Guides for parking and driving
The rules that catch visitors out, and the real car parks that help you avoid them. Every fact is checked against an official source.
Airport parking in Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Palma, Alicante and Valencia
Aena runs the official car parks at Spain's main airports, and they all follow the same logic: General for short trips, Larga Estancia and low cost for holidays, Express for a quick drop off. Booking often decides whether you get in and how much you pay. Here are the rules, the published prices and the shuttle times at Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Málaga, Palma, Alicante and Valencia.
8 min read- Aena's General car parks never require a booking; Larga Estancia and low cost car parks often admit only drivers who booked.
- Aena publishes "from" prices only: for example €2.88 a day at Valencia and €3.51 a day at Madrid-Barajas, for a 15 or 20 day booking by an Aena Club member with a "0 emisiones" car.
- Express car parks are for dropping off and picking up: 10 free minutes (15 at Palma arrivals); overrun them and you pay for the whole stay, with a 2 hour maximum.
Hospital parking in Spain: prices, passes and alternatives
Visiting a relative in hospital in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or Sevilla often starts with a hunt for a parking space. Here is what each major hospital charges, which vouchers and passes exist for long stays and where you can park on the street, all checked on the websites of the hospitals and their car park operators.
7 min read SpainUnited KingdomChristmas markets: where to park (and when to leave the car at home)
Plaza Mayor, Fira de Santa Llúcia, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester: nearly every big Christmas market sits inside a low emission zone. Official 2026 dates, the driving rules, car parks close to the stalls and park and ride sites to arrive without a fine.
8 min read NetherlandsMilieuzones in the Netherlands: cities, diesel cars and foreign plates
Only four Dutch cities ban older diesel cars: Amsterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht and Arnhem, and Eindhoven joins them on 1 January 2027. Petrol, LPG and electric cars are never affected. Foreign plates need no registration, but cameras read them and the fine is €130.
7 min read United KingdomClean Air Zones in England and LEZ in Scotland: what a car pays
Outside London, only Birmingham (£8 a day) and Bristol (£9) charge private cars that fail the emission standard, plus the small Zero Emission Zone in Oxford. The four Scottish Low Emission Zones sell no day pass: a non-compliant car gets a £60 penalty, doubling with each repeat. The official checkers ignore foreign plates, so check your Euro standard before you go, or leave the car at a park and ride.
8 min read NetherlandsParking in Amsterdam without going broke: P+R and plate payment
Street parking in central Amsterdam costs up to €8.05 an hour. At an official P+R you pay €6 per 24 hours if you drive in after 10:00, provided you travel back by public transport with an accepted ticket. Older diesel cars may not enter the zone inside the A10.
7 min read SpainSpain's DGT label and ZBE: driving into Madrid and Barcelona
Since 2025 Madrid has banned unlabelled passenger cars across the whole city, and Barcelona requires every foreign-registered car to be registered in advance. Here is which label applies to you, what to do before the trip and where to park, all checked against official sources.
8 min read ItalySpainWinter tyres and snow chains in Italy and Spain: 2026-2027 rules
In Italy, winter tyres or chains on board are compulsory from 15 November to 15 April, but only on roads covered by an ordinance, and some mountain roads start earlier. In Spain there is no calendar: the R-412 sign decides, and the DGT only accepts 3PMSF tyres in place of chains.
7 min read United KingdomLondon ULEZ and Congestion Charge: how to avoid the fines
Driving into London can mean two separate daily charges: £12.50 for the ULEZ if your car fails the emissions standard, and £18 for the Congestion Charge in the centre. Foreign cars must be registered with TfL, and an unpaid charge turns into a £180 penalty. The simplest fix: park next to a Tube station outside the Congestion Charge zone.
8 min read United StatesManhattan congestion toll 2026: prices, hours, where to park
Since January 2025, cars entering Manhattan at or south of 60th Street pay the Congestion Relief Zone toll: 9 USD at peak with E-ZPass, 2.25 USD overnight, and once per day at most. Here are the official rates in force, the traps with rental cars, and real car parks outside the zone next to the subway or PATH.
7 min read ItalyZTL in Italy: how to avoid the fine that arrives months later
In Italian historic centres, cameras read every number plate, and a driver who lives abroad can receive the fine up to 360 days later. Here are the rules in Firenze, Roma, Milano and Bologna, and car parks just outside the zones where you can leave the car.
8 min read