Cheap parking in London: where to park in London?

Want a London trip by car without a head shot? Wanderlix gives you its tips to travel freely in the city and find easily a parking in London.

A vibrant and vibrant capital, London has always been able to attract the crowds. With its royal family, its atypical quarters, its large parks, its delicious afternoon tea and its famous Big Ben, the "world city" always attracts more tourists every year and at Wanderlix we understand very well why.

But most guides will tell you: it is not advisable to visit London by car because of its traffic and its various regulations. We think it’s far from being an impossible mission and here’s all our advice to travel to the city and park in a parking lot in London.

Parking in London: urban toll

But before you venture into the streets of London, you should know that you will have to pay a special tax called charge congestion. Established since 2003, this tax is primarily intended to reduce traffic and is imposed on any vehicle wishing to ride in the centre of the British capital. The load congestion zone extends from East Park Lane to South Euston Road to Kensington and Chelsea. You can easily view the complete load congestion card on the site Transport for London . The tax applies Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm and does not apply on weekends and after 6pm.

If you decide to visit London by car, you will have to pay £11.50 to travel around town. You can pay it at petrol stations, shops with a "C" sign or on the official Transport for London website. If you have not paid the tax, the invoice can climb up to £100. Please note, however, that there are no gates or tolls that indicate that you have returned to the area: these are signs and markings on the ground that will tell you that you are in the load congestion zone then stay attentive.

Parking in London: park in downtown

Difficult to promise cheap parking in London: count on average £30 a day to ensure a parking in a covered and secure parking in the city centre. Fortunately, we managed to find some rare pearls.

With nearly 19 car parks in London, Q-Park is very well represented in the British capital. But if the vast majority of the car parks covered by the ensign offer very high prices up to £50 a day, there are some exceptions such as Church Street’s Q-Park parking, ideally located near Regent’s Park, at £15 a day, but also Victoria’s Q-Park parking, which is at £28,4 a.m. every day of the week.

Cheap car park in London: park on the outskirts

If you want to avoid spending a small fortune in a parking lot and find a parking lot in London, the simplest solution is to park in the London periphery, outside the cargo congestion zone. For this, you can search for a subway station on the outskirts thanks to Google Maps and go for adventure, looking for a place. But pay attention to your parking: pay attention to colours and panels, yellow and double yellow lines are strictly prohibited and some places are reserved for residents.

The best cheap car park in London is the Lewisham Shopping Center located 40 minutes from the centre of London where you can leave your car for up to several days and tell the guard well. You can take the bus and the subway to reach the centre and the price defies any competition for the British capital: £7 a day.

Other cheap car park in London: the car park of the ferry terminal of Calais. After a boat trip, you can leave your vehicle for several days with digressive rates: 7€ for a day, 11€ for two days, 15€ for three days and so on.

Finally, as the load congestion does not apply on the weekend, you can hope to park for free in some areas on the outskirts as in Greenwich.

Main photo credit : Flickr – City And Color