In London the parking is the second bill. The first is for driving in at all: the Congestion Charge, £18 a day in the central zone since 2 January 2026, and under it the ULEZ, £12.50 a day, 24 hours, across every borough, for any car below the standard. The catch for continental drivers: TfL holds no details for a car registered outside the UK, so to its cameras your car fails until you prove it passes. You register it with TfL's partner, EPC plc, which can take up to 10 working days; until then TfL says you pay or risk a penalty.
The penalty is £180, £90 if paid within 14 days, and TfL states that non-UK vehicles get them too. So my plan never changes: register the car a fortnight ahead, leave it at a Tube station car park on the edge — Cockfosters is £11 on a weekday — and take the Piccadilly line in.
Wet stone, bus brakes, and nobody looking up
In October London smells of wet stone and bus brakes, and the light goes grey by mid-afternoon. People on the pavement walk fast with their eyes down and step off the kerb looking right, a habit you pick up within a day. Only visitors look up, which is how you spot them.
Sixty pounds for a Soho evening, and Saturday noon in the charging zone
The classic mistake is driving to the West End for a show and parking as close to the theatre as possible. NCP's Brewer Street car park has 20 spaces and prints its board: £15 for an hour, £45 for three, £60 for three to 24 hours. The evening rate, 17:00 to midnight, is £25, the only number there I would pay.
The second thing I would skip is the Saturday drive past the sights. The charge switches on at noon at weekends, and a car in the zone at 12:05 pays £18 to see Westminster through a windscreen at walking pace.
Pie, mash and green liquor on Tower Bridge Road
M.Manze has served pie and mash on Tower Bridge Road since 1902, in a Grade II listed shop. Order pie, mash and liquor, a green parsley sauce with no alcohol in it. Monday to Thursday 10:30–17:45, Friday to 18:45, Saturday to 19:45, Sunday only 11:00–14:45. I go at half past eleven on a weekday, before the lunch queue.
Keep left, and give way to the right at every roundabout
Britain drives on the left. Roundabouts run clockwise and you give way to traffic from your right. In a left-hand-drive car the passenger sits at the kerb, so make them your second mirror at junctions. My rule for the first hour: no lane change I did not plan while stopped at a red light.
£18 to enter, £12.50 if the camera doubts you, and a kerb priced by your exhaust
Congestion Charge: £18 a day, Monday to Friday 07:00–18:00, weekends and bank holidays 12:00–18:00, nothing from Christmas Day to the New Year's Day bank holiday. TfL calls Auto Pay the easiest way to pay. Some TfL pages still showed £15 when I checked; the RAC reports the rise to £18, and I use £18. ULEZ: £12.50 a day, every day but Christmas Day; petrol needs Euro 4, diesel Euro 6. A garage does not excuse you from either, as NCP says on its own page.
On the street, Westminster prices each hour by zone and by your car's CO2: £1.46 to £10.58 in its March 2026 table, up to 50% more for pre-2015 diesels. No cash: RingGo, PayByPhone or JustPark, phone 020 7125 9090, or a parking card, plus up to 30p a session. Maximum stay is usually four hours; West End pay bays are controlled Monday to Saturday 08:30–18:30. A ticket is £160, or £110 for lesser offences.
In a garage, NCP Bloomsbury Square is £8 for an hour and £38 for five to 24 hours, 450 spaces, height 1.90 m. It is my pick when I must drive in. Q-Park Chinatown and Q-Park Leicester Square publish no tariff online, and Leicester Square's roof is 1.83 m.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| NCP London Bloomsbury SquareUnderground car park, Bloomsbury Square Gardens, WC1A 2RJ — a few minutes from the British Museum | £8 for an hour, £14 for two, £20 for three, £38 for five to 24 hours. Early bird 06:00–09:00 £12, evening from 16:00 £15. 450 spaces, height 1.90 m, open 24 hours. | Charging points on site; price not published. |
| NCP London Soho Brewer StreetBrewer Street, Soho, W1F 0LA — in the middle of the theatre district | £15 an hour, £30 for two, £45 for three, £60 for three to 24 hours; evening 17:00–23:59 £25. Only 20 spaces, height 2.30 m; over 1.98 m cannot be pre-booked. | Not published. |
| Q-Park ChinatownNewport Place, WC2H 7PU — under Chinatown, by Leicester Square | Q-Park's own page says "No tariffs available online": you learn the price at the barrier. 254 spaces, height 1.98 m, open 24 hours. | 16 charging points; price not published. |
| Q-Park Leicester SquareWhitcomb Street, WC2H 7DT — behind Leicester Square | No tariff online either. 247 spaces and height 1.83 m, the lowest on this list — a roof box will not go in. | 10 charging points; price not published. |
| Cockfosters Station Car Park (TfL, run by Saba)Cockfosters Road, Barnet EN4 0DZ — the end of the Piccadilly line, outside the Congestion Charge zone | £11 Monday to Friday, £10 Saturday, £9 Sunday, per day. 326 spaces, open 24 hours, overnight up to seven days, height 2.0 m. PayByPhone location 801600 or the machines on site. | One bay, for electric taxis only. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Cockfosters Station Car Park (TfL, run by Saba) | £11 ≈ €12.8 | height 2.00 m · weekday; £10 Saturday, £9 Sunday; overnight up to 7 days |
| …and the cheapest central garage | NCP London Bloomsbury Square | £14 ≈ €16.3 | height 1.90 m · early bird 06:00–09:00 £12; evening from 16:00 £15 |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, Westminster — dearest published rate | £21.16 ≈ €25 | Westminster charges £1.46–£10.58 an hour by zone and your car's CO2, app or phone only, usually four hours at most. A ticket is £160 or £110. |
| A full day (10 h) | Cockfosters Station Car Park (TfL, run by Saba) | £11 ≈ €12.8 | height 2.00 m · weekday; £10 Saturday, £9 Sunday; overnight up to 7 days |
| …and the cheapest central garage | NCP London Bloomsbury Square | £38 ≈ €44 | height 1.90 m · early bird 06:00–09:00 £12; evening from 16:00 £15 |
| 24 hours | Cockfosters Station Car Park (TfL, run by Saba) | £11 ≈ €12.8 | height 2.00 m · weekday; £10 Saturday, £9 Sunday; overnight up to 7 days |
| …and the cheapest central garage | NCP London Bloomsbury Square | £38 ≈ €44 | height 1.90 m · early bird 06:00–09:00 £12; evening from 16:00 £15 |
Ring TRACE first, then find out which borough has your car
Every borough uses the same lookup: TRACE, 0300 077 0100, or its online form, which tells you which pound has the car. Westminster names no pound on its own page and sends you there.
The price in the two boroughs I checked is the same: £280 to release, plus the ticket, plus £55 a day in storage from the midnight after. Camden's pound is at Regis Road, Monday to Saturday 08:30–19:30, Sunday 10:00–19:00. Kensington and Chelsea's is out at Park Royal, phone 020 7351 1203, Monday to Saturday 07:00 to midnight, Sunday 08:00–18:00; cash and cards, no Amex. Bring photo ID and proof you own or hired the car; Kensington also asks for proof of address, which a visitor may not have, so ring first.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The borough council where you parked. In the West End that is mostly Westminster, which does not name a pound on its own page and sends you to TRACE, the London-wide lookup
- Phone
- TRACE — tells you which pound has the car (online form is faster): 0300 077 0100
Kensington and Chelsea car pound, Park Royal: 020 7351 1203
Kensington and Chelsea removals control office: 020 3856 0024 - Collect it at
- Depends on the borough — TRACE will say. Camden: Regis Road Car Pound. Kensington and Chelsea: Vehicle Pound, 99 Western Road, out in Park Royal.
- Hours
- Camden: Monday to Saturday 08:30–19:30, Sunday 10:00–19:00. Kensington and Chelsea: Monday to Saturday 07:00 to midnight, Sunday 08:00–18:00.
- What it costs
- £280 to release, plus the parking ticket, plus £55 a day in storage from the midnight after — the same in Camden and Kensington and Chelsea. A Westminster ticket is £160 or £110 depending on the offence. Kensington and Chelsea takes cash, chip and pin and contactless, not American Express.
- Bring
- Photo ID and proof of ownership: Camden accepts a passport or national identity card plus a V5, insurance certificate or similar; Kensington and Chelsea also asks for proof of address. With a hire car, ring the rental company first.
92p at the rapid charger, and a charging zone that stopped waving EVs through
An electric car meets the ULEZ standard, but since January 2026 it pays the Congestion Charge, with a 25% discount only on Auto Pay: £13.50 instead of £18.
InstaVolt publishes one national price: £0.92 per kWh on a contactless card, at any hour. Its app and RFID card get £0.55 from 20:00 to 07:00; a card tap at midnight still pays £0.92. In the centre, Q-Park Chinatown has 16 charging points and NCP Bloomsbury Square has some too, but neither prints a price. I charge on the way in, not in the West End.
Where to charge
- InstaVolt — £0.92 per kWh on contactless — Rapid chargers across London and the UK, contactless card, no account. £0.92 per kWh at all times on contactless. The app and RFID card get £0.55 from 20:00 to 07:00; a card tap at night still pays £0.92
- Q-Park Chinatown — 16 points in the West End — Newport Place, under Chinatown. The most chargers I found in a central garage, but neither the parking nor the charging price is published online
- NCP Bloomsbury Square — chargers under the square — Bloomsbury Square. Charging points on site, price not published; the parking itself is £38 for five to 24 hours
Cockfosters for £11, and a Christmas week with no charge
Nothing near the centre is free. The nearest thing is a TfL station car park outside the charging zone, run by Saba and paid by PayByPhone. Cockfosters station car park, at the end of the Piccadilly line, is £11 Monday to Friday, £10 on Saturday, £9 on Sunday, 326 spaces, open 24 hours, overnight allowed for up to seven days, height 2.0 m, location code 801600. It is inside the ULEZ like all of London, so register the car first.
The other free thing is time. The Congestion Charge is off every evening after 18:00, before noon at weekends, and from Christmas Day to the New Year's Day bank holiday. The ULEZ keeps running through all of it except Christmas Day.
Free or nearly-free spots
Cockfosters: £11 a day and the Piccadilly line
TfL's station car parks are run by Saba and paid through PayByPhone. Cockfosters, the end of the Piccadilly line, is £11 Monday to Friday, £10 on Saturday and £9 on Sunday, with 326 spaces, 24-hour access, overnight stays up to seven days and a 2.0 m height limit. It sits outside the Congestion Charge but inside the ULEZ, like all of London — register a foreign car first.
The hours and the week with no Congestion Charge
The Congestion Charge is off on weekdays before 07:00 and after 18:00, at weekends and on bank holidays before 12:00 and after 18:00, and from Christmas Day to the New Year's Day bank holiday. The ULEZ runs 24 hours every day except Christmas Day.
Westminster's pay bays rest on Sunday
Westminster's zone table controls the West End pay bays Monday to Saturday 08:30–18:30, and Visit London gives the same as the usual central pattern. That makes Sunday and the evening the cheap times on the street — but the council changed its tariffs in March 2026 and individual bays differ, so read the sign at the bay.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The Congestion Charge is £18 a day since 2 January 2026, Monday to Friday 07:00–18:00 and 12:00–18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays. Some TfL pages still showed £15 when checked; the rise is reported by the RAC. Parking in a garage inside the zone does not excuse you from it.
- A car registered outside the UK is treated as not meeting the ULEZ standard until TfL's partner EPC plc accepts it, which can take up to 10 working days. Until then you pay £12.50 a day or risk a £180 penalty, £90 within 14 days. Petrol must be Euro 4, diesel Euro 6.
- TfL states that both UK and non-UK registered vehicles get penalty charge notices. A foreign plate is not a way out.
- Westminster's kerb takes no cash: RingGo, PayByPhone, JustPark, phone 020 7125 9090 or a parking card, plus up to 30p per session. The hourly rate depends on zone and CO2, £1.46 to £10.58, with up to 50% extra on pre-2015 diesels; the maximum stay is usually four hours.
- Central garages are low: Q-Park Leicester Square 1.83 m, NCP Bloomsbury Square 1.90 m, Q-Park Chinatown 1.98 m. A roof box belongs at Cockfosters (2.0 m) or NCP Brewer Street (2.30 m).
- Traffic keeps left, and at a roundabout you give way to traffic from the right.
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.
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