Parking in London

Coming by car? Driving into the centre of London is slow and parking is expensive. Here is where to park near the sights, the cheaper Park & Ride option, and what you need to know about the Low Emission Zone.

Checked: 18 October 2026. Prices and hours can change; check the official site before you go.

Free & cheap parking in London →

🚫 Low Emission Zone (LEZ)

Central London charges you in two separate ways. The Congestion Charge is £18 a day (£21 if you pay up to midnight of the third charging day after the trip), Mon–Fri 07:00–18:00 and Sat–Sun and bank holidays 12:00–18:00, with no charge from Christmas Day to New Year's Day. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) covers all London boroughs, runs 24 hours every day except 25 December, and costs £12.50 a day if your car does not meet the standard. Foreign-registered cars pay the same charges.

Congestion Charge zone: central London (the page points you to the TfL postcode checker and zone maps). The charge is for driving in the zone, not for parking, so a car park inside the zone costs extra.
ULEZ standard for cars: petrol Euro 4 (NOx), diesel Euro 6 (NOx and PM). In practice petrol cars first registered after 2005 and diesel cars first registered after September 2015 usually comply. The ULEZ daily charge runs from midnight to midnight.
A trip can cost both: a non-compliant car in the Congestion Charge zone pays £18 plus £12.50 on the same day.
The Low Emission Zone (LEZ) is for heavy diesel commercial vehicles, not private cars, so it does not apply to a family car.

Foreign cars: TfL holds no emission data for vehicles registered outside the UK, so a foreign car can be treated as non-compliant unless you register it with TfL and show that it meets the standard. Register in a TfL account with a copy of the registration certificate (or the Certificate of Conformity) showing the Euro standard, before you travel. Until TfL confirms by e-mail, pay the daily charge to be safe. The Congestion Charge itself is paid for every vehicle, foreign or not, on tfl.gov.uk or the TfL app.

Fine: A Penalty Charge Notice for the Congestion Charge or ULEZ is £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days. It is sent to the registered keeper and TfL pursues foreign keepers too. For the Congestion Charge the PCN follows if the day is not paid by midnight of the third charging day after travel.

Official LEZ website ↗

Car parks near the sights

Q-Park Park Lane · Q-Park

📍 Near: Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Mayfair, Buckingham Palace (about 25 min walk)
🕗 Open: 24/7
↕️ Max height: 2.08 m · 🔌 EV charging: yes
📍 Park Lane, London W1K 7AN
Map Website

Q-Park Soho · Q-Park

📍 Near: Soho, Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden (15 min walk)
🕗 Open: 24/7
🔌 EV charging: yes
📍 Poland Street, London W1F 7NQ
Map Website

NCP London Covent Garden · NCP

📍 Near: Covent Garden, London Transport Museum, British Museum (12 min walk), Soho
💶 Per hour: £6
Per day: £30
↕️ Max height: 1.88 m · 🔌 EV charging: –
📍 Parker Street, Parker Mews, London WC2B 5NT
Map Website

Q-Park Pimlico · Q-Park

📍 Near: Westminster Abbey (20 min walk), Tate Britain, Victoria Station, Buckingham Palace (20 min walk)
🕗 Open: 24/7
↕️ Max height: 1.90 m · 🔌 EV charging: yes
📍 Cumberland Street, London SW1V 4LR
Map Website

Q-Park Victoria · Q-Park

📍 Near: Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St James's Park, Buckingham Palace (15 min walk)
🕗 Open: 24/7
↕️ Max height: 2.10 m · 🔌 EV charging: –
📍 Arneway Street, London SW1P 2TX
Map Website

Q-Park Tower Bridge · Q-Park

📍 Near: Tower Bridge, The Shard (15 min walk), Borough Market (15 min walk), HMS Belfast
🕗 Open: 24/7
↕️ Max height: 1.95 m · 🔌 EV charging: yes
📍 Gainsford Street, London SE1 2NE
Map Website

Park & Ride: park at the edge of town, Tube or train in

P+R means Park and Ride: a car park on the edge of the city, next to a metro, tram or bus stop. You leave the car there and ride into the centre.

Stanmore station car park (Jubilee line)
- 🚇 Jubilee line from Stanmore (terminus) to Westminster, London Bridge or Bond Street; the car park is open 24/7 and you pay by phone or on site
- 💶 £12 Mon–Fri and bank holidays, £11 Sat–Sun (per day, Tube fare extra); pay on arrival by PayByPhone or machine, no advance booking
- Map Website
Cockfosters station car park (Piccadilly line)
- 🚇 Piccadilly line from Cockfosters (terminus) to Leicester Square, Covent Garden or Piccadilly Circus
- 💶 £11 Mon–Fri and bank holidays, £10 Saturday, £9 Sunday (per day, Tube fare extra); pay on arrival, no advance booking
- Map Website
Epping station car park (Central line)
- 🚇 Central line from Epping (terminus) to Oxford Circus, Holborn, St Paul's or Liverpool Street
- 💶 £13 Mon–Fri and bank holidays, £10 Sat–Sun (per day, Tube fare extra); pay on arrival, no advance booking
- Map Website
Newbury Park station car park (Central line)
- 🚇 Central line to Stratford, Liverpool Street, St Paul's and Oxford Circus
- 💶 A daily tariff, cashless (pay by phone); weekends cost less than weekdays
- Map Website
Ebbsfleet International station (high-speed train to St Pancras)
- 🚇 Southeastern high-speed train to London St Pancras International, with the Tube at King's Cross St Pancras; on the way from the Channel Tunnel (Dover and Folkestone) side, it lies just off the M25 and A2 · 19 min to the centre
- 💶 Several car parks with different daily rates; pre-paying online is cheaper than paying on the day
- Map Website

Street parking

In central London most street bays are pay-to-park, in Westminster usually Monday to Friday or Monday to Saturday 08:30–18:30 (some zones differ, so read the sign), and you pay by app (RingGo, PayByPhone or JustPark; each adds a fee of up to 30p; the pay-and-display machines are gone). Rates in Westminster follow the car's CO2 band: when we checked (October 2026) the West End zones ran from £4.78 to £10.58 an hour, about £7.78 for a typical petrol car. The usual maximum stay is 4 hours. Resident-only bays and double yellow or red lines are not for visitors: red routes forbid stopping almost everywhere. Other boroughs have their own rates and hours.

Tips

Do not drive into central London

Centre parking, the Congestion Charge and ULEZ add up quickly, and the Tube and buses are faster. Park outside, at a station car park or a hotel, and take the train or Tube in.

Drive on the left

Traffic keeps left and roundabouts run clockwise. A passenger helps with junctions and bus lanes; the first minutes on the Channel Tunnel side are the easiest to get wrong.

Pay the Congestion Charge on the day

£18 if paid on the day or in advance, £21 if paid by midnight of the third day after the trip. Number-plate cameras read your plate: there is no ticket to display.

Register a foreign car for ULEZ before you travel

Petrol Euro 4 and diesel Euro 6 are fine, but TfL cannot see foreign data. Check the Euro standard on your registration certificate, register on tfl.gov.uk, or pay £12.50 a day.

Dartford Crossing: pay online by midnight the next day

The Dart Charge applies 06:00–22:00 every day, with no barriers. Pay at gov.uk by midnight the day after you cross, or you get a fine. A car costs £3.50 for a one-off payment or pay as you go, £2.80 with a pre-pay account (gov.uk).

Book ahead and watch the height limit

Garages fill up on weekends and event days; an online booking is usually cheaper than the walk-in rate. Central car parks take cars up to 1.83–2.10 m: check before you enter with a roof box.

Cards and apps

Many car parks and street bays are cashless. Install a parking app (RingGo, PayByPhone or JustPark) and bring a bank card.

Plan your trip → Put these places in a day plan with walking times.