Since 1 April 2026, 22 streets in The Hague charge by the minute on a rising scale: 35 cents a minute to start, €25 for an hour, €50 for anything over 90 minutes. Seventeen are the prettiest streets in the old centre — Bierkade, Paviljoensgracht, Zuidwal — and five are in Scheveningen, a street back from the beach. They are exactly where a visitor would stop.
Meanwhile the city's transport company sells Park+Beach: 24 hours in a central garage and a return tram to the sand for €6.50, €1 for each extra person. Two park and rides are free outright. The Hague punishes the kerb and rewards anyone who reads the tariff.
First lookA seat of government with a beach at the end of the tram line
Parliament, ministries, embassies and the international courts sit here, and at the end of tram 1 is a North Sea beach. The Hague never had the old city rights its neighbours had; the Haags Gemeentearchief records that the States of Holland refused them, and that it took Louis Napoleon in 1806 to grant the rank of city.
What I notice is the space: wide avenues, trees, lawns like the Malieveld in the middle of town. It feels like a capital that forgot to get crowded.
Tourist trapsThe Binnenhof you cannot see, and a summer kerb that fines on the spot
The Binnenhof, the parliament complex, has been under renovation since 2021, and the last Ridderzaal tour ran that autumn. The House sits temporarily on Bezuidenhoutseweg, and ProDemos runs a €7.50 tour there with photo ID required from 14. I would walk the Hofvijver pond for the view and skip planning a day around the inside.
The other trap is the beach kerb in summer. Scheveningen is tariff zone I at €7.15 an hour, the city runs extra checks there in summer and fines on the spot. Park+Beach is the answer.
Local pickFive hundred stalls, four days a week
The Haagse Markt calls itself the largest open-air market in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe, with more than 500 stalls, on this site since 1938. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 09:00–17:00. I go on a Wednesday morning, eat standing up at the stalls, and buy fruit by the bowl.
Survival ruleRead the street name before you press start
Payment is by app: you enter the four-digit zone code shown on the machine and pay afterwards for the time used. On most central streets that is €7.15 an hour with a 120-minute maximum. On the 22 per-minute streets the same app quietly runs up to €50. The fine for not paying at all is €82 plus the tariff, so the €50 street is barely better than the fine. Check the street sign, then the app.
01 · Parking€7.15 an hour, €35 a day underground
Low-emission zones in Europe: Milieuzone centrum and zero-emission zone
- Foreign plates
- The mildest car rule in the country: a diesel first registered from 2006 normally clears it. Nothing to register.
- When
- Round the clock; the zone signs carry no times
- Fine
- €130 plus €9 admin for a car or van, €320 for a lorry
- EV
- Battery electric and hydrogen: allowed everywhere, including the zero-emission zone.
Zero-emission zone for vans and lorries since 1 January 2025; the city says it warns for at least four months from 1 January 2026 in the new coastal area before it fines.
Tariff zone I covers the inner centre and the Scheveningen beach and harbour area: €7.15 an hour, rising to €10.75 from the third hour in streets the council designates. Central streets typically run Monday to Saturday 09:00–24:00 and Sunday 13:00–24:00. Zone II is €4.95, the rest of the city €2.75, and the green-and-yellow shopping zones €1 for the first two hours.
Garages are the better deal for anything over an hour. Helicon is €2.80 per half hour and €35 for 24 hours, the cheapest central day I found, though only 1.95 m high. Museumkwartier is €45 a day beside the Mauritshuis. WTC The Hague by the central station drops to €1.50 per half hour in the evening and at weekends.
The low-emission zone inside the Centrumring bars diesel cars below emission class 4 — the mildest rule in the country; a diesel from 2006 on normally passes. Petrol and electric cars need nothing. The fine is €130 plus €9.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Helicon (Interparking)Zwarteweg 40 — between the Malieveld and the Lange Voorhout | €2.80 per 30 minutes and **€35 for 24 hours** — the cheapest central day I found. 226 spaces, but **height 1.95 m**. | 9 charging points. |
| Museumkwartier (Interparking)Korte Voorhout 2P — the closest garage to the Mauritshuis and the Lange Voorhout | €2.10 per 20 minutes — €6.30 an hour — and **€45 for 24 hours**. 321 spaces, **height 2.10 m**, open 24/7. | **57 charging points at 11 kW.** |
| WTC The Hague (Interparking)Prinses Marijkestraat 5-7 — beside Den Haag Centraal | €2.50 per 30 minutes by day, **€1.50 per 30 minutes in the evening (18:00–08:00) and at weekends**, €50 for 24 hours. 925 spaces, height 2.00 m. For an evening in town it is the cheapest hour on this list. | **94 charging points** — the most in any central garage here. |
| Boulevard Scheveningen (Interparking)Strandweg 179 — under the beach boulevard, a short walk from the pier | €2.00 per 20 minutes and **€38 for 24 hours**, 686 spaces, **height 2.05 m**. The price page shows no summer surcharge. | Charging at 11 and 22 kW. |
| Q-Park MalieveldKoningskade 64 — at the edge of the Malieveld, and just outside the low-emission zone | Q-Park's tariff page would not load, so I have no walk-up price to give. What matters: it is one of the Park+Beach garages, 600 spaces, height 2.00 m, and the Mauritshuis itself suggests it for older diesel cars because it lies outside the zone. | 4 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 Mariahoeve (free) | Free | Free and open 24/7, 232 spaces, tram 6 to the centre in about 15 minutes. For the beach, HTM's Park+Beach at €6.50 includes the tram. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | WTC The Hague (Interparking) | €10 | height 2.00 m · €1.50 per 30 minutes evenings and weekends |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, tariff zone I (centre and Scheveningen) | €14.30 | Usually a two-hour maximum. On 22 streets in the old centre and Scheveningen a per-minute tariff since April 2026 makes 90 minutes €50. Not paying is €82 plus the tariff. |
| A full day (10 h) | P+R Mariahoeve (free) | Free | Free and open 24/7, 232 spaces, tram 6 to the centre in about 15 minutes. For the beach, HTM's Park+Beach at €6.50 includes the tram. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Helicon (Interparking) | €35 | height 1.95 m · €2.80 per 30 minutes |
| 24 hours | P+R Mariahoeve (free) | Free | Free and open 24/7, 232 spaces, tram 6 to the centre in about 15 minutes. For the beach, HTM's Park+Beach at €6.50 includes the tram. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Helicon (Interparking) | €35 | height 1.95 m · €2.80 per 30 minutes |
02 · TowedNootdorp, not The Hague, and €306 either way
A towed car leaves the city: it goes to Wegsleepbedrijf Nexus in Nootdorp, phone 085 130 13 99, open every day 08:00–24:00. Ring them to find out whether it was towed; if it is not there, ring the police on 0900 8844, because it may be stolen.
The bill is €306 including the first 24 hours, then €25 a day, plus the original parking fine. A wheel clamp costs the same €306, and unpaid for 24 hours it becomes a tow. Cars unclaimed after 16 days are auctioned or scrapped. Nexus takes cards.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- The city tows through Wegsleepbedrijf Nexus, and the depot is not in The Hague at all but in Nootdorp, on the eastern edge. A car seized by the police rather than towed for parking goes through the police impound team instead
- Phone
- Nexus, the depot — also the way to find out whether your car was towed: 085 130 13 99
Police, non-emergency — if the car is not at Nexus it may be stolen: 0900 8844 - Collect it at
- Wegsleepbedrijf Nexus, Spiegelstraat 8, in Nootdorp, outside the city boundary.
- Hours
- Every day 08:00–24:00. On public holidays, ring first.
- What it costs
- €306 for the tow including the first 24 hours of storage, then €25 for every further day, plus the original parking fine. After 16 days unclaimed the car is auctioned or scrapped. Card payment at Nexus; cash only in person at Spiegelstraat 8.
- Bring
- The city page does not list documents. Take photo ID, the registration document and the keys, and for a hire car ring the rental company before you set off.
03 · EVThe one city that prints its price: €0.41 per kWh
The Hague publishes the rate at its public chargers: €0.41 per kWh including VAT, before whatever your charge-card provider adds. You pay the parking on top and may only stay while actually charging. The city stopped approving new public chargers on 1 July 2026 because the grid is full, so the network is what it is.
For garages, WTC The Hague has 94 charging points and the cheap evening rate; Museumkwartier has 57 at 11 kW. My choice for an overnight EV is WTC.
Where to charge
- The city's public chargers — €0.41 per kWh — On-street across The Hague. The city publishes the price: €0.41 per kWh including VAT, though your charge-card provider may add its own fees. Paid parking applies while you charge, and you may only park there while actually charging, or risk a fine or a tow. New public chargers stopped being approved on 1 July 2026 because the grid is full, so do not expect more soon
- WTC The Hague — 94 points by the station — Prinses Marijkestraat 5-7. The largest garage installation in the centre, and €1.50 per half hour in the evening and at weekends. My pick for an EV staying the night near Den Haag Centraal
- Museumkwartier — 57 points at 11 kW — Korte Voorhout 2P, under the museum quarter. Slow charging where you would park for the Mauritshuis anyway, at €6.30 an hour for the space
04 · Free spots€6.50 to the beach, and two free car parks
Park+Beach, sold by HTM: 24 hours in a central garage plus a return tram to the Zwarte Pad stop, €6.50 for one person and €1 for each extra, up to five. The garages are Q-Park CS New Babylon and Malieveld on tram 9, World Forum and Victory Boogie Woogie on tram 1. In 2026 it ran weekends from April, every day in July and August. The city's own page says €7.50; HTM sells it, so I trust HTM.
For no cost at all: P+R Mariahoeve, 232 spaces, 24/7, tram 6 to the centre in about 15 minutes, and P+R De Uithof on RandstadRail 4. Neither asks for a particular card.
Free or nearly-free spots
Park+Beach: €6.50, the tram to the sand included
HTM, the city's transport company, sells a 24-hour parking ticket with a return tram to the beach at the Zwarte Pad stop: €6.50 for one person, €1 for each extra up to five. Garages: Q-Park CS New Babylon and Malieveld on tram 9, World Forum on tram 1, Victory Boogie Woogie on trams 1 and 15. In 2026 it ran on Friday to Sunday and holidays from April, every day in July and August, weekends again in September. The city's own page quotes €7.50; HTM is the one that sells it.
Two park and rides that cost nothing
P+R Mariahoeve is free, 232 spaces, open 24/7, with tram 6 to the centre in about 15 minutes and chargers on site. P+R De Uithof is free too, with RandstadRail line 4 in about 15 minutes. Neither asks for a particular card.
The €1 hour in the shopping streets
In the green-and-yellow consumer zones the first two hours are €1 an hour, then the normal €2.75. Since April 2026 you can no longer stop and restart the session to keep the cheap rate. For a short errand outside the old centre it is the cheapest legal kerb in the city.
Hotels with free parking
- Fletcher Hotel-Restaurant Scheveningen — Gevers Deynootweg 95 — Scheveningen, a street back from the beach Map. Its own spaces at €27.50 from 13:00 to 13:00 — and note that Gevers Deynootweg is one of the five Scheveningen streets on the €50-for-90-minutes tariff, so use the hotel's space, not the kerb outside
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Since 1 April 2026 a rising per-minute tariff applies on 22 streets: 35 cents a minute for the first 20 minutes, then steps to €25 for an hour and €50 for anything over 90 minutes. Seventeen are in the old centre — Bierkade, Paviljoensgracht, Zuidwal, Hamerstraat among them — and five in Scheveningen, including Gevers Deynootweg and Seinpostduin.
- Tariff zone I — the inner centre and the Scheveningen beach and harbour area — is €7.15 an hour, and in streets the council designates it rises to €10.75 from the third hour. Central streets typically run Monday to Saturday 09:00–24:00 and Sunday 13:00–24:00 with a 120-minute maximum. Payment is by app, entering the four-digit zone code shown on the machine.
- An unpaid session is a €82 fine plus the tariff for the spot, payable within 17 days. In summer the city runs extra checks in Scheveningen and fines on the spot.
- The low-emission zone inside the Centrumring bars diesel cars below emission class 4, so a diesel first registered from 2006 normally passes. Fine €130 plus €9 admin. Petrol, LPG and electric cars are not affected, and there is nothing to register.
- A wheel clamp costs €306 to remove, plus the parking fine, and if it is not paid within 24 hours the car is towed to Nootdorp — €306 again, plus €25 a day after the first 24 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.