Many Poles planning holidays or weekend trips to the most popular cities in the country must prepare for changes that will importantly affect their budget. 1 of the key Polish metropolises, Kraków, decided to take a extremist step in parking policy. As of 4 August 2025, new, much higher rates of parking in the Paid Parking region will enter into force. However, the increase will only affect a certain group of drivers – those who do not pay taxes in the capital of Małopolska. This means that both tourists and commuters will gotta scope much deeper into their pockets. The changes aim to reward residents and encourage the settlement of taxes in the city. For many visitors, this will mean that we request to think about how to decision around Krakow, and for the residents, we request a peculiar paper to avoid drastic fees.
New higher stakes. Who and how much will pay for the halt in Krakow since 2025?
The decision of the Krakow authorities introduces a clear division among drivers paying taxes in the city and others. Since 4 August 2025, it is the second group – including tourists, guests and commuters from outside Krakow – that will feel the biggest change. Parking rates for people who do not have an active Krakow Charter will increase in a jump and will be progressive, which means that each next halt hr will be more expensive.
The fresh price list for drivers without the Krakow Charter will look as follows:
- In Subzone A (the exact centre):9 zł in the first hour, PLN 10 In the second hour, PLN 11 in the 3rd hr and each hr again 9 PLN.
- In Subzone B:PLN 8 in the first hour, 9 zł In the second hour, PLN 10 in the 3rd hour, and each another 8 PLN.
- In sub-zone C:7 zł in the first hour, PLN 8 In the second hour, 9 zł for the 3rd hour, and each another 7 PLN.
By comparison, residents with the Krakow Charter will proceed to pay at their current fixed rates. They are respectively 6 zł in an hr in Subzone A, PLN 5 in sub-zone B and 4 zł in Subzone C. So the difference is huge. For example, a three-hour halt in the center itself will cost the tourist as much as 30 PLN, while the resident will pay 18 PLN for the same time. This is an increase of over 66%, which is expected to actually affect the communication decisions of people visiting the city.
Krakow Card – key to lower fees. How do we get it?
The only way to avoid drastic increases is to have Krakow Charter. It is simply a paper that functions in the city as an component of the loyalty program, entitling a number of discounts and reliefs, including in public transport or cultural institutions. From August 2025, however, its most crucial function for drivers will become a warrant of access to lower parking rates.
Who can apply for the Krakow Charter? According to the Rules of Procedure, 2 main groups of persons are entitled:
- Persons who are registered for permanent stay in the City Municipality of Kraków.
- People who live in Krakow and settle their individual income taxation here (PIT), indicating Kraków as its place of residence in the taxation return.
The application for the card can be submitted in 2 ways: electronically, via a dedicated website of the program, or personally at designated Centres of Service for City Communications Passengers and City Administration Residents Service Centres. Importantly, parents or legal guardians besides have the rights to hold a card. Residents request to remember that the specified fulfilment of the criteria is not adequate – without the physical possession of the card or its active version in the mobile application, the parking strategy will charge a fee according to the higher price list.
Why is the city making changes? authoritative justification of the Krakow authorities
The introduction of differentiated parking charges is not an accidental action, but a part of a wider, long-term city strategy. In authoritative communications, the Krakow City Hall explains that the fresh strategy is part of “promotional and social policy”. Its main nonsubjective is to reward people who, by paying taxes in Krakow, straight contribute to its development.
The city authorities point to a number of key benefits of this change. First, it aims to increase in the city's income taxation income on individuals. Higher costs of surviving for non-city-related people are intended to supply incentives to registry or transfer PIT settlements to Krakow. Secondly, it is an effort to manage traffic, especially in the centre. Higher charges for visitors are intended to get them to usage public transport or Park & Ride parking lots, which is expected to relieve the crowded streets. Thirdly, the city expects that additional gross from parking charges will contribute to the budget for infrastructure improvement and accessibility to cultural goods.
The consequences for tourists and commuters. What does this mean in practice?
The fresh regulations, which will come into force on 4 August 2025, will have real and severe financial consequences for all drivers visiting Kraków. Tourists planning a weekend journey and sightseeing the city by car must include in their budget much higher costs. A short three-hour halt in the vicinity of the Main marketplace Square (subzone A) will cost up to 30 PLN. All-day parking can become a cost of respective dozen, or even more than 1 100 PLN.
Change will besides hit a immense group of people commuters all day to work in Kraków from the alleged “Cracovian bagel”, i.e. neighbouring municipalities and towns. For them, this means an increase in regular costs by respective or respective twelve zlotys, which will translate into hundreds of PLN extra expenses per month. This situation can force many of them to quit driving to public transport, which is 1 of the objectives of the changes.
In practice, drivers outside Krakow are faced with a choice: either accept advanced parking costs or look for alternatives. The most apparent is the usage of Park & Ride parking networks located on the outskirts of the city and continuing to travel by tram or bus. For tourists, this may mean choosing hotels with a guaranteed parking or a complete cancellation of entry by car to the centre. It is expected that from August 2025 planning a visit to Krakow will require a much more precise calculation of transport costs.
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Kraków raises parking fees. Drivers from outside the city will pay up to PLN 11 an hour!
