What does parking in Groningen cost?

City centre: €5.00 per hour; Binnenstad-Oost, De Meeuwen/Oosterpoort, Grunobuurt/Laanhuizen, Hortusbuurt, Kop van Oost, Oranjewijk, Rivierenbuurt, Schildersbuurt, Westerhaven, Zeeheldenbuurt: €4.50 per hour; De Hoogte, Korrewegwijk, Oosterparkwijk: €4.50 per hour; Corpus den Hoorn, De Wijert-Noord, Helpman, Paddepoel, Selwerd, Tuinwijk: €2.70 per hour; De Wijert-Zuid, Hoornse Meer, Oosterhoogebrug business park and Stadspark: €2.70 per hour; De Linie: €2.70 per hour; Martiniplaza (Expositielaan, Leonard Springerlaan): €2.70 per hour, € 18 per day, maximum 24 hours; Haren centre: €2.70 per hour On top of that SimplePark charges a €0.29 service fee per session.

Is parking in Groningen free on Sundays?

No, paid on-street parking in Groningen also applies on Sundays.

What is the cheapest way to park in Groningen?

A P+R site on the edge of the city. Parking itself is free there; you only pay € 6.00 for a return trip on the P+R bus, and that applies for up to five people together. In the city centre you are € 5.00 per hour.

Parking in Groningen: rates, zones and hours

On-street parking in Groningen costs €2.70 to €5.00 per hour, depending on the area. Paid parking applies city centre Mon–Sat 9.00–24.00 and Sunday 12.00–17.00; in the outer districts until 19.00. SimplePark knows all 43 parking zones of Groningen: start your session in the app, stop it when you leave and pay only for the time you parked. Free parking is available at P+R sites around the city. The rates come from the municipality and were checked on September 7, 2026. With SimplePark you start and stop the parking session in the app and pay by the minute, plus €0.29 in service costs per parking action.

Where to park in Groningen

Groningen charges per district, and the difference is large: from the city centre to a district such as Paddepoel or Corpus den Hoorn you save almost two thirds on the hourly rate. If you only want to get into the city centre, you stand cheapest on a P+R site on the edge of the city. Parking is free there and you travel on with the P+R bus; Euroborg car park (P3) works that way too.

Around the city centre sits a ring of districts where you pay a little less but still until midnight: Hortusbuurt, Schildersbuurt, Oosterpoort, Zeeheldenbuurt and a handful of others. Further out, in De Wijert, Helpman and Selwerd, the rate drops a lot, and on a number of neighbourhood sites you pay only fifty cents for the first hour and a half. For Martiniplaza and De Linie separate, longer time slots apply, with a daily maximum at Martiniplaza.

Until when you pay

In the city centre and the ring around it paid parking runs from 9.00 to 24.00, from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday from 12.00 to 17.00. So Sunday is not a free day. In the outer districts it usually stops at 19.00 and often applies on weekdays only. Haren, which belongs to the municipality of Groningen, has its own window again: until 18.00, on Friday until 20.00.

If you have a disabled parking badge, you may stand for at most three hours for free in a paid-parking area, with your blue parking disc as well.

Paying and enforcement

At the meter you enter your licence plate and pay by debit card or credit card. Coins and notes do not work. The rest goes by licence plate, so always check that you are in the right parking area: that four-digit code is on the blue lighting box of the meter.

With SimplePark you start your session as soon as you stop and you stop it when you drive away, and you pay by the minute. In a city where the rate differs from street to street and the window runs through to midnight, that saves you estimating your visit in advance.

Rates and paid hours in Groningen

City centre
€5.00 per hour
Paid hours
Mon–Sat 9.00–24.00, Sunday 12.00–17.00
Stationsplein
Paid hours
always paid
€ 2.50 per 30 minutes
Binnenstad-Oost, De Meeuwen/Oosterpoort, Grunobuurt/Laanhuizen, Hortusbuurt, Kop van Oost, Oranjewijk, Rivierenbuurt, Schildersbuurt, Westerhaven, Zeeheldenbuurt
€4.50 per hour
Paid hours
Mon–Sat 9.00–24.00, Sunday 12.00–17.00
De Hoogte, Korrewegwijk, Oosterparkwijk
€4.50 per hour
Paid hours
Mon–Sat 9.00–19.00, Sunday 12.00–17.00
Corpus den Hoorn, De Wijert-Noord, Helpman, Paddepoel, Selwerd, Tuinwijk
€2.70 per hour
Paid hours
Mon–Sat 9.00–19.00
on the Overwinningsplein, Van Lenneplaan, Helperplein and Selwerd sites you pay € 0.50 for the first hour and a half
De Wijert-Zuid, Hoornse Meer, Oosterhoogebrug business park and Stadspark
€2.70 per hour
Paid hours
Mon–Fri 9.00–19.00
Oosterhoogebrug € 0.50 for the first hour and a half; Stadspark € 0.50 per hour and a half for the first three hours
De Linie
€2.70 per hour
Paid hours
Mon–Sun 9.00–24.00
Martiniplaza (Expositielaan, Leonard Springerlaan)
€2.70 per hour
Paid hours
Mon–Sun 7.00–24.00
Maximum
€ 18 per day, maximum 24 hours
Haren centre
€2.70 per hour
Paid hours
Mon–Sat 9.00–18.00, Friday until 20.00
on the De Brinken, Voorhorst and Oldehof sites you pay € 0.50 for the first hour and a half

Rates as of September 7, 2026, source: Groningen municipality.

Free parking and P+R in Groningen

P+R sites around the city
free
the P+R bus costs € 6.00 for a return ticket, for up to five people

How to pay with SimplePark in Groningen

Open the app: it finds the zone you are in, or you enter the zone code from the meter.
Pick your plate and start your session. You see the Groningen rate right away.
Stop the session when you leave. You pay only for the time you parked.

A hand holding a phone with the SimplePark app in the car

FAQ about parking in Groningen

What does parking in Groningen cost?
City centre: €5.00 per hour; Binnenstad-Oost, De Meeuwen/Oosterpoort, Grunobuurt/Laanhuizen, Hortusbuurt, Kop van Oost, Oranjewijk, Rivierenbuurt, Schildersbuurt, Westerhaven, Zeeheldenbuurt: €4.50 per hour; De Hoogte, Korrewegwijk, Oosterparkwijk: €4.50 per hour; Corpus den Hoorn, De Wijert-Noord, Helpman, Paddepoel, Selwerd, Tuinwijk: €2.70 per hour; De Wijert-Zuid, Hoornse Meer, Oosterhoogebrug business park and Stadspark: €2.70 per hour; De Linie: €2.70 per hour; Martiniplaza (Expositielaan, Leonard Springerlaan): €2.70 per hour, € 18 per day, maximum 24 hours; Haren centre: €2.70 per hour
On top of that SimplePark charges a €0.29 service fee per session.
Until what time is parking paid in Groningen?
Paid parking in Groningen applies city centre Mon–Sat 9.00–24.00 and Sunday 12.00–17.00; in the outer districts until 19.00.
Is parking in Groningen free on Sundays?
No, paid on-street parking in Groningen also applies on Sundays.
What is the cheapest way to park in Groningen?
A P+R site on the edge of the city. Parking itself is free there; you only pay € 6.00 for a return trip on the P+R bus, and that applies for up to five people together. In the city centre you are € 5.00 per hour.