Without sounding like a stale old cracker, Brighton parking definitely isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days of casually spotting a space outside your mate’s flat, pulling up, and heading straight into town for lunch or a night out.
Now? Controlled Parking Zones rule the roads, permit signs appear every seven seconds, and one wrong turn can somehow land you halfway up Elm Grove questioning every life decision you’ve ever made.
If you’ve got family visiting Brighton, you’ll know the first thing they usually say isn’t:
“Lovely to see you!”
It’s:
“Blimey… parking’s a nightmare here.”
And honestly? They’re not entirely wrong. But there are convenient and secure places to park in Brighton & Hove without spending £30 a day or sacrificing your sanity by circling The Lanes for 45 minutes.
This is your Brighton parking cheat sheet. So if you’re heading down for a beach day, shopping trip, gig at the Brighton Centre, cocktails in North Laine, or a weekend by the sea, here’s where to park depending on what you’re actually doing.
Brighton & Hove’s roads weren’t exactly designed for modern traffic levels. Add millions of visitors a year, tiny one-way streets, seafront bottlenecks, festivals, beach days, and enough delivery vans to build a small nation… and things can get chaotic quickly.
The city has also spent years shifting towards greener travel:
Great for the environment. Slightly less great when you’ve accidentally entered a bus lane trying to find Churchill Square car park.
Central Brighton is also packed with Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs), which means many residential streets are permit-only during the day. Always check the signs carefully because restrictions can change from street to street.
You can check Brighton & Hove Parking Zones Information.
If you’re already a resident or planning to move and relocate to Brighton & Hove, you probably have realised that garage or off-street parking is a thing of fairytales.
You’ll need to apply for a permit. For central Brighton (Zones M, N, O, Y, Z), these are notoriously high-demand zones for parking permits. So it’s important as soon as you have a flat or house agreed, join the waitlist for your zone. Outer areas (like Zone U or W) are generally no issue and have no waiting list, and issue permits instantly.
The zone borders displayed here are rough estimates. Always check street signs before you park.
You’ll do well to find somewhere to park for free in central Brighton & Hove. If you have time to kill or you’ve planned your travel with an ample amount of time to spare, it’s worth scouting the edges of the city’s Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs).
Most full-time parking restrictions in Brighton & Hove cut off at 8pm. So if you’re planning on coming down for dinner or craving a late night gelato stroll along the promenade, you can park for free during these times until 9am the next day. Just be sure to triple-check the parking signage along the road for these light-touch neighborhood zones.
There are some Light Touch Zones for on-street parking, where it becomes free or less restricted on Sundays, but rules vary massively between zones so it’s always worth looking out for the parking restriction signposts.
Always double-check signs before abandoning your car and sprinting towards brunch.
York Avenue in Hove falls under Parking Zone O. Restrictions apply from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 8pm. So you can park for free on Sundays.
Nizells Avenue, along St Anne’s Well Gardens, is also free on Sundays for a trip into Seven Dials or a 20 min walk to Brighton Station and 20 min walk down to Hove Lawns and seafront.
To avoid the stress of panic parking or driving endlessly in circles looking for a place to park, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to parking in Brighton & Hove.
You’ll find price comparisons depending how long you’re staying for and which car parks are the most convenient for what you plan to do while you’re in visiting.
It’s not cheap, but surprisingly reasonable considering the location and proximity to the Brighton i360, shops and restaurants in the Brighton Centre and beach access is across the road. You’re paying for convenience here, but compared to The Lanes or Churchill Square, it’s decent value.
Multi-storey, barrier-controlled. Pay on exit. 8 disabled parking bays are available on Level 3, close to the entry/exit ramp. For electric vehicles, there are 6 bays and 3 dual-access charging points on Level 3. Capacity: 507 spaces
Evenings (6pm to midnight): £7.50
Night (midnight to 8am): £7.50
Perfect for visiting the Sea Lanes, walking along the promenade, and beach days to the west of Palace Pier.
The best option for SUVs or larger cars, as the spaces are generous and there aren’t massive pillars that you have to squeeze in between.
Maximum stay: 11 hours
Monday – Sunday (9am – 8pm): parking is free outside of these hours.
The Lanes car park is perfectly located if you want to go shopping, enjoy the beach, go for dinner in The Lanes, or visit other nearby attractions.
The Lanes Car Park has been awarded a Park Mark for safe parking and the Disabled Parking Accreditation for supporting disabled drivers.
You can’t pre-book parking at The Lanes Car Park.
Monday – Friday:
Weekend price:
Evening: £8.50 (6pm – midnight)
Overnight: £8.50 (midnight – 8am)
London Road car park is great for anyone shopping around London Road, meeting friends at local cafes, going to the Open Market, flea markets or catching a show at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse.
London Road Car Park is one of the less stressful options if you hate driving through central Brighton but are happy to walk on foot (takes about 20 mins to get into central Brighton or to the seafront) or if you’re happy to catch one of the bus links into central Brighton.
There are 528 spaces available. 8 disabled parking bays are available on the ground floor. Blue Badge holders cannot park here for free; charges apply. For EV cars, there are 6 bays on the ground floor.
Evenings (6pm to midnight): £7.50
Overnight (midnight to 8am) £7.50
There are 275 spaces available in the Trafalgar Street Car Park. 4 disabled parking bays (2 via Blackman Street entrance and 2 via Whitecross Street entrance) Blue Badge holders cannot park here for free. There are no EV charging points in this car park.
Evenings (6pm – midnight): £7.50
Nights (midnight – 8am) £7.50
The Brighton Marina Car Park has 1,500 spaces available. Height restrictions at the multi-storey car park apply (1.95m).
It’s completely free of charge to park at Brighton Marina car park for up to 4 hours.
Asda Superstore Car Park is also free for up to 2 hours for customers.
If you plan to spend more than 4 hours at Brighton Marina, you can to pre-book a separate space through platforms like JustPark or YourParkingSpace. Prices start from roughly £5 to £6 per day.
JustPark & YourParkingSpace bookings are separate third-party spaces. They aren’t an extension of the Marina multi-storey’s visitor allowance.
Churchill Square is the easiest if you’re popping in to grab your essentials or a bit of shopping in Central Brighton.
Also it’s the best car park for the cinema, seafront restaurants, but it’s notoriously bad for large vehicles and during busy weekends (Summer or Christmas holidays or bank holiday weekends).
For IKEA Click & Collect, use the Churchill Square Red Car Park and follow the signs for the IKEA collection point on Level P2 (the middle level). Give yourself a couple of extra minutes on your first visit and keep an eye out for the dedicated IKEA signage as you head through the different car park levels.
You get free parking (40 minutes) when collecting an order from IKEA.
Monday – Sunday: (6am – 10pm)
Evening (6pm – midnight): £7
If you don’t mind being slightly outside central Brighton, or are happy to walk or get a 10 min bus into the city centre, Norton Road Car Park is comfortably one of the best-value car parks in Brighton & Hove, with spaces big enough to park larger and longer cars comfortably.
Norton Road car park is opposite Hove Town Hall and is a 14 min walk from Hove seafront and the shops on George Street for a charity shop spree and Church Road for some of the best restaurants and bars.
Getting there offers a less stressful drive in, skip the heavy traffic coming into the centre off the A23 and instead, go for the A27 bypass, coming off at the Hove exit (A2038).
There are 152 spaces available at Norton Road car park. Disabled parking bays are available and Blue Badge holders can park here for free when displaying a Blue Badge. The council also redesigned this car park to facilitate much larger vehicles with extra-wide spaces for accessibility.
Up to 1 hour: £1.50
2 hours: £3.30
4 hours: £6.40
5 hours: £7.60
9 hours: £9.40
12 hours: £10.70
Saturday – Sunday:
Brighton City Car Park is a 15 minute walk to the Brighton Pier and seafront, and a 5 min walk to the North Laine.
Evenings (6pm – 8am): £12.00
Weekend overnight (24 hours): £34.00
The Brighton Station Car Park is an APCOA. There’s a total of 623 spaces. Free parking is available to all Blue Badge holders, and there are 6 Electric Vehicle Charging (EVC) bays.
You can pre-book evening and weekend parking for added convenience and avoid any long queues or faff on the day.
Monday – Sunday:
Day rates:
Monday – Friday: £20.80
Saturday – Sunday: £16.90
Evening Rate: (5pm Mon – Sun): £7.30
If you’re planning a full day out and don’t mind starting in Hove, Hove Station Car Park is the new winner here.
At around £10 for the day, it’s cheaper than Brighton Station, Norton Road and every central Brighton car park in this guide. Jump on the train and you’re in Brighton in around five minutes. Tiny bit of faff, decent little saving.
There’s a total of 114 spaces available at Hove Station car park.
Monday – Sunday:
Daily Rate: £10 *Daily rates expire at 4am
Evening Rate (from 5pm): £5.10
Weekly Ticket: £37.90
If you’re catching a train into London or planning a full day in Brighton, Hove Station car park is often dramatically cheaper than Brighton Station.
Brighton Station Car Park daily weekday rate will cost £20.80, compared to Hove Station Car Park, also daily weekday rate, at around £10.
Brighton Station Car Park is extremely convenient for quick access into central Brighton and the North Laine, but it does fill up quickly, and if you arrive around midday, expect queues into the car park.
If you want to completely avoid city-centre traffic and eye-watering parking prices, Park & Ride is honestly one of the easiest options when traveling into Brighton.
Withdean Sports Complex Park & Ride
Located just off the A27, you can park up and jump on the regular 27 bus directly into central Brighton.
Approximate pricing:
Perfect for summer weekends, Brighton Pride, Brighton Marathon, festival weekends.
If Pride’s happening? Do yourself a favour and avoid driving into central Brighton altogether unless absolutely necessary.
Let’s be honest: Brighton is not a cheap city to park in.
In fact, it regularly ranks among the most expensive places to park in the UK, with average day rates often hovering around the £30 mark in central areas. Brighton, excluding Edinburgh, is the only other non-London area to feature in the top 5 most expensive parking locations in the UK.
But there are ways around it.
1
Hove Station Car Park
£10 daily
Cheapest day parking
2
Norton Road Car Park
£10.70 for 12 hrs
Hove beach & larger cars
3
Brighton Station Car Park
£16.90 - £20.80
City centre convenience
4
London Road Car Park
£24 for 24 hrs
Central Brighton value
5
Regency Square Car Park
£25 for 24 hrs
Seafront parking
6
Trafalgar Street Car Park
£26 for 24 hrs
Brighton station access & North Laine
7
Churchill Square Car Park
£32 for 24 hrs
City centre & security
8
Brighton City Car Park
£34 weekend overnight
The Level & Kemptown
9
The Lanes Car Park
£40.50 for 24 hrs
The Lanes & Brighton Pier & seafront
Living in Brighton, there are a few things you have to learn the hard way, along with many, many… many parking fines. We all know the anticipation of eagle-eyeding the front windscreen to see if you’ve managed to escape the clutches of parking wardens patrolling the street, hovering in the shadows waiting to pounce.
So, without gatekeeping parking perks and secrets in Brighton & Hove, here’s my list of top tips that often catch visitors out when looking for parking:
Brighton & Hove is increasingly cashless when it comes to parking. These are the most useful apps to download before traveling to Brighton.
PayByPhone is the most commonly used contactless payment solution across Brighton & Hove parking zones.
Honestly? Once you’re parked, ditch the car. Brighton is best explored on foot, by bus, bike, or train. The city is compact, walkable, and much easier without worrying about moving your car every few hours.
You can also use:
Still have questions about parking in Brighton & Hove? Here’s the most common questions answered below.
There are some free parking options further outside the city centre and limited free periods in certain zones, particularly on Sundays. Always check signage carefully.
Generally, Hove streets, Hove Station Car Park, the Park & Ride options, and some outer residential areas offer the best-value parking and using the transport links (bus, bike, walking) to get you into Brighton City Centre.
Regency Square, Trafalgar Street and Brighton Marina are popular overnight parking options.
If you’re visiting during Brighton Pride, avoid driving into central Brighton if possible. Park & Ride, trains, buses and parking outside the centre are usually far easier than attempting seafront or city-centre parking during Pride weekend, where there are lots of road closures due to the parade and street parties.
Brighton Station main car park is available, otherwise use Trafalgar Street Car Park which is a few minutes walk from Brighton Station and is often slightly cheaper.
Yes, Withdean Sports Complex is one of the main Park & Ride locations.
If paid within the early payment period (14 days), Brighton & Hove PCNs are usually reduced by 50%. You’ll need your PCN number and vehicle registration to pay online.
Regency Square and Madeira Drive are usually the most convenient options for Brighton Beach and the seafront. Madeira Drive is especially good for larger vehicles and beach access, while Regency Square is better for central Brighton and the i360.
Most official Brighton & Hove multi-storey car parks and NCPs are secure and monitored, including Regency Square, Trafalgar Street and Churchill Square. As with any city though, avoid leaving valuables visible inside your car.
Norton Road, Brighton Marina and Withdean Park & Ride are usually much less stressful than tighter central Brighton car parks like The Lanes or Churchill Square.
Brighton parking enforcement officers are famously active! Especially in central zones, seafront areas and during summer weekends. If you’re even slightly unsure about a parking sign, double-check it before walking away. Brighton wardens have a habit of appearing the second you convince yourself, “It’ll probably be fine.”
If you have a larger or longer vehicle, we recommend parking at Madeira Drive or Norton Car Park, where you’ll generally find more suitable spaces and likely more availability.
