Although Barcelona has a lot of parking spots, it is without any doubt much quicker and more comfortable to go with the public transport during your visit to the city. If you do want to go by car to the centre of Barcelona, it is necessary to look out for the coloured lines of the parking spots on the streets. Parking is prohibited in zones with a yellow line. If the lines are painted blue or green then it is obligatory to buy a ticket.

Normally you have to pay in the blue zones from Monday until Friday between 09.00 and 14.00 and between 16.00 and 20.00 and on Saturdays from 09.00 until 14.00. The parking time is limited to two hours and the tariffs are varying between €1,08 and €2,42 per hour, dependant in which area/quarter you are.

The green zones are meant for inhabitants and they pay a very lucrative tariff for it. On some spots only residents may park. That is being indicated with signs saying: ‘Àrea residents’. Though sometimes others can also park in the green zones  for the maximum of 1 hour. This is being indicated with signs that say ‘Àrea preferent’. In these zones you have to buy a ticket from Monday until Friday between 08.00 and 20.00, and on some spots in the city centre also on Saturday. At present the tariffs vary between €2,68 and €2,94 per hour.

In some streets it is tolerated to park on the right driving lane and bus and taxi lanes during nights and weekends. This is indicated with a sign which for example says: ‘Prohibited to park from Monday until Friday between 07.00 and 21.00’. Those signs indicate that you can park free of charge after 21.00. But beware to be gone before the indicated hour on the sign.

The private operated parking-lots in Barcelona, above and underground, make use of extreme divergent tariffs. A useful tool to find a parking spot in a certain area, for example close to a hotel, museum or attraction, is the ‘parking spot finder’. You fill in an address and the application proposes the nearest parking spots. If you click on a parking place you will get the right address and the openings hours.

There is also a network of urban parking-lots which are indicated with the name B:SM. This network possesses 46 parking installations spread all over Barcelona. At present parking costs €2,67 there. In these lots you can buy several prepaid cards like for example a card for 25 hours (€54,90), 50 hours (€104,70) and 100 hours (€191,20). With these cards you have profits rising up to 30%. A map with all the urban parkings you will find on the website of B:SM.

In Barcelona parking money is calculated and paid per minute and not per hour. This is for protection of the consumer (Law for Protection of the Consumer).

At shopping malls it is different. There parking is sometimes (limited) free of charge. In the parking-lot of the Diagonal Mar shopping mall you can for example park free for three hours, in shopping mall Les Glòries it is free for two hours and in the mall of La Maquinista parking is free (unlimited).

Are you visiting Barcelona by car (vacation), but you won’t use your car in the city centre, you can also park it in one of the free parking spots at the city’s border. You will find a few at the metro stops Vall d’Hebron and Zona Universitària (line 3).

A small marginal note: during August parking in most of the streets of Barcelona is free of charge, but this doesn’t count for the blue zones.

Coming by car to Barcelona? Take a look at Barcelona Rentals.