Marseille's street meters are cheap: €1.50 for the first hour in the centre, charged Monday to Saturday 09:00–19:00, free on Sundays and public holidays. The catch is the clock. Orange and yellow streets stop at 4h30, red streets at 2h30. For a whole day, go underground, where the Indigo car parks round the Vieux-Port show €3.60 an hour.
The second rule starts at home. Central Marseille is a ZFE, a low-emission zone enforced around the clock, and every car needs a Crit'Air sticker, foreign plates included. It only comes by post, so order it before you leave.
Upside down under the Ombrière
Stand under the polished steel canopy on the Vieux-Port quay and you see yourself upside down. A few metres away the fishermen sell the morning catch from trestles. Turn round and the gilded Virgin of Notre-Dame de la Garde sits on her hill above every roof in town.
The Canebière and the pizza-priced bouillabaisse
I would not plan a stroll on La Canebière. The name is famous; the avenue is a traffic artery climbing away from the Vieux-Port, and ten minutes of it is plenty.
My second skip is any bouillabaisse priced like a pizza. The real dish is a slow, two-course affair built on several kinds of rockfish, and it costs what that takes. On the quay I order grilled fish and save the real thing for the Vallon des Auffes.
Navettes from a 1781 oven on rue Sainte
Four des Navettes has baked below the Abbaye Saint-Victor since 1781. People come for the navette, a very dry, boat-shaped biscuit scented with orange blossom. Buy a bag and dunk them in coffee. I go in the morning.
No Crit'Air sticker, no central Marseille
The ZFE covers the centre inside the boulevards of Plombières, Jarret and the Prado, every day, around the clock. Crit'Air 4, 5 and unclassified vehicles have been banned since September 2023; Crit'Air 3 is still allowed. Every vehicle must show the sticker, with no exception for foreign plates. The fine for a car is €68.
Order only at certificat-air.gouv.fr; the métropole warns about fake lookalike sites. If you read that France scrapped its ZFEs: Parliament voted to in April 2026, but an EV-industry guide (irve.org) reports the Constitutional Council struck it out on 21 May 2026. Marseille's zone stands.
Parking in Marseille: Orange streets, red streets, and €3.60 underground
Low-emission zones in Europe: ZFE-m of Aix-Marseille-Provence
- Foreign plates
- Sticker compulsory, foreign plates included
- When
- 24 hours, every day
- Fine
- €68 for a car or van; €135 for a lorry, bus or coach
- EV
- Battery electric and hydrogen are Crit'Air 0, allowed at all times
Crit'Air 3 is still allowed here; the zone runs on the metropolitan decree of 28 June 2022 (checked 18 September 2026)
The city's contractor SAGS publishes the grid. In the orange hypercentre: €0.50 for 30 minutes, €1.50 an hour, €4 for two hours, €8 for four, then €17 for the full 4h30. Yellow streets further out charge €3 for two hours and €6 for four. Red streets stop at 2h30, and that last half hour costs €17 too. No car may stay over 24 hours on one spot. Pay at the meter or with TIMO, PayByPhone, Flowbird or Prestopark.
Forget to pay and it is a forfait post-stationnement of €17, minus whatever you paid, in every zone.
Underground, Indigo runs most of the Vieux-Port. Charles de Gaulle, at the foot of the Canebière, is €1.20 for 15 minutes and €3.60 an hour. Bourse and La Criée charge €0.90 a quarter hour, the same €3.60 an hour. All three are 1.90 m high. Indigo publishes no day rate online; the price at the entrance is the one that counts. An older Métropole page still advertises €2.40 an hour and €15.50 a day; the operator sets its own price, so I follow Indigo.
My pick is Vieux-Port Mucem: the first 30 minutes are free, then €3.50 an hour, and the roof is 3.20 m, so a van or roof box fits. The town-hall Q-Park (1.90 m) publishes no tariff.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Vieux-Port Mucem (Indigo)Esplanade J4, 13002 — under the esplanade between the Mucem and the Fort Saint-Jean | First 30 minutes free, €2.50 for 45 minutes, €3.50 an hour, €7.10 for two hours. Open 24/7, height 3.20 m. Day rate not published online. | Chargers on site, Indigo Recharge advertised from €0.29/kWh. |
| Charles de Gaulle (Indigo)22 Place du Général de Gaulle, 13001 — at the foot of the Canebière, a block from the Vieux-Port | €1.20 for 15 minutes, €2.20 for 30, €3.60 an hour. Open 24/7, number-plate entry, height 1.90 m. Day rate not published online. | Chargers on site, Indigo Recharge advertised from €0.29/kWh. |
| Bourse – Musée d'Histoire (Indigo)1 Rue Reine Elisabeth, 13001 — under the Centre Bourse, beside the history museum | €0.90 per 15 minutes, €3.60 an hour. Open 24/7, height 1.90 m. Day rate not published online. | Chargers on site, Indigo Recharge advertised from €0.29/kWh. |
| Vieux-Port la Criée (Indigo)38 Quai de Rive Neuve, 13007 — the south quay of the Vieux-Port, by the Théâtre de la Criée | €0.90 per 15 minutes, €3.60 an hour. Open 24/7, height 1.90 m. Day rate not published online. | Chargers on site, Indigo Recharge advertised from €0.29/kWh. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Kerb, orange zone (hypercentre) | €4 | €0.50 for 30 minutes, €1.50 for the first hour, €4 for two, €8 for four; the last half hour to the 4h30 cap takes it to €17, the same as the forfait post-stationnement. Red streets stop at 2h30. Free evenings, Sundays and public holidays. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Vieux-Port Mucem (Indigo) | €7.10 | height 3.20 m · first 30 min free; roof 3.20 m |
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Towed in Marseille: Capitaine Gèze, and never on a Sunday
Marseille has one municipal car pound: the Fourrière municipale, in the 14th arrondissement north of the centre, phone 04 91 14 65 40. It opens Monday to Saturday 08:00–19:00, shut on Sundays and public holidays, and those closed days are not charged.
First check it was towed, not stolen: the city points to the online check on service-public.fr, or the nearest police station. From 1 October 2026 the national ceilings for Marseille are €135 for the tow and €10 a day in storage; if you catch the lorry before it leaves, it is €15.20. The parking fine comes on top.
Bring originals: registration document, valid insurance certificate, driving licence and the police release form, the mainlevée. The city also asks for a current roadworthiness test, so carry your own country's certificate. Pay by a link sent to your mobile, or in exact cash. For a hire car, ring the rental company first. The classic mistake is arriving on a Sunday.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The police order the removal and the car goes to the city's single municipal pound, the Service de la Fourrière municipale
- Phone
- Fourrière municipale de Marseille — the pound itself, Mon–Sat 08:00–19:00: +33 4 91 14 65 40
Police emergency, if you think the car was stolen rather than towed: 17 - Collect it at
- One pound for the whole city: Fourrière municipale, 58 boulevard Capitaine Gèze, in the 14th arrondissement, north of the centre.
- Hours
- Monday to Saturday 08:00–19:00; closed on Sundays and public holidays, and those closed days are not charged.
- What it costs
- National ceilings for Marseille from 1 October 2026: €135 for the removal of a car, €10 per day of storage, €15.20 if you arrive before the car leaves, €7.60 for a wheel clamp. The street fine is separate.
- Bring
- Originals only: registration document (the city adds an up-to-date roadworthiness test), valid insurance certificate, driving licence and the police release form (mainlevée). Pay by a link sent to your mobile, or in cash with the exact amount. For a hire car, ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Marseille: Charge+ on the kerb, Indigo underground
The métropole's street chargers carry TotalEnergies' Charge+ name. Without a subscription it is €0.54 per kWh, day or night. From 30 minutes after the charge ends, €0.07 a minute runs in the daytime. The €5-a-month Option City is not worth it for a weekend.
Indigo's four central car parks have chargers, advertised "from €0.29 per kWh"; that is a starting price, so read the terminal. The town-hall Q-Park has seven points and no price online. For an evening charge I take Bourse, five minutes from dinner on the port.
Where to charge
- Charge+ street chargers — €0.54 per kWh — On-street across the Aix-Marseille-Provence métropole, run by TotalEnergies. Without a subscription €0.54/kWh AC, day or night. Idle fee €0.07 a minute from 30 minutes after the charge ends, daytime. The €5-a-month Option City gives €0.45 by day (08:00–20:00) and €0.40 at night
- Bourse car park — chargers under the Centre Bourse — Parking Bourse, five minutes from the Vieux-Port. Indigo Recharge advertises from €0.29/kWh; that is a starting price, so read the terminal. My pick for an evening charge: €0.90 quarter hours and dinner on the port
- Q-Park Vieux-Port Hôtel de Ville — 7 charge points — Passage Pentecontore, under the town hall on the north quay. 545 spaces, 1.90 m, 7 charge points; Q-Park publishes neither the parking tariff nor the charging price online
Free parking in Marseille: Evenings, Sundays and the métro
The easiest free parking is on the clock: street meters do not charge 19:00–09:00, on Sundays or on public holidays. Mind the 24-hour rule: a space taken on Saturday evening must be vacated by Sunday evening.
The RTM park-and-rides are free for holders of an RTM 7-day, 30-day or annual pass or a Pass Métropole, as long as you ride the métro, tram or bus both ways. Most open every day 04:30–20:00, and qualifying users may leave the car from Friday until Monday 08:00. My pick is La Blancarde, on métro line 1. I found no published price for occasional users on single tickets.
Wherever you park, leave the car visibly empty; in any big port city I empty the boot too.
Free or nearly-free spots
Street meters sleep 19:00–09:00, Sundays and holidays
Paid street parking runs Monday to Saturday 09:00–19:00 only. Evenings, Sundays and public holidays are free, but no car may stay more than 24 consecutive hours on the same spot, so a Saturday-evening space is not a weekend space.
RTM park-and-ride: free with a pass
The RTM park-and-rides are free for holders of an RTM 7-day, 30-day or annual pass or a Pass Métropole who ride the métro, tram or bus both ways. Most open daily 04:30–20:00; qualifying users may leave the car from Friday to Monday 08:00. La Blancarde sits on métro line 1. No price for occasional users on single tickets is published.
Half an hour free at the Mucem
Indigo's grid for Vieux-Port Mucem starts at €0 for 30 minutes. Enough to photograph the Fort Saint-Jean and leave, not to see the museum.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The Marseille ZFE covers the centre inside the boulevards of Plombières, Jarret and the Prado, 24 hours a day, every day. Crit'Air 4, 5 and unclassified vehicles have been banned since September 2023; Crit'Air 3 is still allowed. Every vehicle needs a Crit'Air sticker, foreign plates included. Fine: €68 for a car, €135 for a lorry or coach.
- Order the Crit'Air sticker only from certificat-air.gouv.fr. The métropole warns about intermediaries and fraudulent lookalike sites.
- Street parking stops at 4h30 on orange and yellow streets and 2h30 on red streets; the last step on each grid is €17, the same as the forfait post-stationnement. Paid Monday to Saturday 09:00–19:00.
- The central garages at Charles de Gaulle, Bourse, La Criée and the Q-Park under the town hall are only 1.90 m high. With a van or roof box, use Vieux-Port Mucem at 3.20 m.
- From 1 June to 30 September the Calanques massifs open or close day by day on fire risk; on red days access is banned around the clock. In 2026 the roads to Sormiou, Morgiou and Callelongue were shut to cars 07:00–19:00 from 12 June to 30 August.
- Car break-ins are the risk I plan around in any big port city: leave nothing on the seats or in the boot, and prefer a staffed or camera-watched garage overnight.
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.