulevard share an entrance street, so the lane you take after the ramp picks your garage.
The classic mistake is buying a second OTA ticket at the same meter. The rule is to move.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | Height | EV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaza Cataluña (Telpark)Plaza Cataluña, Gros side of the river; 447 spaces, open 24 hours | €2.55 first hour, €31.60 for 24 hours (Telpark, 12 October 2026). Telpark lists "gauge 220", i.e. 2.20 m. | 2.2 m | Listed as a service; number, power and price not published. |
| Okendo (Telpark)Plaza Okendo, a few minutes from the Parte Vieja; 720 spaces, open 24 hours | €3.65 first hour, €37.65 for 24 hours. Height 1.85 m. The council said in 2024 that summer rates here rise 23%. | 1.85 m | Chargers listed by both Telpark and the tourist board; price not published. |
| La Concha / Kontxa (Telpark)Plaza Cervantes, by La Concha beach; 655 spaces, open 24 hours | €3.65 first hour, €37.65 for 24 hours. Telpark lists "gauge 220". Summer rates rise (23% in 2024). | 2.2 m | Listed as a service; details not published. |
| Boulevard (Telpark)Alameda del Boulevard, edge of the Parte Vieja; 376 spaces, open 24 hours. Same entrance street as Okendo | €3.65 first hour, €37.65 for 24 hours. Telpark lists "gauge 220". | 2.2 m | Listed as a service; details not published. |
| Buen PastorCalle San Bartolomé 1, by the cathedral; 384 spaces, open 24 hours. The lift runs only between −3 and −1 | Tariff and height not published on the tourist board page. | not published | Not published. |
| EstaciónPaseo Federico García Lorca 1, by the Renfe station; 384 spaces, open 24 hours | First 10 minutes free, per the tourist board; other prices not published. | 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 | Illunbe park and ride | Free | Free all year, 494 spaces. Summer shuttle (11 July–31 August 2026) to Plaza Centenario every 30 minutes; otherwise buses 17 and 28, a 10–20 minute walk. Overnight rules not published; Igara, the other free site, caps stays at 24 hours. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Plaza Cataluña (Telpark) | €5.10 | height 2.20 m |
| A full day (10 h) | Illunbe park and ride | Free | Free all year, 494 spaces. Summer shuttle (11 July–31 August 2026) to Plaza Centenario every 30 minutes; otherwise buses 17 and 28, a 10–20 minute walk. Overnight rules not published; Igara, the other free site, caps stays at 24 hours. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Plaza Cataluña (Telpark) | €25.50 | height 2.20 m |
| 24 hours | Plaza Cataluña (Telpark) | €31.60 | height 2.20 m |
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Towed in San Sebastián: The grúa goes to Paseo Morlans
1. Know when the tow is legal
Under Article 50 of the OTA ordinance, a car can be removed with no valid ticket, or once it has stayed three times the time paid. The ordinance says no tow until an hour after your ticket runs out.
2. Go to Plaza Leire
The car pound is the Depósito Municipal de Vehículos at Plaza Leire, Paseo Morlans 7, phone +34 943 359 854, according to the tourist board. You pay the fee there before the car is released. Opening hours aren't published.
3. Budget above the 2012 bill
No city page I could open shows the current tow tariff. The consumer group OCU gave €138 for the tow and €29.65 a day in 2012. One night on those figures is €167.65, plus the €50 ticket: €217.65. Treat that as the floor, not the price.
4. Ring the city when in doubt
The council's general line is +34 943 481 000, or 010 from a local phone.
I'd rather pay €37.65 for a garage than test Article 50.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The city's grúa (tow truck) enforces the OTA ordinance: under Article 50 a car with no valid ticket, or parked for three times the time paid, can be removed, but not within an hour of the ticket expiring
- Phone
- Depósito Municipal de Vehículos (car pound), per the tourist board: +34 943 359 854
City council general line (010 from a local phone): +34 943 481 000 - Collect it at
- Depósito Municipal de Vehículos, Plaza Leire, Paseo Morlans 7. You pay the fee there before the car is released.
- Hours
- Not published.
- What it costs
- Current tow tariff not published on any city page I could open. OCU (consumer group) gave €138 for the tow and €29.65 a day in 2012: one night €167.65, plus a €50 OTA ticket. OTA fines: €50 no ticket, €30 overstay, €90 in a special zone, €200 in a disabled bay.
- Bring
- The city lists nothing for visitors. I would bring my driving licence, passport, the car's registration document and, for a hire car, the rental agreement.
EV charging in San Sebastián: Plugs under the old town, none priced
1. Charge in a Telpark garage
Telpark lists electric charging at Okendo, La Concha, Boulevard and Plaza Cataluña, with no count, power or price. The tourist board confirms chargers at Okendo and Arcco Amara.
2. Try the 50 kW post at Igara
In 2019 the city and Iberdrola installed 50 kW fast chargers on Federico García Lorca street and at the Igara car park. Charging was free for the first year only. Today's price isn't published, so read the screen.
3. Declare the EV anyway
Clean or not, a foreign plate is unknown to the cameras. Declare it first.
My pick is Okendo: both the operator and the tourist board list chargers, and the Parte Vieja is a few minutes' walk away.
Where to charge
- Telpark garages in the centre — Okendo, La Concha, Boulevard and Plaza Cataluña. Telpark lists electric charging at all four; number of points, power and price not published
- Arcco Amara car park — Arcco Amara, Amara; 214 spaces, 24 hours. The tourist board lists EV charging; no price
- Igara car park, Iberdrola fast charger — Igara, free park and ride. 50 kW, installed with the city in 2019 and free for the first year only; current price not published
Free parking in San Sebastián: Illunbe, Igara and an empty Sunday kerb
1. Park free at Illunbe
Illunbe has 494 free spaces all year, by the Anoeta stadium. From 11 July to 31 August a shuttle ran to Plaza Centenario every 30 minutes; otherwise lines 28 and 17 stop a 10- to 20-minute walk away. Against a day at Boulevard, that's €37.65 saved before the bus fare.
2. Use Igara, but only for 24 hours
The free car park at Igara has 180 spaces and a 24-hour maximum. Lines 5 and 25 leave from the Tolosa 111 stop, five minutes on foot.
3. Come in by train from Irun
Ficoba in Irun has 900 free spaces, open 08:00–22:00. Euskotren runs every 30 minutes and takes about 35 minutes to the centre. Coming from France, that's the stop I'd use.
4. Bring the campervan to Berio
Berio has about 44 motorhome bays at €11 in high season, €5.50 otherwise, with a 72-hour limit and free water. Illunbe has 27 free bays, no services. Putting the awning out counts as camping, which isn't allowed.
5. Leave it on the street on Sunday
Most sectors aren't regulated on Sunday. The exceptions are the Parte Vieja and, in summer, Gros and Antiguo. I found no hotel whose own site says parking is free.
Every price on this page was checked on 12 October 2026, Telpark's on its own site.
Free or nearly-free spots
Illunbe park and ride
494 free spaces all year by the Anoeta stadium; buses 17 and 28, plus a summer shuttle to Plaza Centenario.
Igara, 24 hours maximum
180 free spaces, 24-hour limit; buses 5 and 25 from the Tolosa 111 stop.
Ficoba, Irun, by train
900 free spaces, 08:00–22:00; Euskotren every 30 minutes, about 35 minutes to the centre.
Sunday on the kerb
Most OTA sectors are not regulated on Sunday. The Parte Vieja and Paseo Barandiarán charge 10:00–18:00, and in June–September so do Gros and Antiguo.
Motorhomes: Illunbe free, Berio €5.50–11
Illunbe has 27 free motorhome bays, no services, 72 hours. Paseo Berio 12 has about 44 bays at €11 in high season, €5.50 otherwise, 72 hours, with water. The awning out counts as camping.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- ZBE: every foreign-registered vehicle, EVs and hybrids included, must file the city's sworn declaration (declaración responsable) online before entering the zone. No fee or lead time is published; there is no reply if the data qualify.
- Until the end of 2027, petrol and diesel cars first registered before 1 January 2006 cannot enter the ZBE; from 2028 the rules tighten. Cameras run 24 hours a day; RACE gives the fine as €200.
- OTA hours: the ordinance says Saturday from 09:00, the tourist board 09:30. Follow the meter's panel.
- Okendo is 1.85 m. A roof box or a tall van belongs in Plaza Cataluña, La Concha or Boulevard (Telpark lists "gauge 220") or at Illunbe.
- During big events (Jazzaldia, Semana Grande, the film festival) the city lets residents of the central sectors park across the whole OTA zone, so street spaces disappear.
- The city's fee ordinances (OTA prices, tow tariff, ticket cancellation fee) would not load for me on 12 October 2026; prices here come from the tourist board and Telpark.
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.