Salzburg Parking: Where, How Long & How Much
Salzburg is a historic city with lots of lanes that are as romantic as narrow. The Old Town is a labyrinth of ancient buildings and there are hills that divide the city up into many segregated neighbourhoods. In other words: Salzburg is a pain in the ass if you are looking for a parking lot, the ultimate nightmare for everybody driving a car who is now familiar with the city.
There are one ways all over the place, roads around the hills, tunnels through the hills - and above all, thousands of commuters that compete with tourists for space, be it for parking or on the roads. No wonder that Salzburg is the Austrian cycling capital, with more than 20 percent of all person transfers occurring on a bicycle (in Vienna, it is four percent). But relax: There are possibilities to park your car in a convenient manner. In this article, we aim to show you where you find parking lots.
Short-Term Parking in Salzburg
First of all, an important message: Essentially all areas of the old town are short-term parking, not all of them are clearly assigned as such! Blue lines are common, but not the only indicator of a short-term parking zone, watch out for plates indicating them and machines to get yourself a parking ticket.
Short-term parking areas are called "Kurzparkzone" in German, they are generally active from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 7 pm. During this time, you must always buy a ticket - which you can with the machines on the side of the streets, they operate with coins.
On Saturdays, short-term parking is from 9 am to 6 pm and free of charge - however, you must still indicate the time of your arrival, which is generally done with a carton watch. The maximum amount of time you can park in a Kurzparkzone during these hours on Saturday are three hours.
Park & Ride Parking
There are Park and Ride parking lots available at all major entry points to Salzburg. In total, some 1,100 parking lots can be filled. They are indicated by "P+R" on plates and offer direct links to the city busses or local trains. Tickets for P+R parking are subsidised and kept at a low rate as an incentive for using them.
Free Parking in Salzburg
Tricky, that one - most locals know the shady ways and hidden corners that are free and still in walking distance to the city centre (Old Town), but keep in mind that you might have to walk for some 20 minutes or so. Watch out for areas near the station, beyond the touristy region in northern Parsch or south of the Nonntal area. Parts of Maxglan might also have free parking opportunities, but they tend to get less and less common - and are not always convenient for international visitors who want to stay in the city centre. In this case, Park and Ride might be the better option for your.
Commercial Parking
Commercial parking lots are indicated on plates along all major roads. For example, all shopping malls in the surroundings of Salzburg have them. Tourists, however, prefer the major "Parkhäuser" (parking lots in multi-storey buildings) in central locations - if you pay, why now aiming for the centre?
The most central of these parking lots is the Mönchsbergarage, officially called "Altstadtgarage 1" and "Altstadtgarage 2". It is built directly into the Mönchsberg mountain. If you purchase things in the Old Town or go to a restaurant or café, ask if they will stamp your ticket - if so, you will get a discount.
Links
On Public Transport in Salzburg
http://gis.stadt-salzburg.at/citymap/citymap.asp?parking=1
Interactive Map that shows all parking lots of Salzburg - highly useful and
provided by the city of Salzburg, but in German only
http://www.stadt-salzburg.at/internet/themen/verkehr/t2_91183/p2_91185.htm
City of Salzburg on Parking (German)
http://www.salzburg.info/en/arrival_traffic/car/parking_in_salzburg.htm
Tourist Info Office of Salzburg on parking in the city
