Toulouse's central kerb stops at 2 h 30, and the last half-hour is the trap: two hours cost €3, but the step to 2 h 30 is a €30 penalty rate, the same as the charge for not paying. Most of the city is also a low-emission zone that bans Crit'Air 4, 5 and unclassified cars, foreign plates included.
I'd leave the car at a Tisséo park and ride. Parking there is free with a return metro trip, so two people pay €7.60 for the day.
Parking in Toulouse: Crit'Air 4 banned, €1.50 an hour round the Capitole
1. Check your Crit'Air class first
Since January 2023 Crit'Air 4, 5 and unclassified vehicles have been banned from the low-emission zone (ZFE). It covers most of Toulouse inside the ring road, plus slices of Colomiers and Tournefeuille. It applies whatever the car's origin, the métropole says. Crit'Air 3 is still allowed.
2. Display the sticker anyway
The fine is €68 for a car, and the city warns that the no-sticker and banned-vehicle fines can stack. Number-plate cameras aren't installed yet. A Pass ZFE lets a banned car in on up to 52 days a year; the city's FAQ doesn't say how a visitor gets one.
3. Pay for two hours, never 2 h 30
The centre is charged Monday to Saturday, 09:00–20:00: €1.50 for an hour, €3 for two. From 2 h to 2 h 30 the city applies a €30 penalty rate (tarif majoré) and warns drivers not to select it by mistake. Sundays and public holidays are free.
4. Go out to the faubourgs for longer
The orange zone runs 09:00–19:00: €1 for an hour, €2 for two, €4 for three, €6 for four, then up to €30 for the fifth. The green zone is €0.50 an hour, €2 for four. Meters ask for your plate first; EasyPark and PayByPhone cost the same. The city says nothing about foreign plates, so I'd use an app.
5. Park under Capitole or Victor Hugo
Indigo runs Capitole, Victor Hugo, Carmes, Esquirol and Jean Jaurès, all open 24/7. Each quarter-hour is €0.90, the first hour €3.50 (€3.60 at Capitole). Heights: 1.90 m at Jean Jaurès, 1.85 m at Victor Hugo, 1.80 m elsewhere. Indigo doesn't publish day rates online.
The €30 half-hour costs ten times the two-hour ticket. I'd pay Indigo before I'd gamble on it.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | Height | EV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitole (Indigo)Place du Capitole, under the main square; open 24/7 | €0.90 per 15 min, €3.60 the first hour; longer stays unpublished online. Height 1.80 m. | 1.8 m | A charging point is listed; number and price unpublished. |
| Victor Hugo (Indigo)Place Victor Hugo, by the covered market; open 24/7 | €0.90 per 15 min, €3.50 the first hour; evening €6.30 (in 19:30–22:00, out by 03:00). Height 1.85 m. | 1.85 m | A charging point is listed; number and price unpublished. |
| Carmes (Indigo)Place des Carmes, south of the centre; open 24/7 | €0.90 per 15 min, €3.50 the first hour; longer stays unpublished online. Height 1.80 m. | 1.8 m | A charging point is listed; number and price unpublished. |
| Esquirol (Indigo)14 place Étienne Esquirol, metro A; open 24/7 | €0.90 per 15 min, €3.50 the first hour; longer stays unpublished online. Height 1.80 m. | 1.8 m | A charging point is listed; number and price unpublished. |
| Jean Jaurès (Indigo)16 allées Jean Jaurès; open 24/7 | €0.90 per 15 min, €3.50 the first hour; longer stays unpublished online. Height 1.90 m, the tallest of the five. | 1.9 m | A charging point is listed; number and price unpublished. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Tisséo park and ride, e.g. Basso Cambo (metro A) | Free | Free for Tisséo passengers who make a return trip and validate within the hour before leaving, under 24 consecutive hours (Tisséo leaflet). Others: 30 min free, €0.50 per quarter-hour by day, €25 for 24 h. La Vache and Jolimont are closed to cars the ZFE bans. |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, centre (yellow) zone: 2 h 30 maximum | €3 | €1.50 1 h, €3 2 h; from 2 h to 2 h 30 the city applies a €30 penalty rate (tarif majoré). Orange zone €1 1 h to €6 4 h, 5 h max; green €0.50 an hour. FPS €30 minus what you paid, sent by post. |
| A full day (10 h) | Tisséo park and ride, e.g. Basso Cambo (metro A) | Free | Free for Tisséo passengers who make a return trip and validate within the hour before leaving, under 24 consecutive hours (Tisséo leaflet). Others: 30 min free, €0.50 per quarter-hour by day, €25 for 24 h. La Vache and Jolimont are closed to cars the ZFE bans. |
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Towed in Toulouse: Police municipale first, then avenue des États-Unis
1. Get the main-levée first
The pound won't release a car without a main-levée, a release form from the police municipale. Where and when they issue it is unpublished.
2. Collect it at avenue des États-Unis
The municipal pound is at 265 avenue des États-Unis, phone 05 36 25 28 99. You pay the tow and storage there. Opening hours are unpublished on that page.
3. Budget €145 for one day
Since 1 October 2026 Toulouse, Lyon and Marseille may charge at most €135 to tow and €10 a day to store a car. One day in the pound is €145. The city's June 2024 table still shows €126. Leave the car past day four and an expert's inspection adds €61.
4. Expect the FPS by post
An unpaid meter isn't a tow. It's a forfait post-stationnement (FPS) of €30, minus whatever you did pay, posted to the registration holder, so on a hire car it lands with the rental company.
Toulouse's €30 FPS is mild by French standards; the tow is not. I park nowhere that blocks.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Towing is ordered for cars parked dangerously or in the way; an unpaid meter is a €30 FPS, not a tow. The release (main-levée) comes from the police municipale, the car from the municipal pound
- Phone
- Municipal pound (fourrière), 265 avenue des États-Unis: 05 36 25 28 99
Toulouse Métropole switchboard: 05 81 91 72 00 - Collect it at
- Get the main-levée from the police municipale (address unpublished on the pound page), then collect the car at 265 avenue des États-Unis.
- Hours
- Unpublished.
- What it costs
- National maximum for Toulouse, Lyon and Marseille since 1 October 2026: €135 tow, €10 a day storage, €15.20 preliminary operations. One day: €145. The city's table (June 2024) still shows €126 tow; an expert's inspection after day four costs €61.
- Bring
- The main-levée from the police municipale. The pound page lists no other documents; I'd bring licence, registration document and insurance, and for a hire car the rental contract.
EV charging in Toulouse: Toulouse's free EV parking needs a French card
1. Don't count on free EV parking
A 100% electric car can park free for 2 h 30 once a day in the paid zone, but only after registering, and the city asks for a French registration document marked "EL". The scheme ends on 31 December 2026.
2. Charge in an Indigo car park
All five central Indigo car parks list a charging point, with no count or price. The "from €0.29/kWh" on their pages is a network offer, not a site rate.
3. Read the screen before you plug in
Esquirol's page warned that its chargers were out of service on 26 June, so check the bay is live.
I'd arrive charged. Toulouse publishes no charging price I could find.
Where to charge
- Indigo Victor Hugo — charging point — Victor Hugo, Indigo. Listed among the car park's equipment; number of points and price unpublished
- Indigo Jean Jaurès — charging point — Jean Jaurès, Indigo. The tallest of the five central Indigo car parks (1.90 m); charging price unpublished
- Indigo Esquirol — charging point — Esquirol, Indigo. Its page flagged chargers out of service on 26 June; check the bay first
Free parking in Toulouse: Free Tisséo park and ride with a return metro trip
1. Park at a Tisséo park and ride
The city counts nine Tisséo park-and-ride sites on metro lines A and B, open 24/7. Tisséo's leaflet says parking is free if you make a return trip and validate a ticket within the hour before leaving, for under 24 hours. Without a ticket: 30 free minutes, then €0.50 a quarter-hour by day, €25 for 24 hours.
2. Pick a site your Crit'Air allows
The métropole says Basso Cambo, Borderouge and Argoulets sit inside the zone but take all vehicles; Balma-Gramont and Ramonville are outside it. La Vache and Jolimont are inside and restricted. With a Crit'Air 4 car I'd stick to the first five.
3. Do the sum for two
A single ticket is €1.90 since 1 July 2026, valid an hour with changes. Two people there and back: €7.60, parking free. The centre kerb can't sell you a day at all.
4. Park free on Sundays and evenings
The kerb is free on Sundays, public holidays and after 20:00 (19:00 outside the centre). Red commercial streets give 30 free minutes per half-day. For an evening, enter a car park between 19:30 and 22:00 and leave before 03:00: €6.10 per the city, €6.30 on Indigo's Victor Hugo page. The board at the entrance wins.
5. Sleep where parking is free
B&B Hotel Toulouse Basso Cambo and B&B Hotel Toulouse Cité de l'Espace Gonord say on their own pages that parking is free.
On a weekday I'd use Basso Cambo or Balma-Gramont; on a Sunday, the kerb.
Free or nearly-free spots
Tisséo park and ride: free with a return trip
Nine sites on metro A and B, open 24/7 (city). Free if you make a return trip on Tisséo and validate within the hour before leaving, under 24 hours. Single ticket €1.90 since 1 July 2026, so two people pay €7.60. Basso Cambo has 780 spaces.
Which park and rides a banned car may use
Basso Cambo, Borderouge and Argoulets are inside the ZFE but open to all vehicles; Balma-Gramont and Ramonville are outside it. La Vache and Jolimont are inside and restricted.
Free Toulouse kerb on Sundays, holidays and evenings
Paid Monday to Saturday only, until 20:00 in the centre and 19:00 elsewhere. Red commercial streets give 30 free minutes per half-day; blue zones are free with a European parking disc.
Free car park at the Cité de l'Espace
The tourist office and the regional tourist board both list a large free car park for cars and campervans.
Hotels and their parking
- B&B HOTEL Toulouse Basso Cambo — 12 rue Claude Marie Perroud, 31100 Toulouse Map. Its own page: free, closed car park. No EV charging mentioned
- B&B HOTEL Toulouse Cité de l'Espace Gonord — 3 avenue Jean Gonord, 31500 Toulouse Map. Its own page: private free car park with CCTV. Same avenue as the Cité de l'Espace
- B&B HOTEL Toulouse Purpan Zénith — Impasse de Lisieux, 31300 Toulouse Map. Its own page: free parking with CCTV, called "public" in one place and "closed" in another
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The ZFE bans Crit'Air 4, 5 and unclassified vehicles since January 2023, whatever their origin; Crit'Air 3 is allowed (ban suspended October 2023). Fine €68 for a car, and the no-sticker and banned-vehicle fines can stack. No plate cameras yet. The hours are not stated on the métropole's FAQ.
- A parliamentary article abolishing ZFEs was struck down by the Constitutional Council, the métropole says (FAQ updated 4 September 2026), so Toulouse's zone stays in force.
- The central kerb's last half-hour is the trap: 2 h costs €3, the step to 2 h 30 is a €30 penalty rate, and the city warns drivers not to select it by mistake.
- The free 2 h 30 for electric cars needs registration with a French registration document marked "EL"; nothing is said about foreign cars, and the scheme ends on 31 December 2026.
- Evening car-park rate: the city gives €6.10 (in 19:30–22:00, out before 03:00); Indigo's Victor Hugo page gives €6.30. The entrance board wins.
- Four of the five central Indigo car parks are 1.80–1.85 m; a roof box belongs at Jean Jaurès (1.90 m) or a park and ride.
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.