Nice is difficult to park in if you improvise, and straightforward once you know three rules. Here are the official rates, the free hours few visitors know about, and the car parks worth the walk.
The port car park
The Lympia car park on quai Lunel has 382 underground spaces, ten of them for reduced-mobility drivers and forty with charging points. It is open seven days a week.
| Period | Rate |
|---|---|
| First 15 minutes | free |
| Standard rate | €0.65 per quarter hour — €2.60 an hour |
| 12pm–2pm and 7pm–1am | €0.35 per quarter hour — €1.40 an hour |
| Weekly pass | €120 |
A €15 day rate exists but is reserved for ferry and cruise passengers on proof of travel. For a stay of several days, the weekly pass quickly makes sense.
Next door, the Entrecasteaux car park offers 53 open-air spaces at the same rates, with thirty minutes free. One caveat: it may close during Corsica ferry boarding or when events are held at the port.
The rule nobody knows
Street parking is chargeable Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm, and free on Sundays and public holidays. So far, nothing unusual.
What is unusual: you are entitled to two free hours a day, Monday to Saturday, provided you take a ticket from the machine. Two hours fifteen for a zero-emission vehicle.
The ticket is essential. Without it there is no free period — and the fine follows.
Beyond that the scale rises gently: €1.20 an hour, €2.40 for two hours. Stays are capped at two hours fifteen, after which you risk a €25 penalty. Pay at the machine or through the PayByPhone app.
One free hour under cover
Several central car parks give you the first hour. The most useful from the port and the Old Town:
- Corvésy, 3 rue Alexandre Mari — on the edge of the Old Town
- Palais de Justice — in the heart of the old quarter
- Saleya — beneath the flower market
- Sulzer and Promenade des Arts
For a quick errand or a long lunch, that hour is often enough.
Park and ride
The metropolitan authority runs ten park-and-ride sites, close to three and a half thousand spaces. The principle is simple: parking is free if you make a return journey on public transport the same day.
This is the answer if you arrive by car and plan to explore on foot: leave the vehicle on the outskirts — Henri Sappia, Charles Ehrmann, Vauban — and come into town by tram.
One myth worth dispelling: there is no general free parking in Nice during August. The only free periods are Sundays, public holidays, and the two daily hours described above.
Information verified in September 2026 against official sources. Prices and opening times may change.