Calanques, Vieux Port, pastis and pétanque, welcome to Marseille for a sunny, stress-free weekend with our tips for finding a parking space in Marseille.
Ah Marseille… With its 57 kilometers of coastline, 300 days of year-round sunshine, lilting accent, gourmet and convivial local specialties and vibrant culture, the city of Marseille has plenty to seduce you. And it’s no coincidence that Marseille was named European Capital of Culture in 2013: the city is full of surprises.
But as in all major French cities, parking in Marseille can be a real challenge: between the chronic shortage of spaces, the ever-increasing number of vehicles and traffic problems, your vacation in the sun could quickly turn into a nightmare. Fortunately, here are our tips to help you find a parking space in Marseille, whether for a weekend or a few days.
Parking in Marseille: street parking
Parking in the streets of Marseilles is not impossible, but it can be very complicated: free spaces are becoming increasingly rare, and parking rates are rising every year. With over 15,000 spaces generated by parking meters, rates are defined by three zones: the yellow zone, the orange zone and the red lanes, reserved for short-term parking.
For the orange zone, you pay €0.50 for 30 minutes, €1.50 for 1 hour, €6 for 3 hours and €17 for 4 hours 30 minutes or more. For the yellow zone, the rates are the same, except that you pay €5 for 3 hours and €6 for 4 hours. Finally, for the red lanes, you can park for up to 2h30 for 17€. These rates apply from 9am to 7pm, except on Sundays and public holidays, so make the most of them! Please note: rates are doubled on level 1 ozone alert days.
And above all, don’t tempt the devil by not paying the parking meter: since January 2018, the ScanCars brigade has been keeping a watchful eye on the streets of Marseille in search of bad payers. With nearly 1,500 license plates scanned per hour, parking in Marseille can quickly take a (very) heavy toll on the wallet.
Parking in Marseille: covered parking lots
Contrary to what you might think, you can find many parking lots in Marseille at attractive rates, which won’t ruin your entire vacation budget.
Just a stone’s throw from the Vieux Port, you’ll find the Vieux Port parking lot, which offers the first 30 minutes. After that, charge €1.80 for 1 hour, €3.60 for 2 hours and €15.30 for 24 hours. On the other side of the Vieux Port, you’ll find the Estienne d’Orves parking lot, with cheap long-term parking: €12.50 for 24 hours.
The best parking plan in Marseille? Park in supermarket parking lots. Just off the port terraces, there’s a Casino Supermarché where you can park for free for 2 hours. The same applies to the Super U near Fort d’Entrecasteaux, and the Simply Market and Darty parking lots in the Castellane district. There’s also a very small 16-space parking lot at Place Paul Ricard.
Cheap parking lots in Marseille: parking lots for soccer fans
If you’re a soccer fan, and particularly an OM fan, you’ll be pleased to know that there are some great deals on cheap parking in Marseille, just a stone’s throw from the Vélodrome stadium. The Hippodrome parking lot offers very reasonable daily rates: €1.50 for 24 hours from October to May and €4.50 for 24 hours from June to September.
Also close to the stadium, two parking lots – Escale P6 and Restaurant de la mer – both located on avenue Pierre Mendès, offer special rates of €1 for 24 hours in winter and €4 for 24 hours in summer.