In Düsseldorf the garage everyone finds first is the dearest. The Tiefgarage Altstadt Rheinufer, under the Rhine promenade, charges €5 per started hour — €6 on Saturday — up to €42 a day. Five minutes' walk inland, the Grabbeplatz garage under the K20 museum is €2 an hour, €30 a day and €10 overnight.
The street in the Altstadt is €0.90 per 12 minutes — €4.50 an hour — until 22:00.
First look260 bars in half a square kilometre
The tourist board counts around 260 pubs, restaurants and bars in the Altstadt, all inside half a square kilometre. On a Friday evening it is one continuous room with the roof taken off. By the river the Rheinturm stands over it all, and down its shaft runs the Lichtzeitpegel, a light sculpture that tells the time and is called the largest digital clock in the world. I read it from the car park: hours at the top, then minutes, then seconds.
Tourist trapsPer started hour, and €42 by the river
The Rheinufer garage bills per started hour. Drive out after 61 minutes and you pay for two — €10 on a weekday, €12 on a Saturday. That is the price of the location, and there are better ones nearby.
The second trap is the sticker. Düsseldorf's Umweltzone covers about 80 km² of the city, and every car needs the green Feinstaubplakette — an electric car too, which is filed in the same group. Driving in without one is €100 plus fees.
Local pickAltbier from the brewery that brews it
Düsseldorf drinks Altbier, dark and top-fermented, poured in the house where it is brewed. Uerige and Füchschen are in the Altstadt; Schumacher, founded in 1838, is considered the oldest brewery in the city. I start at Schumacher when I have parked at the Hauptbahnhof, and walk towards the river.
Survival ruleRead the machine, because the guides disagree
Düsseldorf's parking ordinance is not easy to reach online, and the guides that summarise it do not agree on every detail. What they do agree on: zone 1a, the Altstadt, is €4.50 an hour until 22:00; zone 2 around the centre €3 until 20:00; zone 3 further out €2 until 18:00; charging runs Monday to Saturday. On Sunday most streets are free, but at least one guide lists a charged historic core seven days a week. The machine and the sign are the rule; I read them every time.
Paying by phone works through PayByPhone, which covers around 7,600 public spaces.
01 · Parking€4.50 on the street, €24 a day by the Kö
Low-emission zones in Europe: Umweltzone Düsseldorf
- Foreign plates
- Green sticker compulsory, foreign plates included
- When
- 24 hours, every day
- Fine
- €100 plus fees
- EV
- An electric car still needs the green sticker; it is classed in pollution group 4
The 2022 air quality plan dropped the diesel ban as disproportionate; none is in force.
On the street, the Altstadt is €0.90 per 12 minutes. No ticket is €20 up to 30 minutes, rising to €40 after three hours.
The garages are where to save. Grabbeplatz is €1 for the first half hour, then €2 an hour, €30 a day, and €10 from 23:00 to 08:00; the roof is only 1.80 m. Carlsplatz, by the market, is €3 per started hour and €35 a day, with a €10 night from 01:00 to 07:00. At the station, Hauptbahnhof P3 is €3.20 an hour and €26 a day, and near the Kö Grupellostraße is €3.20 per started hour, €24 a day, and no more than €5 from 17:00 to 08:00.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Tiefgarage Grabbeplatz (IDR)Grabbeplatz 5 — under the K20 museum, on the edge of the Altstadt | **€1 up to 30 minutes, then €2 an hour, €30 a day; €10 from 23:00 to 08:00.** 559 spaces, height **1.80 m**, open 24 hours. | Not published. |
| Parkhaus Grupellostraße (Contipark)Grupellostraße 34 — between the Kö and the Hauptbahnhof | **€3.20 per started hour, €24 a day**, and no more than €5 from 17:00 to 08:00. 154 spaces, height 1.80 m. | Not published. |
| Parkhaus Hauptbahnhof P3 (Contipark)Willi-Becker-Allee — at Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof | **€3.20 an hour, €26 a day**, €80 a week. 558 spaces, height 2.00 m, open 24 hours. | Not published. |
| Tiefgarage Altstadt Rheinufer (Contipark)In the Rheinufertunnel — under the Rhine promenade, the closest to the Altstadt pubs | **€5 per started hour — €6 on Saturday — up to €42 a day.** 964 spaces, height 2.00 m, open 24 hours. | **37 chargers**, 11 kW, €0.55 per kWh. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Tiefgarage Grabbeplatz (IDR) | €4 | height 1.80 m |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, Altstadt (zone 1a) | €9 | €0.90 per 12 minutes, €4.50 an hour, until 22:00, Monday to Saturday. Rates come from rental-company guides and the 2023 rise; read the machine. No ticket is €20–€40. |
| A full day (10 h) | Tiefgarage Grabbeplatz (IDR) | €20 | height 1.80 m |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, Altstadt (zone 1a) | €45 | €0.90 per 12 minutes, €4.50 an hour, until 22:00, Monday to Saturday. Rates come from rental-company guides and the 2023 rise; read the machine. No ticket is €20–€40. |
| 24 hours | Parkhaus Grupellostraße (Contipark) | €24 | height 1.80 m |
02 · Towed€73 to the city, €170 to the tow firm
Düsseldorf tows through contracted private firms, and you collect the car from the firm. The city's office for towing is the Ordnungsamt at Karlstraße 104, phone 0211 89-91, Monday to Friday 08:00–12:30, and in person only by appointment.
The city publishes no price list, but a court case does. In a ruling of January 2025 the administrative court recorded a €73 administrative fee from the city and €170 paid to the tow firm for towing and storage — about €243 before the parking fine. Bring ID and the registration document; in a hire car, ring the rental company first.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The city's Ordnungsamt orders the tow and contracted private firms carry it out. You collect the car from the firm.
- Phone
- Ordnungsamt, towing — which firm has the car: 0211 8991
Emergency, only if you think the car was stolen: 110 - Collect it at
- At the tow firm's yard. The city's towing office is the Ordnungsamt, Karlstraße 104, in person by appointment only.
- Hours
- The Ordnungsamt: Monday to Friday 08:00–12:30. The firms' yard hours are not published.
- What it costs
- No price list is published. In a January 2025 ruling (VG Düsseldorf 14 K 6302/23) the court recorded a €73 administrative fee from the city and €170 paid to the tow firm for towing and storage — about €243, before the parking fine.
- Bring
- ID and the registration document, Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I. In a hire car, ring the rental company first.
03 · EV37 chargers under the promenade
In the Rheinufer garage there are 37 chargers at 11 kW, €0.55 per kWh — the one good reason to park there for a whole evening.
The city utility, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, cut its prices on 1 April 2026: €0.44 per kWh on AC and €0.56 on DC, and €0.46 at night at three fast-charging parks. Those are contract prices with a €3 monthly fee; the walk-up price was not published where I could find it, so I will not quote it.
Where to charge
- Tiefgarage Altstadt Rheinufer — 37 chargers — Rheinufertunnel, under the Rhine promenade. 37 points at 11 kW, €0.55 per kWh, plus the garage tariff of €5 per started hour, capped at €42.
- Stadtwerke Düsseldorf — €0.44 AC, €0.56 DC on contract — The city utility's public chargers. From 1 April 2026: €0.44 per kWh AC, €0.56 DC, €0.46 at night (21:00–08:00) at three fast-charging parks — contract prices with a €3 monthly fee. The walk-up price is not published.
04 · Free spotsSunday, and P+R on the U-Bahn
Sunday is the free day at most kerbs, as above. For the rest of the week, the P+R sites on the Stadtbahn are the free option: for the 2026 Rheinkirmes the local press listed Haus Meer (470 spaces, U70, U75, U76), Südpark (250) and Staufenplatz (300) among the free ones. I use them when something big is on in the centre.
The Clayton Hotel publishes its parking: €3 an hour, up to €30 a day, in an attached garage.
Free or nearly-free spots
P+R on the Stadtbahn — Haus Meer, Südpark, Staufenplatz
For the 2026 Rheinkirmes the local press listed free P+R sites including Haus Meer (470 spaces, U70, U75, U76), Südpark (250) and Staufenplatz (300). Check the sign on arrival.
Sunday at most kerbs
Most street parking is free on Sunday. At least one guide lists a charged historic core seven days a week, so read the machine.
Hotels with free parking
- Clayton Hotel Düsseldorf — With its own attached garage of 550 spaces. €3 an hour, up to €30 a day; Q-Park Stadtmitte at €12 a day if booked ahead — from the hotel's own FAQ
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Altstadt kerb (zone 1a) €0.90 per 12 minutes, €4.50 an hour, until 22:00; zone 2 €3 until 20:00; zone 3 €2 until 18:00; Monday to Saturday.
- No ticket: €20 up to 30 minutes, then €25, €30, €35, and €40 after three hours.
- Green Feinstaubplakette compulsory in the Umweltzone, about 80 km², electric cars included. Fine €100 plus fees.
- The Rheinufer garage bills per started hour: 61 minutes costs two hours.
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.