Free parking in any City can be so hard to find and we struggled to find free street parking in Melbourne too. We spent a few months roaming around the city in Nelson, our campervan, so we eventually found the best free street parking in Melbourne.
The free parking we’ve kindly shared with you below is ideal to use for free airport parking in Melbourne. Also, it is perfect for exploring some of the main hotspots in this vibrant city!
We loved St Kilda, Fitzroy, Chapel street and found a great parking spot to enter the City easily by tram too. Please feel free to share any other parking you’ve found in the comments!
Also if you find this blog helpful and would like to support us, please buy us a coffee! We truly appreciate all the support and we are always on the look out for new free parking in Melbourne to update this guide!
Free Street Parking in Melbourne CBD and Fitzroy
4-hour free parking between 7 am-6 pm - Unlimited all other times
This is the perfect free parking in Melbourne to enjoy the City and the many eateries in Fitzroy and Brunswick street. A brief 15-minute walk away from Fitzroy or 2 minutes to the 96 Tram stop is an 4-hour parking space (between 7 am-6 pm) throughout the week which is also completely free on the weekend too! #Winning!
Top tip: The Library here has free wifi available until 11 pm each night, this area became our little home for a lot of our time in Melbourne. We also loved the cute little townhouses around this area and enjoyed the authentic Italian eateries around Carlton Gardens too.
You'll find a couple of roads around North Carlton are 4 hours, but we found this particular area the easiest to find a free space.
Update: This parking used to be 8 hours! We've tried to find some new locations to help you find Free parking in Melbourne CBD below.
Docklands - 3 hr Parking next to the free tram
If you'd prefer to be even closer to the City, the closest free street parking in Melbourne CBD we found was in the Docklands. However, this parking is only valid for three hours. Therefore, if you do need more time in Melbourne CBD you'd need to return briefly on the free tram back to the Docklands. This free parking in Melbourne is ideal as the free tram only takes approximately 10 minutes to get into the heart of Melbourne CBD. There is a large car park at the end of the road so if you are struggling to find a place, we can almost guarantee you will find one here.
Burnley - 4 hour free parking 20 mins to Melbourne CBD
Since discovering our favourite free parking in Melbourne has changed from 8 hours to 4 hours, we thought we'd have another hunt for some additional free parking in Melbourne CBD. After visiting the delicious Serotonin Eatery, we ventured into the CBD from Burnley. The tram or train station is just minutes from the parking and will take you straight to Melbourne CBD. This free parking in Melbourne CBD is capped at 4 hours on weekdays and free on weekends.
The Strand - 2 hour free parking in Melbourne CBD
Right in the heart of Melbourne CBD, this free parking in Melbourne may just be one of our best finds yet!
Free street parking in Melbourne
Chapel Street / Prahran
Unlimited Free Street Parking
The perfect find for those nights going out on Chapel Street, it is a few minutes away from Chasers nightclub and the rest of the great nightlife here.
The free parking can be found at the end of Ellis street on the right-hand side. We believe the car park is also free parking.
We have slept here for a few hours after a great night at Poof Doof, better safe than sorry guys!
Free Airport parking Melbourne, St. Kilda
Unlimited Free Street Parking
This is the backpacker hotspot for free parking in Melbourne. It is free all-day parking and surrounds the whole of the Botanical Gardens. We wouldn’t recommend camping here as we’ve been told that this area is patrolled throughout the night and many backpackers have been caught sleeping here! Oops!
We did use this space as free airport parking whilst we travelled back to the UK for two weeks and our van was completely safe, although not from the bird droppings! The SkyBus departs from stops just a few minutes walk away, so no need for lugging heavy suitcases around the city either!
In the unlikely case you’ve not found a parking spot around the Botanical Gardens. There is unlimited parking in three spaces close to Habitat HQ too.
Thanks heaps for sharing! 🙂
Hey Ingrid! Thank you for checking it out! We have a few more to add soon. In the meantime, I’ll share them here… Ron Barassi Snr Park, which is right next to the free tram stop in the Docklands, which has 3 hours free parking. Also Elsternwick Library, there are two lanes of unlimited free parking available in the car park. Furthermore, Bray Street near Chapel Street is also free! Enjoy! We absolutely love Melbourne and how accessible it is by car! (When you know where to go!) 🙂
Parking isn’t free at The Strand. Would cost at least $38 https://www.secureparking.com.au/en-au/car-parks/australia/victoria/melbourne/melbourne-cbd/the-strand-car-park
Hey Jane
Our free parking options are all on-street parking only. Around the Strand, we found a few spaces which are 1P or 2P respectively.
I hope this helps!
Sarah & Marlie 🙂
Any near mcg?
Loads of on street parking without restriction in St Kilda! Thanks for the tip!