The old quarters of Granada are guarded by cameras, not bollards. The Albaicín, the Realejo and two slices of the centre are restricted-access zones: a camera reads your number plate at the entry, and unless a resident, a garage or your hotel has put that plate on the list, a fine follows you home. So the car stops at the edge. My default is Escolapios: €24 a day at the barrier, and €13.95 when you pay in the APK2 app.
The second rule is the ZBE, the low-emission zone over most of the city, 24 hours a day. It fines cars from outside Granada that have no DGT environmental label, roughly petrol before 2001 and diesel before 2006, €200. A modern car is not what it is looking for.
A plate of food with every glass
In Granada the drink buys the food. Order a beer or a glass of wine in almost any bar and a small plate arrives without being asked for, and the next round brings a different one. Three rounds in, dinner has happened and the bill is for the drinks.
The sunset crowd at San Nicolás, and resold Alhambra tickets
I would not plan the evening around sunset at the Mirador de San Nicolás. The view of the Alhambra is the famous one, and so is the crowd on the wall. Go in the morning, when there is room at the wall.
My second skip is any Alhambra ticket bought through a resale site. The official price list shows €22.27 for the General day ticket, and the Nasrid Palaces can only be visited at the time printed on it. Buy from the Patronato and pick your slot yourself.
Snails on Plaza Aliatar
For something locals eat and visitors walk past, go up to Bar Aliatar Los Caracoles in the Albaicín and order the snails, in a hot sauce with almonds and chilli. Walk up; the Albaicín is camera country.
Send the hotel your plate before you arrive
If your hotel is inside the Albaicín, the Realejo or the centre, email it your number plate before you set off and ask which entry to use. Under the city's rules, a hotel with an opening licence can register a guest's plate for the dates of the stay, and a hotel just outside can do the same when the only way in crosses a zone.
No registration, no drive-in. Some camera points only work at certain hours, and the sign beside each camera gives them. The classic mistake is following the satnav up the Carrera del Darro to a hotel that never heard your plate number. Under the 2014 ordinance an unlisted offence was a minor one at €100; it was replaced in 2025 and I could not read the new fine table.
Parking in Granada: Blue zone for errands, APK2 for the day
The street has three colours, according to two local guides; the city's own parking site would not load for me. Blue is the common one: €0.55 for 30 minutes, €0.90 an hour, €1.80 for the two-hour maximum. Green allows five hours, red is for short stops. The meters run Monday to Friday 09:00–14:00 and 16:30–20:30, Saturday 09:00–14:00, and are free on Sundays and public holidays.
For the day, go underground. Puerta Real is the most central: €3 an hour, €29.95 a day, 2.00 m high, open 24/7. San Agustín, run by Telpark by the cathedral, has the cheapest first hour at €2.05 and the dearest day at €35.70. My pick for anything past lunch is Escolapios, same operator as Puerta Real: €3.55 an hour and €24 a day walk-up, €13.95 through the app, 2.20 m high.
The garages sit inside the ZBE. For an old car without a label, parking at least an hour in a car park that has joined the city's system is the way in. Foreign plates cannot get a DGT label, the city publishes no procedure for them that I could find, and one ZBE guide says they are not fined.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Escolapios (APK2)Calle Virgen del Mayor Dolor 11; entrances on Calle Sos del Rey Católico and Callejón del Pretorio | €3.55 an hour, €24 a day walk-up, billed by the minute. Through the APK2 app the published price tops out at €13.95; a booked day is €14. Open 24/7, height 2.20 m. | APKElectric chargers; no per-kWh price on the car park page. |
| Puerta Real (APK2)Acera del Darro 40, entrance on Acera del Darro, at Puerta Real | €3 an hour, €29.95 a day walk-up; five hours is €15.05. A booked day is €26. Open 24/7, height 2.00 m. | APKElectric chargers; price not published. |
| San Agustín (Telpark)Plaza de San Agustín, near the cathedral | €2.05 for the first hour, €35.70 maximum for the day. Open 24/7, height 2.00 m. The cheapest hour in the centre and the dearest day. | Telpark lists charging; price not published. |
| Alhambra (Indigo)Camino Viejo del Cementerio, beside the Alhambra ticket office | €0.55 per 15 minutes, €2.20 an hour on Indigo's page, marked as indicative. No day maximum published. Open 24/7, number-plate recognition at the barrier. | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Kerb, blue zone (from guides) | €1.80 | €0.55 for 30 minutes, €0.90 an hour, €1.80 for the two-hour maximum, according to two local guides; the city's own parking site would not load for me. Free on Sundays and public holidays. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | San Agustín (Telpark) | €4.10 | height 2.00 m · €2.05 is Telpark's first-hour price |
| A full day (10 h) | San Agustín (Telpark) | €20.50 | height 2.00 m · €2.05 is Telpark's first-hour price |
| 24 hours | Escolapios (APK2) | €13.95 | €24 at the barrier — this price only if booked online · height 2.20 m · €13.95 day cap in the APK2 app |
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 Granada: Camino de Purchil and €96.55
The Policía Local orders the removal and the municipal grúa takes the car to the car pound at Camino de Purchil 22. The city lists one phone number for it: 958 258 572. Ring first; opening hours are not published.
The fee schedule on the city's site, the 2017 text of fiscal ordinance no. 26, gives €96.55 to tow a car, €48.28 if you get back before the truck leaves, and €9.65 per day or part-day in the pound. The city lists no documents to bring. I would take the registration papers, a licence and ID, and for a hire car the rental agreement. If you think the car was stolen rather than towed, ring 112.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The Policía Local orders the removal and the municipal tow service (grúa municipal) takes the car to the city's car pound. The city publishes one pound address and one phone number.
- Phone
- Municipal car pound (Depósito de vehículos, grúa municipal): +34 958 258 572
Emergency, if you think the car was stolen: 112 - Collect it at
- Depósito municipal de vehículos. The city gives no opening hours.
- Hours
- Not published on the city's page; ring before you go.
- What it costs
- Fiscal ordinance no. 26 (the 2017 text on the city's site): €96.55 to tow a car, €48.28 if you arrive before the truck leaves, and €9.65 per day or part-day in the pound.
- Bring
- The city lists no documents. I would bring the registration papers, your licence and ID, and for a hire car the rental agreement; ring the rental company too.
EV charging in Granada: Chargers under Puerta Real, prices nowhere
The chargers I could confirm are in the garages. APK2 lists APKElectric points at Puerta Real and Escolapios, and Telpark lists charging at San Agustín. None of them publishes a price per kWh, so read the terminal before you plug in, and remember the parking runs on top.
For a long charge I would go to Escolapios: the €13.95 app day is the cheapest space in town to sit on a cable.
Where to charge
- Puerta Real — APKElectric in the central garage — Parking Puerta Real, at Puerta Real. APK2 lists APKElectric chargers here but no price per kWh; you pay the parking on top, €29.95 for a day
- Escolapios — charge where the day is cheapest — Parking Escolapios. APKElectric chargers, kWh price not published. With the €13.95 app day this is my pick for a long charge
- San Agustín — Telpark, by the cathedral — Parking San Agustín. Telpark lists electric charging; no price on the page
Free parking in Granada: Sundays on the street, and a metro car park in Albolote
On Sundays and public holidays the blue zone is free, and on Saturday it stops at 14:00. That is the one time I leave the car on the street for a whole day.
The metro has a park and ride at Juncaril, about 400 spaces next to the Albolote stop. It opened in July 2018 and was free "in a first phase"; neither the metro operator nor the town says whether that phase is over, so read the sign.
Free or nearly-free spots
Sundays and public holidays, the blue zone is free
Two local guides agree: Granada's regulated street parking is charged Monday to Friday 09:00–14:00 and 16:30–20:30 and Saturday morning, and costs nothing on Sundays and public holidays. On a Saturday afternoon the meters stop at 14:00 too.
Juncaril park and ride, by the metro in Albolote
About 400 spaces next to the Albolote metro stop, opened in July 2018 and free 'in a first phase', according to the metro operator and the town of Albolote. Neither page says whether that phase has ended, so read the sign at the entrance.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Restricted-access zones with number-plate cameras cover the Albaicín, the Realejo and two parts of the centre (around Calle Tablas and Calle Recogidas). Hotels inside the zones register a guest's plate for the length of the stay; without that, the camera can mean a fine.
- The ZBE (zona de bajas emisiones) runs 24 hours a day, every day, over most of the city. A car registered outside Granada with no DGT environmental label (roughly petrol before 2001, diesel before 2006) is fined €200, €100 if paid within 20 days, unless it parks at least an hour in a car park that has joined the city's system.
- Foreign plates cannot get a DGT label. The city publishes no registration procedure for them that I could find; one ZBE guide says foreign-registered cars are not fined. I would not bring an old diesel and test it.
- The blue-zone maximum is two hours, and the price for those two hours is €1.80 (figures from local guides). Overstaying beyond the meter's grace period turns into a municipal fine.
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.