Zakopane's central paid zone now charges every day of the week, 08:00–21:00, Sundays included, and an unpaid ticket costs 300 zł. Weekends were free until December 2025, and older guides still say so.
How I'd park: leave the car at the Park & Ride by the station for 12 zł a day, city bus included. For Morskie Oko, book Palenica Białczańska on tpn.gov.pl before you set off.
Parking in Zakopane: No free Sundays since December 2025
1. Pay on Sunday too
Since 2 December 2025 the central zone (Śródmiejska Strefa Płatnego Parkowania) charges Monday to Sunday, 08:00–21:00, and the city's notice adds public holidays. Pay at the meter with coins or in Flowbird, SkyCash or Mobilet, the three apps the city lists.
2. Check the subzone letter first
Resolution XXVII/300/2026 sets the prices. Subzone A, around Krupówki and Aleja 3 Maja, is 8 zł the first hour, 9.60 the second, 11.50 the third, then 8 an hour. Subzones B and C start at 6 zł. Four hours in A comes to 37.10 zł.
3. Stay all day in B, not A
Subzone B, which takes in Czecha street, has a flat 45 zł for seven hours or more. That's exactly what seven hours cost by the hour, so hours eight to thirteen are free until 21:00. A has no cap: a full 08:00–21:00 day there is 109.10 zł. I'd never park in A for more than an errand.
4. Pay the ticket within three days
Not paying is an additional fee (opłata dodatkowa) of 300 zł, cut to 120 zł if you pay within three calendar days of the notice. Even the reduced fee buys more than two full days in subzone B.
5. Beat the zakopianka, not the meter
The last stretch, 11.8 km from Szaflary to Zakopane, is DK47 through villages: nearly 10 km built-up and 19,200–21,000 vehicles a day, according to GDDKiA's figures. Only the design contract has been signed. Cars pay no e-TOLL on state roads since July 2023; from the west, the private A4 Katowice–Kraków charges 18 zł at each of its two plazas, 36 zł one way. Poland doesn't require winter tyres, but a C-18 sign (a tyre wrapped in chains) means chains on, or a 200 zł fine. Zakopane has no clean transport zone.
The classic mistake is a midday Saturday arrival in February. I'd be through Szaflary before breakfast.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Park & Ride Chramcówki (municipal)Chramcówki 35A, the transport hub by the railway and bus stations; multi-storey, open 24 hours, 146 spaces | 12 zł a day, and the ticket also covers 24 hours on the city buses (city card site, April 2025). The 2023 draft rules said free for rail passengers only, so check at the barrier. | 4 car chargers; operator and price not published. |
| Parking Krupówki 20 (private)Mariusza Zaruskiego 1, by the lower end of Krupówki; open 24 hours, attendant by day | 70 zł for 12 hours, and 70 zł for 24 hours, on the operator's own site. Card accepted. | Not published. |
| Parking Zakopane Centrum (private)Zamoyskiego 18, in the centre; the operator calls it the largest private car park downtown | From 20 zł a day, varying by season; hours not published. | Not published. |
| Palenica Białczańska (TPN), for Morskie OkoTrailhead for Morskie Oko, run by Tatra National Park; open 1 March–30 November, dawn to dusk. Sections are assigned on arrival; late cars go to Łysa Polana, 1.5 km back | 36–75 zł a car, online only via tpn.gov.pl; same day +10 zł, peak demand up to +20 zł, highest price at the gate. Card only on site, no cash. Refunds by email until 12:00 the day before. | No charging. 5 free bays for electric cars up to 5 m long. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Park & Ride Chramcówki (municipal) | 12 zł ≈ €2.7 | Includes 24 h city bus |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Parking Zakopane Centrum (private) | 20 zł ≈ €4.6 | “From” price; season-dependent |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, subzone B | 13 zł ≈ €3.0 | Subzone B caps seven hours or more at 45 zł. Subzone A, around Krupówki, is 8, 9.60, 11.50, then 8 zł an hour with no cap. Not paying is 300 zł, 120 zł within three calendar days. |
| A full day (10 h) | Park & Ride Chramcówki (municipal) | 12 zł ≈ €2.7 | Includes 24 h city bus |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Parking Zakopane Centrum (private) | 20 zł ≈ €4.6 | “From” price; season-dependent |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, subzone B | 45 zł ≈ €10.3 | Subzone B caps seven hours or more at 45 zł. Subzone A, around Krupówki, is 8, 9.60, 11.50, then 8 zł an hour with no cap. Not paying is 300 zł, 120 zł within three calendar days. |
| 24 hours | Park & Ride Chramcówki (municipal) | 12 zł ≈ €2.7 | Includes 24 h city bus |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Parking Zakopane Centrum (private) | 20 zł ≈ €4.6 | “From” price; season-dependent |
Partner link Flying in and hiring a car? Compare hire cars from different rental companies at DiscoverCars. We get a commission if you book through this link.
Towed in Zakopane: The guard knows where your car went
1. Call the Straż Miejska first
The municipal guard (Straż Miejska) answers 18 20 20 478 around the clock. Its office is in the town hall at Kościuszki 13. Ask whether the car was removed, by whom, and where it is.
2. Expect a county price, not a city one
In Poland the police or the guard order the tow, and the county (powiat) sets the fee. The Tatra county's latest notice on its own site covered 2021–2023, with the contractor at Kościeliska 75a. The current fee and pound address aren't published there, so ask the guard on the phone.
3. Bring papers, not cash for the street
I'd take the registration document or hire contract, a driving licence and a passport. The city says its parking controllers can't take money on the spot, so nobody in a car park should be collecting fines.
I couldn't find one current towing price for Zakopane. That's a finding, not a reason to test it.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Removal is ordered by the police or the municipal guard (Straż Miejska); the Tatra county (Powiat Tatrzański) sets the fees and contracts the tow company. Ring the guard first
- Phone
- Municipal guard (Straż Miejska), 24 hours: 18 20 20 478
Town hall, Kościuszki 13: 18 20 20 400
Emergency: 112 - Collect it at
- Not published. The county's last notice (rates for 2021–2023) named the contractor at Kościeliska 75a; the guard at Kościuszki 13 will tell you where the car is now.
- Hours
- The guard's line is staffed 24 hours. Pound hours are not published.
- What it costs
- Not published for 2026. The county's own site shows only the notice for 2021–2023.
- Bring
- The city lists no documents. I would bring the registration document or hire contract, a driving licence and a passport.
EV charging in Zakopane: Free in the zone, no plugs at Morskie Oko
1. Park a full EV free in the zone
Polish road law exempts battery-electric cars from paid-zone fees, the central zone included, and a foreign-registered EV qualifies. Plug-in hybrids don't. Zakopane's own resolution doesn't mention EVs, so keep the registration document handy to appeal a ticket.
2. Charge at the Park & Ride
The city's multi-storey on Chramcówki 35A has 4 car chargers. The city doesn't say who runs them or what they cost, so read the screen first.
3. Arrive at Palenica charged
TPN keeps 5 free spaces for electric cars up to 5 m long at Palenica Białczańska, but there's no charging there. I'd leave town with a full battery and book the slot anyway.
The free EV bays at Palenica are the best deal in the Tatras, if you get there early.
Where to charge
- Park & Ride Chramcówki — 4 chargers — Park & Ride Chramcówki, multi-storey by the station. The city lists 4 car chargers and 4 e-bike chargers. Operator and price not published, so read the screen
- Free parking in the paid zone — Every subzone of Zakopane's paid zone. Polish road law exempts battery-electric cars from paid-zone fees, foreign plates included; plug-in hybrids don't qualify. Zakopane's resolution doesn't mention EVs, so keep the registration document to appeal a ticket
- Palenica Białczańska — bays, no plugs — Palenica Białczańska, Morskie Oko trailhead. TPN keeps 5 free bays for electric cars up to 5 m long and says charging isn't possible there
Free parking in Zakopane: The bus ticket that parks your car
1. Use the Park & Ride by the station
Park & Ride Chramcówki is a multi-storey with 146 spaces, open 24 hours. The city's resident-card site gave 12 zł a day in April 2025, and that ticket is also 24 hours on the city buses. Its 2023 draft rules made it free for rail passengers only, so check the conditions at the barrier.
2. Book a hotel with parking included
Two hotels say on their own sites that parking is free: Hotel Dwór Karolówka, ul. Chłabówka 1 ("bezpłatny, duży parking"), and Aparthotel Zakopiański, ul. Chłabówka Dolna 38 H. Neither mentions charging.
3. Leave the car for Kasprowy
The road up to Kuźnice, the bottom station of the Kasprowy Wierch cable car, is closed to private cars. Leave the car at the Park & Ride and take a bus or walk up.
If you remember one thing: Sundays are paid now, and the Park & Ride is the cheapest day in town. Every price above was checked on the city, TPN or operator site on 5 October 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
EVs in the paid zone
Battery-electric cars park free in Zakopane's paid zone under Polish law, foreign plates included.
Hotels with parking included
Hotel Dwór Karolówka and Aparthotel Zakopiański both say on their own sites that guest parking is free.
Hotels with free parking
- Hotel Dwór Karolówka — ul. Chłabówka 1, 34-500 Zakopane Map. Its own site says "bezpłatny, duży parking" (free, large car park), monitored, with room for coaches. No charging mentioned
- Aparthotel Zakopiański — ul. Chłabówka Dolna 38 H, 34-500 Zakopane Map. Its own site says "darmowy parking" (free parking) for guests. No charging mentioned
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Weekends have been paid since 2 December 2025: the central zone charges Monday to Sunday, 08:00–21:00, and the city's notice adds public holidays. Resolution XX/219/2025 itself lists holidays as fee-free for the outer zone, so read the meter on a holiday.
- The additional fee for not paying is 300 zł, reduced to 120 zł if paid within three calendar days of the notice (resolution XX/219/2025). The city says controllers can't take payment on the spot.
- Palenica Białczańska is online booking only. You can't choose the section, can't change the date (refund by 12:00 the day before, then rebook), and staff on site take cards only.
- The road to Kuźnice, for the Kasprowy Wierch cable car, is closed to private cars; park in town.
- Poland doesn't require winter tyres, but a C-18 sign makes snow chains compulsory: 200 zł and a penalty point if you don't fit them, 100 zł for chains on a clear road.
- Zakopane has no clean transport zone. Kraków does, and a foreign plate must register before entering it; driving through Kraków to the zakopianka, check whether your route goes inside.
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.