You're probably planning a trip to Vilnius by car and looking for a cheaper (or maybe even free?) parking spot closer to the city center or the old town.
Some time ago, I was looking for such information myself, to have everything in one article, but I couldn't find anything, especially about free parking in Vilnius. So, I decided to do some research and create an article that would help both city guests and residents.
Below you will find information about:
- Paid parking zones in Vilnius (on the map)
- Short-term free parking lots in Vilnius (on the map)
- Parking rules on weekends in Vilnius
- Electric vehicle parking
Paid parking in Vilnius
Most commonly daytime parking in the center and Old Town of Vilnius is paid. Paid parking in Vilnius is divided into four zones, each with its own tariff rates, hours of operation, and penalties for unpaid parking.
• Blue zone:
Paid parking hours: Every day of the week, from 8:00 to 24:00.
Price: 12 minutes (minimum duration) - 0.50 Euros; 1 hour - 2.50 Euros
The fine for not paying: 40 Eur
• Red zone:
Paid parking hours: Monday to Saturday (inclusive), from 8:00 to 22:00
Price: 12 minutes (minimum duration) - 0.30 Euros; 1 hour - 1.50 Euros
The fine for not paying: 20 Eur
• Yellow zone:
Paid parking hours: Monday to Saturday (inclusive), from 8:00 to 20:00
Price: 10 minutes (minimum duration) - 0.10 Euros; 1 hour - 0.60 Euros
The fine for not paying: 7 Eur
• Green zone (cheapest and farthest from the city center):
Paid parking hours: Monday to Saturday (inclusive), from 8:00 to 18:00
Price: 20 minutes (minimum duration) - 0.10 Euros; 1 hour - 0.30 Euros
The fine for not paying: 4 Eur
If you're going on vacation, don't forget to arrange parking in Vilnius airport. Compare and choose the cheapest and most suitable parking lot.
How to pay for parking?
Thanks to the Vilnius City Municipality, civilization has touched parking in the city. For parking in paid parking zones (streets), you can pay in the following ways:
- You can pay by bank card through one of the apps: mParking (iOS ir Android), UniPark (iOS ir Android) ir ParkMan (iOS ir Android)
- SMS message (to start parking, send an SMS with the code Start X AAA000, where X is the zone code (M – blue zone, R – red zone, G – yellow zone, Z – green zone), and AAA000 is your car's license plate number; to stop parking, send STOP to the same number. The parking fee will be charged through your mobile operator.
- Parking meters (in parking zones, look for parking meters where you can pay for parking with Euro coins or a contactless payment card by entering your car's license plate number. There's no need to print a ticket, as the parking inspector will see your payment in the system).
Parking on weekends in Vilnius
The parking fee in Vilnius on weekends depends on where you park your car.
Šeštadieniais visose keturiose parkavimo zonose stovėjimas yra mokamas, tačiau nuo tam tikro laiko mokėti nebereikės, išskyrus parkavimą mėlynojoje zonoje.
- Blue zone: parking is paid during the day every day, but you can park for free from 24:00 to 08:00.
- Red zone: parking is free on Sundays, but on other days it is paid, although from 22:00 to 08:00 you don't need to pay. So, from 22:00 on Saturday to 08:00 on Monday, you won't need to pay.
- Yellow zone: parking is free on Sundays, but on other days it is paid, although from 20:00 to 08:00 you don't need to pay. So, from 20:00 on Saturday to 08:00 on Monday, you won't need to pay.
- Green zone: parking is free on Sundays, but on other days it is paid, although from 18:00 to 08:00 you don't need to pay. So, from 18:00 on Saturday to 08:00 on Monday, you won't need to pay.
On Sundays, you can park for free all day in the red, yellow, or green zones.
If you arrive earlier, while the paid parking time is still in effect, you can pay up to an hour before the free parking period begins, and you won't need to pay after that.
ParkiFly advises against parking without payment. There are quite a few parking inspectors working in Vilnius, so there is a high chance of receiving a fine.
If you still don't want to pay for parking, look for free parking lots on our map below.
Free parking in Vilnius
Free parking closer to the city center or the old town is quite hard to find because it's usually assigned to one of the four paid zones. However, often, shopping centers offer temporary free parking spots to their customers. In these lots, you can leave your car for a few hours for free.
To avoid the hassle of searching yourself, you can find free parking lots in Vilnius (marked in green) on our map below:
If none of our suggested free parking lots suit your needs, you can try finding a free parking spot on streets not assigned to any of the four paid zones. However, make sure those streets are not in a restricted parking zone.
Electric vehicle parking in Vilnius
At present, electric vehicles, which do not have internal combustion engines, can use all four paid zones without any charge. Hybrid vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius, do not fall into this category.
This rule is likely to change in the future as more electric vehicles roll through cities. However, for now, if you're driving a vehicle without an internal combustion engine, you can enjoy free parking in Vilnius city.