Savannah Guides
Where to Park in Downtown Savannah
September 17, 2026 · 6 min read
Park once and walk. The Historic District is a little over two square miles, and almost everything worth seeing sits inside it, so the goal is to leave the car somewhere sensible and forget about it.
The short version: the Liberty Street Garage is the cheapest garage at $1 an hour during the day. The Whitaker Street Garage sits under Ellis Square and is the closest to City Market. Metered street parking is free all day Sunday, and free after 8pm north of Liberty Street. City garages take cards only, no cash.
Rates and enforcement hours do change, and the city's facility pages are not always dated, so check the City of Savannah parking pages before you count on a specific number.
The city parking garages
Every city garage is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and every one of them takes cards only.
| Garage | Address | Weekday rate | Daily max | Weekend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitaker Street | 7 Whitaker St | $2/hr | $16 | $10 flat |
| Liberty Street | 301 W Liberty St | $1/hr, 5am to 5pm | $14 Mon to Thu, $17 Fri | $5/day |
| Bryan Street | 100 E Bryan St | $2/hr | $20 | $5 flat |
| State Street | 100 E State St | $2/hr | $20 | flat rate |
| Robert E. Robinson | 132 Montgomery St | $2/hr | $20 | $5 flat |
| Eastern Wharf | 301 Passage Way | $2/hr | see note | $10 flat |
Whitaker Street is the one most visitors want. It is underground beneath Ellis Square with over a thousand spaces, and it puts you a couple of minutes from City Market and a short walk from River Street. It is also the most expensive on weekends at $10 flat, while most of the others are $5.
Liberty Street is the value pick, at $1 an hour between 5am and 5pm. It has the most generous clearance of any city garage and a pair of EV chargers. It is about half a mile south of City Market, which is a ten minute walk or a free shuttle ride.
Eastern Wharf is newer, on the east end near the river, with public restrooms and a free shuttle stop on site that runs to City Market.
Bryan Street is worth knowing for a different reason: the Mobility and Parking Services office is on the ground floor, which is where you buy a Visitor Day Pass in person.
The surface lots
Three of these are cheaper than any garage, and one of them has the only free hour downtown.
- Savannah Visitor Center Lot, 301 MLK Jr Boulevard. First hour free, then $1 an hour, Monday through Saturday, 8am to 6:30pm. No overnight parking. This is also the designated lot for oversized vehicles.
- Civic Center Lot, on Liberty Street off Montgomery. Fifty cents an hour, and it is the one city facility that charges around the clock, every day. It can close for events.
- River Street Lots 1, 2, and 3, along the Barnard and Abercorn ramps. Two dollars an hour, Monday through Saturday, 8am to 8pm, and free outside those hours. These are small, they fill fast, and they close for events without notice.
Metered street parking, and when it is free
Meters run $2 an hour in the core downtown zone and $1 an hour outside it. There are no time limits. Since the city's 2018 parking changes you can feed a meter for as long as you like, which means street parking is a real option for a long afternoon rather than just a quick stop.
Enforcement splits at Liberty Street:
- North of Liberty: Monday through Saturday, 8am to 8pm
- South of Liberty: Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm
Everything outside those windows is free. That means free all day Sunday everywhere, free after 8pm north of Liberty, and free all weekend south of Liberty. If you are coming downtown on a Sunday morning, do not pay for a garage.
Watch for red and white street sweeping signs. Those hours are enforced separately and a decal or a paid meter will not save you.
How to pay
The city's app is ParkSavannah, free on both app stores. It works at meters across downtown and saves you walking back to a kiosk to add time.
At the meters themselves, you will find pay-and-display and pay-by-space kiosks that take coins, bills, and cards. You enter your license plate and the time you want.
Garages are different. Every city garage is card only at the exit, with no cash accepted. Worth knowing before you pull up to the gate.
If you are in town for a few days, the city sells a Visitor Day Pass at $15 for 24 hours and $24 for 48 hours, available at the Mobility and Parking office at 100 E Bryan Street and at the Visitor Center. You will need your license plate number and a state ID. Sources differ on whether the pass covers garages on an ordinary day, so if that matters to your plans, call Mobility and Parking at 912-651-6470 and ask before you buy.
Oversized vehicles, RVs, and trailers
Do not take an RV, a box van, or anything pulling a trailer into a city garage. Clearances run from about seven feet to just over eight, and Liberty Street is the tallest of them.
The Savannah Visitor Center Lot at 301 MLK Jr Boulevard is the answer. It has a set of oversized spaces built for RVs, moving vans, and vehicles pulling boats or trailers. First hour free, then a dollar an hour, with an attendant on duty. No overnight parking, and no overnight parking in any city surface lot.
Savannah's downtown streets were laid out in the 1730s and they are narrow, one-way, and interrupted by squares you have to drive around. If you are in something large, park at the Visitor Center and walk or ride from there.
Accessible parking
This one catches people out, so it is worth stating plainly. A disability placard gets you the reserved space, not free time. Accessible spaces in the Historic District still require payment at the meter.
That is not a local quirk. Georgia state law grants no meter fee waiver and no time limit exemption for placard holders, leaving the decision to each city, and Savannah requires payment. Accessible spaces are spread across on-street parking, the garages, and the lots rather than concentrated in one place. For specifics, Mobility and Parking Services is at 912-651-6470.
Event days change everything
Any city lot can close for a special event without notice, and special event rates override the normal ones. On St. Patrick's Day the garages move to a flat rate, residential decals are suspended, and parade route closures can mean you are unable to exit a garage until the parade finishes. The SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the Savannah Music Festival, and the holiday season all affect parking too.
One in your favor: the city usually offers free garage parking on a handful of holiday shopping dates, announced each November. The dates move every year, so check the city's parking page when you are planning a December trip.
Worth noting that the city ran a parking study through 2025 and 2026, and council has informally backed recommendations that would add meters around Forsyth Park and in the Victorian and Starland neighborhoods. None of that is in effect yet, but if you are reading this a year from now, the free street parking in those areas may not be free anymore.
Then leave the car
Once you are parked, downtown is genuinely walkable and the free DOT shuttle loops the Historic District if you would rather ride. One note on getting around: shared rental scooters have been banned in Savannah since 2018, so it is feet, the shuttle, or the ferry.
Our Downtown Coffee Shop & Scone Shop is at 31 W Congress Street, a couple of minutes from the Whitaker Street Garage, open Monday through Saturday, 8am to 1pm. The flavors change every week, so have a look at this week's menu before you come.
If you want somewhere to walk once the car is sorted, our self-guided walk through seven of Savannah's squares starts a half block from our door, and our guide to a perfect Savannah morning covers the longer version.
