Key Carparks
The city centre has four main carparks, the most centrally located of which is the multi-storey at the Grand Arcade. This carpark is an ideal base for a day in Cambridge if you want to explore the shopping centre, Market Square and other city centre attractions. The Grafton Centre has two carparks (Grafton East and Grafton West), which place you a 15-minute walk from the city centre across Christ’s Pieces. The Grafton offers a range of shops, eateries and a cinema, plus nearby Burleigh Street has cafes, a large Primark and a number of charity shops.
Finally, on the edge of Parker’s Piece at Gonville Place, you’ll find the Queen Anne carpark. Just a short walk from the city centre, this multi-story is perfectly placed for both visiting Mill Road and avoiding the heavier traffic which you might experience going right into the centre of town. You can find out more about the carparks and view how many spaces are available at each at any given time at cambridge.gov.uk/car-park-spaces.
Street level carparks
Aside from the main multi-story carparks, there are a number of smaller, street level options. These can be found on Adam and Eve Street, Castle Hill, Gwydir Street and Riverside. There’s also a carpark at Lammas Land, which is perfectly situated for exploring the Lammas Land park itself, as well as Paradise Nature Reserve and Grantchester Meadows.
park&ride
The best way to avoid the traffic altogether is by using a park&ride facility. Cambridge has five of these, located in Trumpington, Milton, Newmarket Road, Madingley Road, and Babraham Road. All are free to park at (unless you’re leaving your car there for more than 18 hours), and you’ll just need to pay £3 for a bus ticket to get you into central Cambridge and back – plus you can also use this ticket to hop on and off any park&ride buses all day. Up to three children under the age of 16 go free with each fare-paying passenger.
Visit Cambridge park&ride website
Electric Vehicle Charging Points
Got an e-car? There are a few places you can charge up in Cambridge, including at two of the carparks. Grafton East has two slow charging points (up to 3.6 kW) on level one, while Queen Anne Terrace car park has two fast charging units (7.2kW), on level three. Charging points are also available at Babraham Road, Madingley Road, Milton, and Trumpington park&ride sites, as well as various other businesses and hotels around the city. Visit zap-map.com for a comprehensive of charging points across the UK.
