Frankfurt has the rare thing: free park and ride. The transit company traffiQ lists sites at Kalbach with 376 spaces on the U2 and U9 and Preungesheim with 110 on the U5, among others, that cost nothing to park at. In town, PBG's garage in Alt-Sachsenhausen charges €1 an hour and €20 a day.
The street is the expensive option: €4 an hour in the Innenstadt, and since the city's 2023 decision short stays are the point of it.
First lookAn old town that opened in 2018
Between the cathedral and the Römer stands a quarter of half-timbered houses that looks five hundred years old. It opened on 9 May 2018. The Neue Altstadt has 35 buildings — 15 reconstructions of houses lost in the war and 20 new ones built to fit among them. I walk through it and try to guess which is which; I am wrong about half the time.
Underneath it all is the car park. The Dom-Römer garage sits right at the foot of the cathedral.
Tourist traps1.95 metres, and a garage that shuts at midnight
That garage has two catches. Its roof is 1.95 m, lower than the others in the centre, and it is open only 06:00 to midnight. Arrive late for dinner in a tall van and you will not get in; stay out too late and you will not get out.
The second trap is the Christmas market. It fills the Römerberg, Paulsplatz and the Mainkai, and the organisers state it plainly: there is no parking for the event. From late November I leave the car at a P+R and take the U-Bahn.
Local pickApple wine south of the river
Frankfurt drinks Apfelwein, cider, poured from a grey stoneware jug called a Bembel. Apfelwein Wagner in Sachsenhausen has served it since 1931, open every day 11:00–24:00, and has the Bembel on its sign. I sit at a long table with strangers, which is how it is meant to be done.
Survival ruleThe motorway ring is the edge of the sticker zone
The Umweltzone is the city inside the motorway ring — the A5 to the west, the A3 to the south, the A661 to the east and north. The motorways themselves are outside. Every car inside needs the green Feinstaubplakette, foreign plates and electric cars included, and the fine is €100 plus fees.
For the book fair or any show at the Messe, the fair's own advice is the Rebstock car park at Am Römerhof, exit Frankfurt-West, with a free shuttle to the halls. It lies outside the Umweltzone.
01 · Parking€4 on the street, €1 an hour across the river
Low-emission zones in Europe: Umweltzone Frankfurt am Main
- 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
A diesel ban was ordered by a court in 2018 and then struck down; none is in force.
On the street, the Innenstadt costs €4 an hour; other districts are cheaper. The city's 2023 decision limited Innenstadt stays to one hour and added a 24-hour ticket, so check what the machine offers. No ticket is €20 up to 30 minutes, rising to €40 after three hours. Sundays and public holidays are free at the kerb.
The operator PBG runs most central garages at fair prices. Konstabler is €2 an hour and €32 for 24 hours, with 809 spaces and a 2.10 m roof. Hauptwache is €2.50 an hour and €38. The Dom-Römer is €2 and €32. Across the river, Alt-Sachsenhausen is €1 an hour and €20 — the cheapest central garage I found. On Sundays and holidays PBG drops to €1 an hour, or €0.50 per half hour at Hauptwache, and nights from 19:00 to 07:00 are €4.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Parkhaus Alt-Sachsenhausen (PBG)Walter-Kolb-Straße 16 — south of the Main, by the apple-wine taverns | **€1 an hour, €20 for 24 hours**; nights 19:00–07:00 €4. 339 spaces, height 2.10 m, open 24 hours. | 19 charging points. |
| Parkhaus Konstabler (PBG)Töngesgasse 8 — by the Konstablerwache and the Zeil | **€2 an hour, €32 for 24 hours**; Sunday €1 an hour; nights 19:00–07:00 €4. 809 spaces, height 2.10 m. | 40 charging points. |
| Parkhaus Hauptwache (PBG)Kornmarkt 10 — at the Hauptwache | **€2.50 an hour, €38 for 24 hours**; Sunday €0.50 per 30 minutes; nights €4. 303 spaces, height 2.00 m. | 16 charging points (Mainova). |
| Parkhaus Dom-Römer (PBG)Domstraße 1 — at the foot of the cathedral, under the Neue Altstadt | **€2 an hour, €32 a day.** 611 spaces, **height 1.95 m**, **open 06:00–24:00 only**. | 46 charging points. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | P+R Kalbach (U2, U9) | Free | Free, 376 spaces, on traffiQ's list of free P+R sites. The U-Bahn fare into town is extra. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Parkhaus Alt-Sachsenhausen (PBG) | €2 | height 2.10 m |
| A full day (10 h) | P+R Kalbach (U2, U9) | Free | Free, 376 spaces, on traffiQ's list of free P+R sites. The U-Bahn fare into town is extra. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Parkhaus Alt-Sachsenhausen (PBG) | €10 | height 2.10 m |
| 24 hours | Parkhaus Alt-Sachsenhausen (PBG) | €20 | height 2.10 m |
02 · TowedOne number, and a private firm's yard
The City of Frankfurt tows through contracted private firms. To find out whether the city took your car, ring 069 212-36360 — the number the Hessen police give in their own information leaflet. The police add that a theft report is only worth making once that check has come up empty.
The leaflet lists the firms, among them Safar at Safar (069 954 30 50) and Loosen at Loosen (069 666 008 64). The city does not publish the price, and I will not quote a guess. Bring ID and the registration document.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The City of Frankfurt orders the tow and contracted private firms carry it out, each taking the car to its own yard.
- Phone
- City of Frankfurt — was the car towed? (number from the Hessen police leaflet): 069 212 36360
Safar, one of the listed tow firms: 069 954 30 50
Loosen, one of the listed tow firms: 069 666 008 64 - Collect it at
- At the yard of the firm that towed it — the city line tells you which. Among the listed firms are Safar, Homburger Landstraße 320 and Loosen, Erntestraße 14.
- Hours
- Not published for the yards; ring before you go.
- What it costs
- Not published by the city. The parking fine comes on top of the tow bill.
- Bring
- ID and the registration document, Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I. In a hire car, ring the rental company first.
03 · EV€0.64 a kWh, and €100 held on the card
Mainova, the city utility, runs more than 600 public charging points. Walk-up prices are €0.64 per kWh on AC and €0.76 on DC, and it takes Mastercard and Visa only. It holds €100 on the card until the session is billed — worth knowing on a card with a low limit.
The PBG garages have chargers too: 40 at Konstablerwache, 46 at Dom-Römer, 19 at Alt-Sachsenhausen. An electric car still needs the green sticker.
Where to charge
- Mainova public chargers — €0.64 AC, €0.76 DC — More than 600 points across Frankfurt. Walk-up €0.64 per kWh AC, €0.76 DC. Mastercard and Visa only; €100 is held on the card until the session is billed.
- Parkhaus Dom-Römer — 46 chargers — Domstraße 1, open 06:00–24:00. The most chargers of any PBG garage in the centre; Konstabler has 40.
04 · Free spotsFree P+R on the U-Bahn
traffiQ's list of free P+R includes Kalbach (376 spaces, U2 and U9), Preungesheim (110, U5), Heerstraße (110), Stadion (80, S-Bahn) and Neu-Isenburg Stadtgrenze (203, tram). Borsigallee, the biggest at 899 spaces, is paid. I use Kalbach when I come in from the north and ride the U-Bahn into the centre.
The Motel One by the Römer, in Berliner Straße, charges its guests €21 a day, according to the city tourist board — cheap for Frankfurt.
Free or nearly-free spots
Free P+R at Kalbach, on the U2 and U9
traffiQ lists Kalbach (376 spaces) among its free P+R sites, with Preungesheim (110, U5), Heerstraße (110), Stadion (80, S-Bahn) and Neu-Isenburg Stadtgrenze (203, tram). Borsigallee (899) is paid.
Sundays and holidays at the kerb
Street parking is free on Sundays and public holidays, and the PBG garages drop to €1 an hour.
Hotels with free parking
- Motel One Frankfurt-Römer — Berliner Straße 55 — a few minutes from the Römer Map. €21 a day for guests — from the city tourist board's listing, not the hotel's own site
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Green Feinstaubplakette compulsory inside the motorway ring (A5, A3, A661); the motorways are outside. Foreign and electric cars included. Fine €100 plus fees.
- Street parking in the Innenstadt is €4 an hour, with stays limited under the city's 2023 decision. No ticket: €20 up to 30 minutes, rising to €40 after three hours.
- The Dom-Römer garage is 1.95 m high and open only 06:00–24:00.
- The Christmas market (23 November – 22 December 2026) provides no parking.
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.