Antwerp's historic centre has no street parking for visitors at all. Only residents and certain permit holders may park there, and anyone else pays a €50 charge. Around it the red zone gives you three hours at most, so for a day in the city you want a garage: €28 for 24 hours at Meir or Centraal.
The second rule applies before you arrive. The city inside the R1 ring, plus Linkeroever across the river, is a low-emission zone, and a foreign plate must be registered, free, at the latest the day after you drive in. My own Dutch plate is exempt; almost everyone else's is not. Forget it and the first fine is €150.
A spire to steer by, and a river with no tram
Antwerp tells drivers where not to park before anything else. Once you are on foot, the cathedral spire is the landmark you steer by. And from 4 May 2026 until the end of March 2027 the trams that used to run under the Scheldt are gone; shuttle buses marked P5 run between Opera and Linkeroever in their place.
The Meir on a Saturday, and the diamond windows
I would not drive in for the Meir on a Saturday afternoon. It is a long shopping street of the chains you have at home, and the garages around it fill first.
My second skip is the diamond quarter beside the station. Unless you are buying, it is shop windows behind security doors; look on your way to the train.
A bolleke at Den Engel, since 1902
Café Den Engel sits on the corner of the Grote Markt in one of the oldest buildings in the city, and has been a café since 1902. Order a bolleke, the De Koninck beer everyone here drinks, and take a window seat. It opens at 9 on weekdays, so it is my first coffee too.
Register the plate before the R1
The one rule not to skip: register a foreign plate for the LEZ on the Flemish system, free, at the latest the day after you enter. One registration covers Ghent too. Ghent, on the same system, warns approval can take 14 days, so do it at home. Dutch plates need nothing.
The fine is €150, €250 for a second offence within 12 months, €350 after that. If your car met the standard and you only forgot, paying €75 within 30 days replaces the fine. Diesel below Euro 5 and petrol below Euro 2 are banned; a day pass for such a car is €45, twelve a year. Third-party sites charge for the same free form.
Parking in Antwerp: Red zone, three hours, then an hour's wait
Low-emission zones in Europe: Lage-emissiezone Antwerpen
- Foreign plates
- Register the plate free on the Flemish system, at the latest the day after you drive in. One registration covers Antwerp and Ghent. Dutch plates are exempt.
- When
- not published
- Fine
- €150, then €250 for a second offence within 12 months and €350 after that. If the car qualified and you only forgot to register, €75 within 30 days replaces the fine.
- EV
- Battery electric and hydrogen: allowed
The tightening planned for 1 January 2026 (diesel Euro 6, petrol Euro 3) was cancelled by the Flemish government on 28 November 2025; the next review is in 2027. Day pass €45, maximum 12 a year.
The city prices its streets by colour. The red zone has the steepest hours: €2.60 for the first hour, €3.80 for the second, €6.40 for the third, three hours maximum and €12.80 for the lot, Monday to Saturday 09:00–22:00. When your three hours are up you must wait an hour before starting a new session in the same zone. The dark green zones cost €1.40 for the first hour and €1.80 after, with no time limit, until 19:00; yellow is €0.90 an hour. You start the session at the meter, in an app or by SMS; the city's zone map shows the colours.
No valid ticket, or no permit in the historic centre, is a €50 fixed charge, payable by bank transfer within 30 days under the city's 2026 regulation.
Underground, my pick is Parking Meir: €4 an hour, €28 for 24 hours, 2.2 m high, and an evening tariff that stops at €8 from 19:00 to 05:00. Interparking Centraal by the station is the cheapest hour at €3.60, the same €28 day, and 2.1 m. Parking Groenplaats is the closest to the cathedral at €3.70 an hour, but only 1.9 m high and with no day price published. Parking Oudaen is €4.80 an hour and €40 a day; I keep it as the fallback.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Meir (Interparking)Eiermarkt 33-35, beside the Meir shopping street | €1 per 15 minutes, €4 an hour, €28 for 24 hours. Evening tariff 19:00–05:00: €4 for an hour, €8 for anything from two hours up. 501 spaces, open 24/7, height 2.2 m. | 36 charging points at 11 kW; no per-kWh price on the car park page. |
| Centraal (Interparking)Van Immerseelstraat 2, under the Kievitplein — beside Antwerpen-Centraal station and the zoo | €0.90 per 15 minutes, €3.60 an hour, €28 for 24 hours. 1,224 spaces, open 24/7, height 2.1 m. The cheapest hour of the four. | About 115 charging points at 11 and 22 kW, the most I found in the city; price not published. |
| Groenplaats (Indigo)Groenplaats 46, under the square south of the cathedral | €3.70 an hour: €7.40 for two hours, €14.80 for four, €22.20 for six. No day price published. Open 24/7, plate recognition at the barrier, but height 1.9 m. | Charging on site; Indigo gives no price for this car park. |
| Oudaen (Interparking)Oudaan 3, a short walk from the Meir | €4.80 an hour, climbing to €40 from nine hours to 24. 365 spaces, open 24/7, height 1.9 m. The dearest of the four; I would use it only if the others are full. | 45 charging points at 11 kW; price not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | P+R Luchtbal (tram 6) | €1 | €1 for the first day, €3 for each day after, according to two guides; the city's own P+R page would not load for me. Tram 6 to Astrid by the central station, about half an hour. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Centraal (Interparking) | €7.20 | height 2.10 m |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, red zone | €6.40 | €2.60, €3.80, then €6.40 for the third hour — €12.80 for the three-hour maximum, then an hour's wait before a new session. No valid ticket is a €50 fixed charge. The historic centre is residents-only. |
| A full day (10 h) | P+R Luchtbal (tram 6) | €1 | €1 for the first day, €3 for each day after, according to two guides; the city's own P+R page would not load for me. Tram 6 to Astrid by the central station, about half an hour. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Meir (Interparking) | €28 | height 2.20 m · €8 for 19:00–05:00 |
| 24 hours | P+R Luchtbal (tram 6) | €1 | €1 for the first day, €3 for each day after, according to two guides; the city's own P+R page would not load for me. Tram 6 to Astrid by the central station, about half an hour. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Meir (Interparking) | €28 | height 2.20 m · €8 for 19:00–05:00 |
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Towed in Antwerp: Depannage 2000 has your car
The Antwerp police do not make you hunt: their towed-vehicle page sends you straight to the contracted towing company, Depannage 2000, on 03 241 20 00. You pay the fine, the towing and the storage together, on the spot. No amounts are published anywhere I looked.
The police give no address. Business directories list the company at Emiel Vloorsstraat 2 in Hoboken, south of the centre, open by appointment, so ring before you take a taxi there. If the police seized the car administratively rather than towed it for bad parking, you first book an appointment at a police station for a release form; collect within seven days and you owe nothing. If you think the car was stolen, 101.
The police list no documents. I would bring the registration papers, the insurance certificate and ID, and for a hire car ring the rental company first.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The Antwerp police order the tow and send drivers straight to the contracted towing company, Depannage 2000. If the car was seized administratively rather than towed for bad parking, you first make an appointment at a police station and get a release form
- Phone
- Depannage 2000, the police-contracted towing company — the number the police publish: +32 3 241 20 00
Emergency, if you think the car was stolen: 101 - Collect it at
- The police page gives no address. Business directories list Depannage 2000 at Emiel Vloorsstraat 2 in Hoboken, south of the centre; ask on the phone where your car is before you go.
- Hours
- Not published by the police. One directory lists the company as open by appointment; ring first.
- What it costs
- Not published. The police say the fine for the offence, the towing and the storage costs are settled together at the towing company. After an administrative seizure you owe nothing, provided you collect the car within seven days.
- Bring
- The Antwerp police list no documents. I would bring the registration papers, the insurance certificate and my ID; for a hire car, ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Antwerp: Antwerpen Laadt and the half-hour grace
The city's street chargers run under the name Antwerpen Laadt, a partnership with TotalEnergies. AC charging is €0.35 or €0.37 per kWh, VAT included, depending on the area. Thirty minutes after the charge ends, an idle fee of €0.06 a minute starts, but only 08:00–20:00. Fast DC is €0.74 per kWh, and there the idle fee is €0.25 a minute after ten minutes. Pay with a charging card or a bank card in the Charge Europe app. I found no rule that lets you park free while charging, so pay the zone as usual.
Garages: about 115 points at Centraal, 45 at Oudaen, 36 at Meir, no kWh price published. For an overnight charge I would take Meir and its €8 evening.
Where to charge
- Antwerpen Laadt street chargers — €0.35 or €0.37 per kWh — On-street across the city, run by the City of Antwerp with TotalEnergies. AC: €0.35 or €0.37/kWh depending on the concession area, VAT included. From 30 minutes after charging ends, an idle fee of €0.06 a minute, 08:00–20:00 only. Fast DC: €0.74/kWh, and €0.25 a minute from ten minutes after the session. Pay with a charging card, or by bank card in the Charge Europe app
- Centraal car park — about 115 points by the station — Interparking Centraal, under the Kievitplein. The biggest bank of chargers I found, at 11 and 22 kW. No kWh price on the page, so read the terminal before you plug in
- Meir car park — 36 points and a cheap night — Parking Meir, by the shopping street. 11 kW. With the evening tariff capping the space at €8 from 19:00 to 05:00, this is my pick for an overnight charge; the kWh price is not published
Free parking in Antwerp: Sunday, after ten, and the pink zones
On Sundays, public holidays and 11 July the city's street zones are not charged, except the pink and dark-green event zones. The red zone also goes quiet at 22:00 until 09:00. In the pink zones the first session of the day is free for two hours per plate.
For a longer stay the guides point to P+R Luchtbal in the north, about 1,700 spaces with tram 6 to Astrid by the central station in roughly half an hour. The city's P+R page would not load for me; two guides give €1 for the first day and €3 after.
Free or nearly-free spots
Sundays, public holidays and 11 July: the street is free
The city's zones are charged Monday to Saturday only, and not on public holidays or on 11 July, the Flemish holiday. The pink and dark-green event zones are the exception. The historic centre stays residents-only every day.
The red zone goes quiet at 22:00
The red zone is charged 09:00–22:00. Arrive after ten in the evening and the meter has nothing to say until nine the next morning, when the three-hour clock starts again.
Pink zone: two hours free, once a day
In the pink zones the first session of the day is free for two hours per number plate, then €0.90 an hour. You still start the session at the meter, in the app or by SMS.
P+R Luchtbal on tram 6
The city's park-and-ride page would not load for me, so these figures come from guides. P+R Luchtbal has about 1,700 spaces and tram 6 to Astrid by the central station in roughly half an hour. Two guides give €1 for the first day and €3 for each day after; the AFAS Dome venue calls it free for its concert-goers.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Foreign plates must be registered for the Antwerp LEZ, free, at the latest the day after you enter; Dutch plates are exempt. One registration covers Ghent too. The fine is €150, €250 for a second offence within 12 months, €350 after that. If the car met the standard, €75 within 30 days replaces the fine.
- The LEZ covers the city inside the R1 ring plus Linkeroever. Diesel below Euro 5 and petrol below Euro 2 are banned; Euro 4 diesel needs a paid permit. A day pass is €45, twelve a year.
- Visitors may not park on the street in the historic centre at all. Parking there without a permit is a €50 charge.
- The red zone is Monday to Saturday 09:00–22:00 with a three-hour maximum: €2.60, €3.80, then €6.40 for the third hour, €12.80 in all. Then you wait an hour before a new session in the same zone. No valid ticket is a €50 fixed charge.
- Until the end of March 2027 there are no trams under the Scheldt between Opera, Groenplaats and Linkeroever; shuttle bus P5 runs Opera to Frederik van Eedenplein instead.
- Groenplaats and Oudaen are only 1.9 m high. With a roof box, use Meir at 2.2 m or Centraal at 2.1 m.
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.