Car parks near the centre

From the A-2, exit 23 leads to the historic centre. Much of the old town is pedestrianised: leave the car outside and walk in. The tourist office publishes a list of public, park-and-ride and private car parks, and notes that several are less than ten minutes' walk from the centre.

Which car park to choose

The public ones closest to the old town are the Recinto Ferial, the largest of all with 457 spaces, the GAL with 180, Paseo de los Pinos with 110, Roca with 200, Luis Vives with 75 and El Silo with 200. If you are going to spend the whole day, the Recinto Ferial gives the most leeway, because it has the most spaces.

The park-and-ride ones are designed for leaving the car further away and continuing on foot or by public transport: La Garena, with 250 spaces, the one on Calle Jiménez de Quesada and the one at the train station, on Paseo de la Estación. The town council website does not give the number of spaces for the last two. The station one makes sense if you combine car and Cercanías, or if you are staying near the station.

The private ones are the Mercado, with 148 spaces, La Paloma, with 308, and San Lucas, with 236. The tourist office does not publish their rates or hours; check them at the entrance of each.

Motorway exits

The A-2 and the R-2 toll motorway are the road accesses from Madrid, about 30 km away. Exit 23 of the A-2 is for the historic centre; 26 leads to La Garena and 28 to Alcalá Norte and Camarma. If you are going to use the La Garena park-and-ride car park, exit 26 is the direct one.

Accessible route from Plaza de Cervantes

The same council page describes an accessible route through the centre that starts at the tourist office, in the Santa María alley on Plaza de Cervantes, where there is an adapted toilet cabin. It continues along Calle Mayor, passes the Cervantes Birthplace and the Regional Archaeological Museum, reaches the Puerta de Madrid and Plaza de la Catedral and returns to Cervantes via the market on Calle Cerrajeros. It is a good reference for choosing a car park if you are with a wheelchair or pushchair.

Practical tips

• The tourism website does not publish prices, hours or spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility for each car park: if you need it, ask first on the municipal 010 line (91 888 33 00) or write to [email protected].
• If the old-town car parks are full, the La Garena and station park-and-ride ones are the most direct alternative.
• If you do not want to drive, the train is a comfortable alternative: the Cercanías from Madrid drops you about fifteen minutes' walk from Plaza de Cervantes.

From any of the car parks in the centre, Calle Mayor and Plaza de Cervantes are the natural starting point for exploring the old town on foot.