The City Hill car park is a great option if you’re driving to the city.
12 September 2025
In brief:
- There are many car park options around Canberra’s city centre.
- This article lists more than 10 car park options in the city centre.
- This article lists paid and free parking options.
- This article lists places to park for Floriade.
As the weather warms up and big events like Floriade bring more people and cars into the city, it’s important to know your transport options.
If you decide to travel to the city by car, here is a list of car parks available for public use.
Barry Drive car park
Location: 7-11 Barry Drive, Turner.
Nearby: Turner, O’Connor and ANU.
Opening hours: 6 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday.
Cost: From $4 (for 1 hour).
Handy to know: An early bird rate of $10 a day is available if you enter between 6 am to 9 am and exit by 7 pm.
Find out more on the Wilson website.
Canberra Centre car park
Location: Access the car park from Petrie and Cooyong Streets.
Nearby: Canberra Centre, Braddon.
Opening hours: 24/7.
Cost: From $3 (1 hour) up to $25 (for 6 hours).
Handy to know: There are over 4,000 parking bays available.
This is a secure car park, there is both covered and uncovered parking available.
If you are planning to park all day in the city, $15 all day parking is available on the top level. Follow the ramp up until you see the all-day parking signs.
If you’re parking here on weekends (from 6pm Friday and all-day Saturday and Sunday) and public holidays, a $3 flat rate will apply.
Find out more on the Canberra Centre website.
Canberra Olympic Pool car park
Location: 36 Constitution Avenue.
Nearby: Canberra Olympic Pool, National Convention Centre, Commonwealth Park.
Opening hours: 24/7.
Cost: From $4 (hourly rate) to $22 (all day).
Handy to know: This is an open-air car park.
Read the signs displayed for days and times and when pay parking applies.
Find more information on ACT Government parking rates on the Access Canberra website.
City East car park (former CIT Reid)
Location: Access off Constitution Avenue.
Nearby: National Convention Centre, Canberra Olympic Pool, Casino Canberra.
Opening hours: 24/7.
Cost: It will be free for around 3 months, before pay parking is introduced. Stay up to date on the City Services website.
Handy to know: There are around 200 parking bays available for community use.
City Hill car park
Location: Corner of London Circuit and Constitution Avenue.
Nearby: National Convention Centre, Glebe Park, Canberra Theatre Centre, Commonwealth Park.
Opening hours: 24/7.
Cost: From $4 (hourly rate) to $22 (all day).
Handy to know: This is an open-air car park offering plenty of parking bays.
Read the signs displayed for days and times when pay parking applies.
Find out more on the Access Canberra website.
City West car park
Location: Allsop Street.
Nearby: ANU, ACT Law Courts, New Acton, Melbourne Building.
Opening hours: All week (including public holidays) 5 am to 11 pm.
Cost: From $4 (1 hour) on weekdays and from $7 for nights and weekends.
Handy to know: This is a secure undercover car park.
For those needing disability access, note that there is restricted lift and ramp access at this car park.
The car park closes at 11 pm, with last entry at 5:00 pm.
Parking outside opening hours may incur an additional out-of-hours fee.
Check the rates at the car park entry for applicable fees.
Find out more on the Secure Parking website.
Constitution Place car park
Location: Enter from Constitution Way off Constitution Avenue.
Nearby: Canberra Centre, Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Glebe Park, Commonwealth Park.
Opening hours: Building access and car park are closed overnight. Building auto doors close 12 am to 6 am. Car park roller shutter closes at 12 am to 5 am.
Cost: From $4.95 (1 hour) up to $26.95 for a full day.
Handy to know: This is a secure covered car park. There are 225 parking bays for public use.
Your licence plates will be recorded when you enter the car park.
Pay at the pay station or boom gate when you exit.
Find out more on the Constitution Place website.
Hobart Place car park
Location: Hobart Place off Marcus Clarke Street.
Nearby: No Name Lane, Melbourne Building, ACT Law Courts, Jolimont Centre.
Opening hours: 24/7.
Cost: From $5 (hourly rate) to $20 (maximum rate).
Handy to know: This is an open-air car park. It is short-stay (4 hours only).
Read the signs displayed for days and times when pay parking applies.
Find out more on the Access Canberra website.
Knowles Place car park
Location: Entry is on Knowles Place. Access this street from London Circuit via West Row.
Pedestrians access is from London Circuit.
Nearby: ACT Law Courts, Sydney and Melbourne Buildings, The Street Theatre, National Film and Sound Archive, New Acton.
Cost: From $5 (1 hour) to $24 (for a full day).
Nights and weekend rates are from $2 (0 - 30 minutes) to $10 (full day).
Opening hours: 24/7.
Handy to know: The westside southbound lane of Knowles Place will be closed from 13 September for 10 weeks. Only one-way access will be available during this period.
There are 79 parking bays available.
This car park is expected to close mid-October 2025.
One City Hill car park
Location: Entry is on Knowles Place. Access this street from London Circuit via West Row.
Pedestrians access is from London Circuit.
Nearby: ACT Law Courts, ANU, Melbourne Building, The Street Theatre, National Film and Sound Archive, New Acton.
Cost: From $7 (1 hour) to $25 (for a full day).
Opening hours: All week 5:30 am to 8:00 pm.
Handy to know: This is a secure covered car park. There is lift access to the street.
There are plenty of parking bays available including EV charging bays.
The westside southbound lane of Knowles Place will be closed from 13 September for 10 weeks. Only one-way access will be available during this period.
Find out more on the Wilson website.
Nangari Street car park
Location: Nangari Street off Rabaul Lane.
Nearby: Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Glebe Park, Casino Canberra, Government Offices.
Opening hours: Open 24/7.
Cost: From $3 (1 hour) to around $25 for a full day.
Handy to know: If you work in the city, they do offer early bird weekday parking for $20 if you enter before 9 am and exit after 5 pm.
This is a secure covered car park. There is a height restriction of 2.15 m for cars.
Find out more on the Wilson website.
Narellan Street car park
Location: Narellan Street off Genge Street.
Nearby: Braddon, Canberra Centre, Garema Place.
Opening hours: 24/7.
Cost: From $3 (1 hour)
Handy to know: This open-air car park is located next to Canberra Centre.
There are around 333 parking bays available.
National Convention Centre car park
Location: Constitution Avenue.
Nearby: National Convention Centre, Glebe Park, Canberra Centre, New Acton, Commonwealth Park.
Opening hours: 24/7.
Cost: From $9 (2 hours) to $24.50 (for a full day) for entry before 5 pm.
Handy to know: There are 480 parking spots, with internal lift access from the top level.
If you enter after 5 pm and exit before 5 am parking is $7.50. Weekend and public holiday parking is $7.50 per day.
This is an undercover car park. There is a height restriction of 1.9 metres for cars.
More details can be found at the National Convention Centre website.
Theatre Lane car park
Location: Access off London Circuit.
Nearby: Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra Centre, Garema Place, Commonwealth Park, Lake Burley Griffin.
Opening hours: 24/7.
Cost: From $5 (hourly rate) to $20 (maximum rate).
Handy to know: Find this open-air car park next to the Canberra Theatre Centre and opposite the Sydney Building.
There are 261 parking bays available.
This is a short-stay (4 hour only) car park.
Refer to local signage for days and times when pay parking applies.
Find out more on the Access Canberra website.
This car park is expected to close mid-October 2025.
Free evening car parking in the city
The following public car parks have free parking Wednesday to Sunday from 5:30 pm to 8:30 am:
- Theatre Lane car park
- City Hill car park
- Canberra Olympic Pool car park
- Hobart Place car park.
View the city parking map for more information.
Paying at ACT Government car parks
If you are parking at an ACT Government owned car park, always check ticket machines carefully to ensure you pay the correct fee.
Abide by the day and time restrictions displayed on the signs in the car park.
Ticket machine options to pay for parking are:
- coins ($2, $1, 50c, 20c, 10c)
- Visa and Mastercard credit cards
- free phone application ‘EasyPark’ (no ticket needs to be displayed for this).
If paying for your parking using coins or credit card, always display your parking ticket face up on the dashboard of the vehicle, with details visible for the Parking Officer.
For more information on parking visit the Access Canberra website.
Accessible parking
There are plenty of designated accessible parking bays in the city.
To help you find one, see them marked on this city parking map.
Always display your disability parking permit when parking in these spaces.
National Triangle car parks
If you’re venturing out of the city centre. Here are some car parks available to the public in the National Triangle area:
- John Gorton Building car park
- Langton Crescent car parks (near Treasury)
- National Library of Australia car park
- Parkes Place car park (near Questacon)
- East Block car park, Kings Ave (near National Archives)
- West Block car park, 21 Queen Victoria Terrace.
Consider public transport
If you can avoid driving, consider taking public transport.
This will save you money on parking and the hassle of finding somewhere to park.
Take advantage of:
- Park and Ride – park your car for free at one of 22 locations and catch public transport.
- Fare free Friday – enjoy free travel on buses and light rail all day, every Friday.
If you’re new to Canberra, the easiest way to pay for your adult fare is by tapping your Mastercard or Visa (physical card or digital card stored on your smart phone or watch) at a bus or light rail validator.
MyWay+, Canberra’s public transport ticketing system, also offers a range of payment options for bus and light rail, you can choose the one that works best for you.
Getting to Floriade
Visiting Floriade at Commonwealth Park this month?
If you are driving to the event, please be aware there may be road closures and limited car park availability in the area due to construction.
To avoid this, consider taking the free Floriade Shuttle bus.
The bus is available every day of Floriade, operated by CDC Canberra.
There will also be a free Weekend Express from the Tuggeranong, Woden and Belconnen town centres, operated by CDC Canberra.
Other travel options include:
- regular Transport Canberra bus and light rail services
- bike and walking routes from the City Centre (15 minutes)
- bike and walking routes from the Parliamentary Triangle (20 – 30 minutes)
- electric scooters available for hire.
To find more information about getting to the event visit the Floriade website.
If you’re driving in the city, it’s important to be aware of road closures and other travel impacts. Stay up to date on the Built for CBR website.
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