Como Travel Guide
Como Parking: Car Parks, Blue Lines and the ZTL
Como parking works on three levels. CSU (Como Servizi Urbani), the municipal operator, runs two covered garages, the park-and-ride lots and the blue-line street stalls, and it publishes its own tariffs. For a day trip the cheapest pattern on CSU's own price list is a park-and-ride at $1.15 (€1) a day plus a bus or boat into town, not a garage by the courthouse. The second thing to understand is the ZTL, the limited-traffic zone that covers the entire walled historic centre, enforced by camera gates. The cameras record every plate that passes a gate without a permit. This page sets out every CSU car park with the operator's own prices, the street-parking tariffs, the ZTL gates, and the options for Brunate, and it flags the figures the official pages do not publish. For the wider picture start from the Como visitor guide, and if you arrive by train instead see getting around Como.
Quick answer Como parking in four lines
Como parking is run mainly by CSU, the municipal operator, whose garages, park-and-ride lots and blue-line street stalls all have published tariffs. The walled historic centre is a ZTL enforced by camera gates, so visitors should not drive into it. Park at Auguadri for the old town, or at a park-and-ride for $1.15 (€1) a day and continue by bus or boat.
Key takeaways
- Renting a car for the lake? Read our car rental in Como page before you decide if a car is worth it in town at all.
- With the car parked, the 2-hour golf cart city tour covers Como and Cernobbio without moving it.
- For Brunate, either drive up to its own paid car parks or leave the car in Como and take the Brunate funicular.
- Street blue lines cost from $1.15 (€1) an hour in the green forfait zone, paid by card or the reloadable Co.Mo Card.
Como Parking Compared: Every Public Car Park
Every public parking option run by CSU, the municipal operator, compared by place, price and hours. Figures come from the CSU parking pages and the Auguadri tariff sheet.
| Car park | Where | Price | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autosilo via Auguadri | Near the courthouse, by the historic centre | From $1.73 (€1.50) the first hour, day tariff | Retrieval any hour at the pay stations |
| Autosilo Val Mulini | Via Mulini, tunnel link to the hospital, outside the centre | $1.15 (€1) a day flat | Access 06:30-21:00, 24 hours for subscribers |
| Tavernola park-and-ride | Via per Cernobbio, near the boat pier and bus stop | $1.15 (€1) a day | 08:00-19:00 |
| Lazzago park-and-ride | Near the motorway exit | 08:00-19:00 | |
| Blue lines, green forfait | 166 meters, 3,903 stalls across the city | $1.15 (€1) an hour or $5.77 (€5) a day | Per the meter |
| Blue lines, Vulcano | 166 meters, 3,903 stalls across the city | $3.46 (€3) an hour | H24 |
Lazzago has no daily euro figure on the CSU summary page, so its price cell is left empty. Figures current for in Q3 2026.
Autosilo via Auguadri: The Car Park by the Old Town
If you want the car within reach of the walled centre all day, this is the CSU garage built for it.
Where It Is and How It Works
Autosilo via Auguadri (also called Autosilo Tribunale) sits at Via Auguadri 1, which CSU describes as being in the heart of the historic centre, next to the courthouse. Vehicles can be retrieved at any hour through those pay stations, so an evening collection is not a problem. Maximum vehicle height is 2 metres, which matters for roof boxes, and there are 8 paid disabled bays on level zero. The CSU phone for the garage is 031 273253.
The pricing logic is simple and slightly unforgiving. The day tariff runs 06:30-20:30 and the night tariff runs 20:30-06:30, and fractions of an hour count as a full hour. That means a stay of one minute over the hour is billed as two, so it pays to plan your pickup against the clock rather than drift. The full sheet, 'dal 18 marzo 2024', is on CSU's own PDF.
The tariff below comes from CSU's own published sheet for the garage, day and night side by side.
| Stay | Day 06:30-20:30 | Night 20:30-06:30 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | $1.73 (€1.50) | $1.73 (€1.50) |
| 2 hours | $4.04 (€3.50) | $4.04 (€3.50) |
| 3 hours | $6.35 (€5.50) | $4.61 (€4) |
| 5 hours | $10.96 (€9.50) | $5.77 (€5) |
| 8 hours | $17.88 (€15.50) | $7.50 (€6.50) |
| 10 hours | $22.50 (€19.50) | $8.65 (€7.50) |
Longer Stays
For a full day of sightseeing, 14 hours on the day tariff costs $31.70 (€27.50), which is the realistic figure for a 9-to-late visit. If your pattern is overnight rather than all day, CSU sells a monthly Buonanotte pass covering 19:00-08:00 for $46.10 (€40), which is aimed at residents but worth knowing about. Compare that against Val Mulini at a flat $1.15 (€1) a day before you commit.
Auguadri buys you location. On a 14-hour day Val Mulini saves $30.55, our sum, and adds a bus ride. For one night near the old town the location premium is defensible.
For a week it is not.
Sources: CSU parcheggi and the Auguadri tariff sheet.
Park and Ride: Tavernola, Lazzago and Val Mulini
Three CSU lots take the car out of the centre for a token price. The trick is matching the lot to how you continue into town.
Tavernola
Tavernola park-and-ride is on via per Cernobbio near the lake-navigation pier and a bus stop, with 111 ground-level spaces. It opens 08:00-19:00 and costs $1.15 (€1) a day. Because it sits on the boat line, the natural continuation is the water.
The urban hop from Como to Tavernola costs $1.73 (€1.50) each way on the Navigazione Laghi tariff, and the Como landing stage is on Piazza Cavour in the centre. This is the lot for people who want to arrive on the lake, not in a bus lane. An annual subscription bundling the parking with an urban bus pass costs 350 euro.
Lazzago
Lazzago is the motorway-exit lot, with 410 spaces open 08:00-19:00. It suits an arrival by motorway where you swap to the bus for the last leg. The CSU summary page lists annual and weekly subscriptions and bundled 'SOSTA + BUS' rates but does not print a daily euro figure for casual parking, so ask at the office or on site rather than assume.
Val Mulini
Autosilo Val Mulini, on Via Mulini, sits outside the centre and connects by tunnel to the ASST hospital, which is its main function. Standard users can enter 06:30-21:00, subscription holders around the clock. The tariff is a flat $1.15 (€1) a day, and a monthly Park&Ride pass with the urban bus costs $51.90 (€45).
Maximum height is 2 metres. The ticket office works Monday-Friday 07:00-14:00 and Saturday 08:00-13:00, which matters if you need a subscription rather than casual entry.
How to Continue by Bus or Boat
From Tavernola, the boat is the pleasant choice and the bus the all-weather one. From Val Mulini, CSU's own Park&Ride product is parking plus the urban bus pass, which tells you the intended last mile. From Lazzago, use the bus connection bundled in the SOSTA + BUS rates.
All three lots close overnight except Val Mulini subscribers, so check your return time against the 19:00 or 21:00 gates before choosing. If you plan to move around town after parking, our getting around Como page covers the bus and boat network in detail.
Sources: CSU parcheggi and the Val Mulini page.
Blue Lines: Street Parking Rules and Payment
On-street Como parking is painted blue and metered. CSU runs 166 parking meters covering 3,903 blue stalls across the city, and the price depends on which zone the stall sits in.
The Two Tariffs
CSU sets two rates. The 'green forfait' zone costs $1.15 (€1) an hour or a flat $5.77 (€5) a day, which is good value if you are leaving the car most of the day. The 'Vulcano' zone costs $3.46 (€3) an hour and applies h24, so it never goes free overnight.
Here is the practical problem: the CSU page does not state which streets carry which tariff. There is no published street list. The only reliable method is to read the meter at the stall before you pay, and the meter tells you the applicable rate.
Budget for Vulcano pricing near the centre and be pleasantly surprised if it is green.
How to Pay
Payment is by credit or debit card, by coins, or by the Co.Mo Card, CSU's free reloadable card for the meters. The minimum top-up on the Co.Mo Card is 10 euro, which only makes sense for repeated visits. For a single day, a bank card at the meter is simplest.
What Is Not Blue
Yellow lines are resident stalls, which CSU manages with annual permits (429 euro a year for yellow stalls, 195 euro for standard blue permits). Those permits are resident products, not something a visitor can buy. The Auguadri garage reserves 8 paid disabled bays.
For everything on this page the governing source is the CSU parcheggi page, and it is worth a look before you drive in because the figures there are the operator's own.
Source: CSU parcheggi.
ZTL Como: Where You Cannot Drive
The ZTL is the rule that turns an otherwise ordinary parking mistake into a fine. Learn its shape before you drive anywhere near the centre.
The Zone
Como's ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato) covers the entire walled historic centre. It also covers two areas just outside the walls: the piazza Roma and piazza Verdi district (via Rodari, piazza Roma, via Bianchi Giovini, Caio Plinio II, piazza Grimoldi, via Macchi, via Pretorio), and the piazza Volta, via Grassi and via Garibaldi block. The restrictions apply during the entire year.
The Comune's summary page does not publish a daily hour window for the restriction, so do not assume the cameras switch off in the evening. Treat the zone as active unless you hold a permit.
The Gates
Polizia Locale controls entry electronically by camera at the gates (varchi). Cross one without authorization and your plate is recorded. The gates are the same every day, so learn them once.
| Gate | Direction |
|---|---|
| Via Cinque Giornate | Entry |
| Via Diaz | Entry |
| Via Carducci | Entry |
| Via Indipendenza | Entry |
| Via Rodari | Entry |
| Via Grassi | Entry |
| Via Cairoli | Entry |
| Via dell'Annunciata | Exit |
| Via Indipendenza | Exit |
| Via Rodari | Exit |
| Via Cairoli | Exit |
| Via Garibaldi | Exit |
Permits and Pedestrian Areas
Inside the ZTL sit additional urban pedestrian areas with tighter limits, including APU Alessandro Volta (piazza Volta, piazza Cavour, piazza Grimoldi, via Pretorio, piazza Verdi, via Maestri Comacini, via Vittorio Emanuele II, via Porta, via Cinque Giornate, via Bellini) and APU Duomo (via Plinio, piazza Duomo, via Vittorio Emanuele II), plus the Perretta and Juvara pedestrian areas. Access authorization requests are online only, with SPID or CIE digital identity and a copy of the vehicle registration document. Requests carry a 16 euro stamp duty plus a processing fee of a minimum of 5 euro to a maximum of 20 euro depending on category.
Access is free for disabled persons with the disability badge, and permit categories include hotel guests and taxi, NCC and tourist-bus operators. The Polizia Locale information line is 031 252700, emergency 031 265555. A specific self-service procedure for a hotel to register an individual guest's plate is not published as a figure, so if your hotel is inside the zone, have the hotel handle the registration directly rather than driving in and hoping.
Fines
The Comune does not publish a Como-specific ZTL fine figure on its ZTL pages, so we will not invent one. What is certain is that unauthorized access is detected by the cameras and sanctioned under the highway code. The honest advice is that the fine exists, is avoidable, and is avoided entirely by parking outside the walls at Auguadri or a park-and-ride.
Source: Comune di Como ZTL page.
Parking for Brunate: Drive Up or Ride the Funicular
Brunate, the hilltop village above Como, has its own parking rules, run by the Comune di Brunate rather than CSU.
Drive Up
The Comune di Brunate lists paid parking at S. Maurizio, Via Eroi Brunatesi and C.A.O., charged 08:00-20:00 at $2.31 (€2) for the first hour and $17.31 (€15) for a full day. The Laghetto car park is free. If you are driving on to the mountain roads after Brunate, having the car with you is worth the tariff.
Ride Up
The alternative is to leave the car in a Como car park and take the funicular, which runs daily from 06:00 to midnight. The ride takes 7 minutes. Compare Brunate's $17.31 (€15) day rate with $1.15 (€1) at Val Mulini plus a funicular return at $8.54 (€7.40): $9.69 (€8.40) in total, our sum, and no hill road to drive.
Our Brunate funicular page has the full timetable and fares, and the Brunate guide covers what to do up there.
Source: Comune di Brunate parcheggi.
Six Parking Mistakes Visitors Make in Como
1. Driving Into the ZTL to Find Parking
The most expensive error in Como parking is hunting for a space inside the walled centre. The cameras at the entry gates record every unauthorized plate. Park at Auguadri or a park-and-ride instead and walk in.
2. Assuming the ZTL Sleeps at Night
The Comune's page says restrictions apply during the entire year and does not print a daily window. There is no published evening grace period, so do not test one.
3. Ignoring the 2 Metre Height Limits
Both Auguadri and Val Mulini cap vehicle height at 2 metres. A roof box or rack can turn your chosen garage into a no at the ramp. Measure before you travel.
4. Paying Auguadri Day Rates When Val Mulini Exists
A 14-hour day at Auguadri costs $31.70 (€27.50). A flat day at Val Mulini costs $1.15 (€1). Pay the difference only if you genuinely need the historic-centre location repeatedly during the day.
5. Guessing the Blue-Line Zone
CSU does not publish which streets are green forfait and which are Vulcano at $3.46 (€3) an hour h24. Reading the meter at the stall is the only source. Two minutes of reading beats a 24-hour surprise.
6. Returning After the Park-and-Ride Closes
Tavernola and Lazzago close at 19:00 and Val Mulini admits standard users until 21:00. A late dinner in the centre followed by a drive back to a shut lot is a bad ending. Check your lot's gate time before you commit.
Leave the Car Parked: Tours From the Centre
Once the car is in a garage or park-and-ride, the best of Como needs no driving at all. The golf cart tour meets at Via Fratelli Cairoli 21, the guided walk at Piazza Cavour 5 and the boat and funicular tour at Molo Sant'Agostino, all in the centre, so one parking fee covers the whole day.
from $46.33
The Iconic Como City Tour • 2-Hour Golf Cart Experience
A two-hour tour of Como and Cernobbio in an open electric golf cart with a driver and a seven-language audio guide, stopping for photos at Villa d'Este and Villa Erba.
Check Availability
from $72.23
Lake Como Boat Tour with Brunate Funicular and Scenic Views
A one-hour shared boat tour out of Como with a Prosecco, bundled with a priority-access Brunate funicular ticket and free time to explore the hilltop village on your own.
Check Availability
from $43.56
Como: Guided City Tour
A two-hour guided walk through Como's historic centre, taking in the Cathedral, the Social Theatre and the medieval walls from the outside. Entrance tickets to any monument are not included.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own. dollar figures are the listed prices — the platform bills in your account's currency.
Como Parking Map: Car Parks and a ZTL Gate
The map marks the two CSU autosili, the Tavernola park-and-ride locality, the central lakefront at Piazza Cavour, and a ZTL entry gate street. Use it to see at a glance which parking sits outside the camera cordon.
Coordinates from OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Tavernola marks the locality, not the car park gate.
Where to Go Next
Parking is one decision in a bigger arrival plan. These pages cover the rest.
Car Rental in Como
Deciding whether to rent at all shapes your whole Como parking problem. Our car rental in Como page covers pickup and the case for and against a car in the city.
Getting Around Como
The bus and boat network is what makes park-and-ride work. The getting around Como guide covers urban connections from every lot on this page.
Brunate Funicular
The alternative to driving up the hill. The Brunate funicular page has fares, frequency and the 7-minute ride explained.
Como Parking: Questions
Where is the best place to park in Como?
For the old town, the CSU Autosilo via Auguadri sits by the courthouse at the edge of the historic centre, with retrieval at any hour through automatic pay stations. For longer or cheaper stays, Autosilo Val Mulini outside the centre charges a flat $1.15 (€1) a day and connects by tunnel to the hospital. The full comparison is in our Como parking table.
How much does parking cost in Como?
Blue-line street parking costs $1.15 (€1) an hour in the green forfait zone or $3.46 (€3) an hour h24 in the Vulcano zone. Auguadri garage starts at $1.73 (€1.50) for the first day hour, and the park-and-ride lots cost $1.15 (€1) a day. All the figures sit in the comparison table.
What is the ZTL in Como?
The ZTL is a limited-traffic zone covering the entire walled historic centre plus the piazza Roma, piazza Verdi, piazza Volta, via Grassi and via Garibaldi areas, enforced all year by Polizia Locale cameras at the entry gates. Unauthorized access is detected and fined, though the Comune publishes no Como-specific fine figure. Details and gate lists are on the Comune's ZTL page.
Is there free parking in Como?
None of the CSU car parks or blue lines is free, but Val Mulini and Tavernola come closest at $1.15 (€1) a day, see park and ride. CSU publishes no list of free street parking. In Brunate, the Laghetto car park is free, per the Comune di Brunate.
Is there park and ride in Como?
Yes, three CSU lots. Tavernola on via per Cernobbio has 111 spaces near the boat pier and bus stop, Lazzago near the motorway exit has 410 spaces, and Val Mulini connects by tunnel to the hospital. Tavernola and Val Mulini cost $1.15 (€1) a day and Lazzago's daily figure is not stated on the CSU page. Continuation options are in the park-and-ride section.
How do I pay for street parking in Como?
Blue-line stalls are paid at one of CSU's 166 meters by credit or debit card, coins, or the free reloadable Co.Mo Card, which has a 10 euro minimum top-up. The rate depends on the zone, and since CSU does not publish which streets are green versus Vulcano, read the meter before paying. See the blue lines section for the full tariffs.
Where do I park to visit the hilltop village above Como?
Two ways. Drive up and use the Brunate paid car parks at S. Maurizio, Via Eroi Brunatesi or C.A.O., charged 08:00-20:00 at $2.31 (€2) the first hour and $17.31 (€15) a day, with free parking at Laghetto. Or leave the car in Como and take the funicular, which runs daily 06:00 to midnight, see our Brunate funicular page.
Como Parking on Film
Three short videos on driving into Como and finding a space, useful for seeing the garage ramps and blue lines before you arrive.
Parking in Como, Lake Como Italy 🇮🇹 | Best Places to Park | Travel Guide by Arcady Kolo
A walk-through of the places visitors park in Como, to set against the CSU tariffs above.
Video: The Arcady KoloWant to Park your car in Como, Italy? My top tip, I will tell you where!
One traveller's tip on where to leave the car in Como, a practical first-hand view.
Video: Jack the BackpackerEtg - Finding parking in Como: mission impossible
Local television on how hard parking in Como can be, the reason park and ride exists.
Video: Espansione TvVideos load from YouTube only when you press play.
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