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Parking in Siracusa, Sicily

Hopefully, we'll be driving around Sicily during May, 2021. Because of the car, I had planned that we'd stay at a run-of-the-mill hotel on the other side of the bridge, however, I'd love to stay on Ortigia. I haven't been able to find anything about parking across the bridge. I'd like to park it somewhere for 3-4 days, and take our carry-ons, cross the bridge and stay on Ortigia. Anybody have any experience with doing this? I suppose I could park it at a hotel and pay for parking there although we won't be guests, but are there other options? Long-term public parking perhaps?

Posted by
11027 posts

Have you asked the landlord/host of where you would be staying what parking options are available?

I have not been to Sicily, but I suspect there is not any hotel or other accommodation there, where you would be the first customer to have the 'what do I do with the car' issue.

I wish you luck, but I would not book anything that is not fully refundable/ cancellable

Posted by
6172 posts

There is a public parking just by the cruise port, Molo S. Antonio. At least there was a couple of years ago. €10/day to stay there.

Posted by
11052 posts

There is a parking lot at the northern end of Ortigia Island where you can park for an extended time.You should stay on Ortigia if possible, a special place. Park and then take a taxi to hotel or apartment.
ViaMichelin.com has a map of Ortigia with parking marked. Many of them are small unlike the first large one I mentioned above.
Also, go to Trip Advisor Sicily forum for excellent help from local poster Vagabonda. She will happily answer your questions.

Posted by
3961 posts

I put in "Parking in Siracusa" in the RS search and came up with some links to the parking garage that was referenced up thread. Their may be some helpful information for you. We did not have a car. We took the train from Taormina. We stayed in Ortigia in 2014 and planned to revisit this past Sept. We were booked to stay at the same B & B (Via Della Giudecca). We felt Ortigia is the best place to stay. It's in the historic center and walking distance to sights and restaurants. Fortunately our recent booking was cancellable. In fact all our accommodations in Sicily were refundable.

Posted by
6384 posts

You can find parking lots using Google maps. When we were there in 2018 we parked at the lot at Riva Sauro, 1, 96100 on Ortigia, but we were only there a couple hours. Just after crossing onto Ortigia you make a left at it’s at the end of the street. From the bridge to the parking lot is maybe 1/4 mile. There are a couple lots on the Island and I’m not certain which have long term parking. All parking will be pay parking and the machine at the lot I mentioned only accepted 1€ coins. Google maps does show a lot off of Ortigia a few blocks at Via Rodi, 96100 (the one badger mentioned). If you have a GPS, put the address into it or save it in Google maps, so you can go right to it.

Posted by
2767 posts

Just across the bridge on the Ortygia side is a parking garage. Overnight parking, pay at a kiosk, can go in/out as needed. It’s before the restricted zone so if you don’t make a wrong turn you can drive into it without penalty. I think the penalties only apply in weekend/holidays anyway, but double check that.

On google maps the lot is just labeled parcheggio, no specific name. The address is listed as Riva Sauro, 1, 96100 Siracusa SR, Italy but I think there are several lots/garage right there.

Posted by
85 posts
  1. Stay in Ortigia. 2. Parking was easy in Ortigia. As others have said, cross the bridge entering Ortigia and hang a left. Take it to the end, 4-5 blocks and you'll be right there. Huge parking lot. Parking is typically troublesome in Europe but was very easy in Ortigia. We had a great meal at Apollonion da Carlo in Ortigia. They have a fixed price menu. 6-7 courses for about $35-40. Stuffed, and they just kept bringing more...
Posted by
11052 posts

We dropped our rental car off upon arrival in Ortigia as it was near the end of our exploration of Sicily. We drove there from Noto where we had stayed . There were many guides you could book to take you to nearby places. We hired a car service to take us to Taormina at the end of our trip. We flew into Palermo and out of Catania. Sicily is magical!

Posted by
11294 posts

The following is based on my trip in 2014, so of course it could have changed since then. But at that time, once you crossed the bridge into Ortigia, there was a big sign for the upcoming ZTL. Ortigia's ZTL was unusual; it was active Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday, but not during most of the week. At the sign, you could then proceed into Ortigia proper (passing into the ZTL) or could turn toward the very large parking lots, which avoided the ZTL. Again, this was all well marked; the ZTL sign even had lights to indicate if the ZTL was active or not.

Since we arrived outside of the active ZTL times, we were able to drive to our accommodation, drop off our stuff, then drive back to the parking lot, then walk back unencumbered from the lot to our apartment. Since we were staying at an apartment, there was no closer parking. I don't know if big hotels have their own parking lots, and I don't know if they can get you on the "white list" so you can pass into the ZTL when it is active and not get a ticket. It was about a 20 minute walk from our apartment to the parking lot; it would take about 30 minutes to walk from the southern end of Ortigia to the parking lots on the northern end.

So, all of this means that there's no need to stay off of Ortigia just because you will have a car.