All of Stuttgart is a low-emission zone: no green sticker, no entry, foreign plates included. Diesels at Euro 5 or older face a second ban across the centre, Bad Cannstatt and Zuffenhausen, which is where both car museums are. The fine is €128.50 with fees.
My plan: sticker on the windscreen before the border, then a P+R site on the U-Bahn, where one ticket covers parking and the ride in. For a short stop I'd take a central garage at about €20 a day, never the €6.40 kerb.
Parking in Stuttgart: One hour at €6.40, or a garage at €20
1. Get the green sticker first
The Umweltzone covers the whole city, all day, all year. Foreign cars and electric cars need the green Feinstaubplakette too; it's tied to your number plate and works in every German zone. Order it by post before you leave or buy it at a TÜV or DEKRA test centre.
2. Check your diesel's Euro class
Euro 4 diesels have been banned city-wide since 1 January 2019. Euro 5 diesels are banned in the Talkessel (the valley-bottom centre), Bad Cannstatt, Feuerbach and Zuffenhausen since 1 July 2020. Euro 6 is fine. The city's page, dated 24 February 2026, says the Euro 5 ban stands "subject to further court rulings". Trips to and from P+R sites are exempt.
3. Don't plan on the City kerb
From 1 October 2026 the City zone costs €6.40 an hour, minimum €1.40 for ten minutes, and normally one hour is the limit. That rules out a museum. Short-stay bays in other districts are €1.50 an hour, two hours at most, and the Brezeltaste (pretzel button) on the machine gives the first 30 minutes free. Long-stay bays are €1.50 an hour or €13 for a 14-hour day. The city's pages don't print the charging hours; read the machine.
4. Pay at the machine, not the sticker
Machines take coins and cards. The apps are EasyPark, mobilet, PayByPhone, Parkster and PARCO, each with its own surcharge. The city warns never to pay through a QR code stuck on a machine. No ticket costs €20 for up to 30 minutes and €40 past three hours.
5. Take a garage capped at €20
Tiefgarage Hauptbahnhof P1 (Contipark, 1,287 spaces, 2.00 m) is listed at €2.50 an hour, €20 a day. Galeria Königstraße is €3.30 an hour, also €20, and 2.10 m high. Parkhaus Staatsgalerie is only 1.95 m: a directory says €20 a day, the Stuttgarter Zeitung said €19 in 2023. The city's own Rathausgarage was €22 for 24 hours in 2023 and rose with the rest on 1 October. Six hours on the City kerb isn't allowed; six hours at the station is €15.
The classic mistake is driving an old diesel hire car to the Porsche Museum. It's in Zuffenhausen.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | Height | EV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiefgarage Hauptbahnhof P1 (Contipark)Am Hauptbahnhof 2, by the main station; 1,287 spaces, open 24 hours | €2.50 an hour, €20 a day, as listed by a parking directory (undated). Height 2.00 m. | 2 m | Not published. |
| Galeria Königstraße (Q-Park)Königstraße 6, top of the shopping street; 577 spaces. Mon–Sat 07:00–01:00, Sun 10:00–01:00 | €3.30 per started hour, €20 a day, from a parking directory. Height 2.10 m. | 2.1 m | Not published. |
| Tiefgarage Gerber ViertelSophienstraße 21, south-west of the centre; 560 spaces, open daily | In November 2023: €2 per half hour for two hours, then €4 an hour, €20 a day, €6 overnight 20:00–06:00. Height not published. | not published | One of three B+B garages that got 204 Stadtwerke AC points in 2025; count per garage not published |
| Rathausgarage (city-owned)Eichstraße 7, behind the town hall; open daily | In November 2023: €2.90 an hour, €22 for 24 hours, €6 overnight 18:00–06:00. The city raised its garage prices by about 13–18% on 1 October 2026; the new table wasn't on a page I could read. | not published | Not published. |
| Parkhaus Staatsgalerie (PBW)Konrad-Adenauer-Straße 32, by the Staatsgalerie; 123 spaces, open 24 hours | A parking directory lists €3 an hour, €20 a day, €8 for the evening; the Stuttgarter Zeitung listed €1 per 20 minutes and €19 a day in 2023. Height 1.95 m. | 1.95 m | Charging listed by the directory; number and price not published |
| Mercedes-Benz Museum car parkMercedesstraße 100, Bad Cannstatt, inside the Euro 5 diesel zone | €2 an hour for the first three hours, then €2.50 an hour (museum sheet, 2024). Height 1.90 m. | 1.9 m | 16 Type 2 points; cable on deposit at the information desk |
| P+R Degerloch AlbstraßeLöffelstraße 43, Degerloch, south of the centre; 580 spaces, 05:00–01:00 | A directory lists the combi ticket with the VVS fare: €8 for one person for the day, €11.40 for up to five. Those are the city's 2019 combi prices; P+R rose 13–18% on 1 October 2026. Height 2.05 m. | 2.05 m | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Mercedes-Benz Museum car park | €4 | height 1.90 m · 2024 museum prices |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Tiefgarage Hauptbahnhof P1 (Contipark) | €5 | height 2.00 m · Directory prices; check the sign |
| A full day (10 h) | P+R Degerloch Albstraße | €8 | height 2.05 m · Pre-October 2026 price, transport included |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Tiefgarage Hauptbahnhof P1 (Contipark) | €20 | height 2.00 m · Directory prices; check the sign |
| 24 hours | P+R Degerloch Albstraße | €8 | height 2.05 m · Pre-October 2026 price, transport included |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Tiefgarage Hauptbahnhof P1 (Contipark) | €20 | height 2.00 m · Directory prices; check the sign |
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Towed in Stuttgart: Stuttgart tows, then bills you by post
1. Ring the police, not the council
The city's traffic enforcement orders tows and private firms hired by the police carry them out. To find the car, ring the police on 0711 8990-0; they know which firm has it and where. If you think it was stolen, it's 110.
2. Expect at least €282
The city's tow fee is €95–€180. The tow firm adds its costs, at least €187.43. So the cheapest case is €95 + €187.43 = €282.43, before the parking fine. The city itself says the total usually runs to several hundred euros.
3. Watch the post for weeks
The cost notice usually arrives 4–8 weeks after the tow. No pound address, pick-up hours or daily storage fee are published; the city's tow office at Nauheimer Straße 100 is listed as an office. I'd ring the yard the police name before going.
A tow here costs more than a week of P+R. I'd never leave the car on a City-zone kerb past the hour.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The city's Verkehrsüberwachung (traffic enforcement) orders tows on public roads; private firms hired by the police authority carry them out.
- Phone
- Police: where is my car? Ring this first: +49 711 89900
City tow control centre (Leitzentrale Abschleppmaßnahmen), daily 06:00–22:00: +49 711 21632150
Emergency, only if you think the car was stolen: 110 - Collect it at
- No car pound address is published: the police tell you which firm has the car and where. The city's tow office is at Nauheimer Straße 100, listed as an office, not a pound.
- Hours
- Pick-up hours not published; ask the police which yard and ring it before you go.
- What it costs
- City tow fee €95–€180, plus the tow firm's costs of at least €187.43, plus the parking fine. The city says the total is usually several hundred euros; the bill arrives 4–8 weeks later. Daily storage not published.
- Bring
- Not listed by the city. I'd bring passport, driving licence and the registration document, and in a hire car ring the rental firm first.
EV charging in Stuttgart: Charge free of parking fees, 4,001 plugs
1. Park free while charging
The city's EV page, dated 27 August 2026, says parking at a public charger needs no ticket while the car is charging. Once it's full, some operators add a blocking fee.
2. Use the three city operators
The city's tender went to EnBW, eze.network and Stadtwerke Stuttgart. In March 2026 the Bundesnetzagentur counted 4,001 public charge points, over 1,000 on the street. Prices are the operator's; the city publishes none.
3. Head for a central garage
In 2025 Stadtwerke installed 360 AC points in six central garages: APCOA's Am Schlossplatz, Königsbau-Passagen and Zeppelin-Carré, and B+B's Stadtmitte, Gerber Viertel and Kronprinzstraße. The Mercedes-Benz Museum car park lists 16 Type 2 points.
An EV still needs the green sticker. That one catches people out.
Where to charge
- Public chargers: EnBW, eze.network, Stadtwerke Stuttgart — 4,001 public points in March 2026, over 1,000 of them on the street at about 500 posts. Parking while charging is free, no ticket. Prices are each operator's; some add a blocking fee after charging ends
- Six city-centre garages, 360 AC points — APCOA Am Schlossplatz, Königsbau-Passagen, Zeppelin-Carré; B+B Stadtmitte, Gerber Viertel, Kronprinzstraße. Installed by Stadtwerke Stuttgart in 2025; price per kWh not published for these garages
- Mercedes-Benz Museum, 16 points — Museum car park, Type 2. From the museum's 2024 sheet; you pay the car park, €2 an hour
Free parking in Stuttgart: A free tower car park and a one-ticket ride
1. Park free at the TV tower
The SWR Fernsehturm says in its 2026 flyer that parking at the tower is free. Ruhbank (Fernsehturm), on the U7, U8 and U15, is a P+R site too.
2. Buy the P+R combi ticket
The city's combi ticket covers parking and the VVS fare: €8 for one, €11.40 for up to five in the 2019 schedule, still listed for P+R Degerloch Albstraße (580 spaces, 2.05 m). P+R rose 13–18% on 1 October 2026, so budget €9–€13.50. A family of five pays that once; a central garage is €20 before anyone buys a ticket.
3. Know the 16 city P+R sites
VVS names them: Degerloch Albstraße, Heumaden, Obertürkheim Hafenbahnstraße, Österfeld, Plieningen, Rohr, Ruhbank (Fernsehturm), Salzäcker, Sommerrain, Vaihingen, Wagrainäcker, three at Weilimdorf and two at Zuffenhausen. Per-site lines and prices weren't on a VVS page I could open.
4. Don't expect a free hotel car park
I found no Stuttgart hotel whose own site promised free parking. The three Premier Inns I checked charge €15–€18 a night.
Every price on this page was checked on 12 October 2026; garage figures are the latest I could find, not all from 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
Free parking at the TV tower
The SWR Fernsehturm's 2026 flyer says parking at the tower is free. Ruhbank (Fernsehturm) is also on the U7, U8 and U15.
30 free minutes on short-stay bays
The Brezeltaste (pretzel button) on the machine gives 30 minutes free in short-stay zones. It doesn't apply in the City zone.
P+R with the U-Bahn included
Not free, but the combi ticket covers parking and the VVS fare: €8 for one, €11.40 for up to five before the October 2026 rise. VVS names 16 P+R sites inside the city: Degerloch Albstraße, Heumaden, Obertürkheim Hafenbahnstraße, Österfeld, Plieningen, Rohr, Ruhbank (Fernsehturm), Salzäcker, Sommerrain, Vaihingen, Wagrainäcker, Weilimdorf (three sites) and Zuffenhausen (two).
Free while you charge
At a public charging bay you need no parking ticket while the car is charging, the city's EV page says.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The whole city is an Umweltzone: green sticker compulsory, foreign plates included. Euro 4 diesels are banned city-wide since 2019; Euro 5 diesels in the Talkessel, Bad Cannstatt, Feuerbach and Zuffenhausen since July 2020. Fine €100, €128.50 with fees.
- Trips to and from P+R sites are exempt from the diesel ban, the city says; VVS lists 16 sites in the zone where your parking or transport ticket is the proof.
- The City zone allows one hour at €6.40. Don't plan a museum visit on the kerb.
- Pay apps: EasyPark, mobilet, PayByPhone, Parkster and PARCO. The city warns never to pay through a QR sticker on a machine.
- Garage prices here are 2023 figures or undated directory listings. The city raised its own garages and P+R by 13–18% on 1 October 2026; read the sign at the barrier.
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.