Cambridge City Council manages many of the city's car parks and these car parks operate under the council's Off Street Parking Order 2008.
There are five pay on foot multi-storey car parks where you pay at the machine when you return to your vehicle. These car parks are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We also manage three pay-and-display car parks where you pay for and display a ticket in your windscreen before you leave your vehicle.
Please note that there are other car parks in Cambridge, and that the Cambridge Leisure Park and the train station car parks are managed by NCP.
You can see each car park on our car parks map, which also includes some other car parks including NCP sites and Cambridgeshire County Council-managed Park and Ride sites.
Shop late every Wednesday
Most shops in the city centre stay open till 8pm every Wednesday. Park at our car parks from 5pm at the hourly evening rate to make the most of it.
Season tickets
Season tickets are available for the following car parks; more information can be found on their pages:
Penalty charges
Our car parks are patrolled by civil enforcement officers and penalty charge notices may be issued for:
- cars parked out of bay
- cars parked in disabled bays without a valid blue badge
- cars parked in our pay and display car parks without displaying a valid ticket or having exceeded the expiry time.
Overnight parking
For overnight parking in our multi-storey car parks the day and overnight tariff need to be added together because we are open 24 hours. The overnight tariff begins at 5pm through to 7.30am the next morning.
The cheapest car parks are Queen Anne Terrace multi-storey near Parker's Piece or Castle Hill pay and display car park off Castle Street which cater for longer stays.
Parking is available on-street in pay and display bays, the majority of which stop charging from 5pm but signs should be read for clarity as some continue to charge up until 6.30pm. Charging begins again at 9am in the morning in the majority of cases.
Parking is also allowed on single yellow lines but signs should be read for confirmation when restrictions end.
Overnight parking is not allowed at Park and Ride sites.
Lost tickets
Lost parking tickets are charged from 9am on the day of entry. A refund can be applied for if the ticket is subsequently found.
Cycle parks and pushchair hire
The Grand Arcade and Park Street car parks have covered space for over 200 cycles each.
Both car parks also operate a pushchair-hire scheme for parents cycling into town with young children.
Read more on our cycle parks page.
Safer Parking scheme
Four of our car parks have been awarded Park Mark status.
This means they have been assessed by the police and have measures in place to deter criminal activity, creating a safer environment for people and vehicles.
The Castle Hill, Grafton East, Park Street and Queen Anne car parks have achieved Park Mark status.
Visit the Park Mark website for more information.
