Bolzano ZTL: hours, cameras and who can drive in

Checked on 22 October 2026 against the city's ordinances and official pages.

Right now in Bolzano

ZTL Centro storico (Verkehrsberuhigte Zone Altstadt) …
Area pedonale piazza Walther (Fußgängerzone Waltherplatz) …

Worked out with Italian time and public holidays from the official hours. The sign at the gate always prevails. How to recognise an active varco.

Bolzano (Bozen) is officially bilingual, and so is its restricted zone: the signs read ZTL in Italian and Verkehrsberuhigte Zone (VBZ) in German, and the council publishes its orders in two columns. The rule itself is short: there is only one ZTL, covering the old town, and it is never switched off, not in the evening and not on Sundays.

In a private car, then, a visitor cannot drive in, except to unload luggage at a hotel inside the zone: the council sells no access to tourists and points them to the car parks on the edge of the old town.

The zones and their hours

ZTL Centro storico (Verkehrsberuhigte Zone Altstadt)

The heart of the town, defined street by street in order no. 709 of 2022: via dei Portici (Laubengasse), piazza delle Erbe (Obstplatz), piazza Municipio (Rathausplatz), piazza Parrocchia (Pfarrplatz) in front of the cathedral, and via Museo (Museumstraße), but only between piazza delle Erbe and via Cassa di Risparmio. To the south it takes in via Alto Adige (Südtiroler Straße) and via Perathoner. The cameras do not all face the same way: six check cars coming in, four of which (Largo Kolping, via Alto Adige, viale Stazione, via Piave) also check cars going out, and the other five only see cars leaving.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

11 cameras read number plates: 6 at the entrances and 5 at the exits.

List of the 11 cameras (varchi)

Via Grappoli / Weintraubengasse · Via Piave / Piavestraße · Via dei Bottai / Bindergasse · Via dei Francescani / Franziskanergasse · Via della Roggia / Rauschertorgasse · Via Museo / Museumstraße · Via Leonardo da Vinci / Leonardo-da-Vinci-Straße · Largo Kolping / Kolpingstraße · Via della Rena / Raingasse · Viale della Stazione / Bahnhofsallee · Via Alto Adige / Südtiroler Straße

Area pedonale piazza Walther (Fußgängerzone Waltherplatz)

The town's main square, a pedestrian area inside the ZTL: only deliveries of up to 3.5 tonnes may cross it, Monday to Saturday from 6:00 to 10:30, not on public holidays, plus vehicles authorised by the municipal police. Guests of the Hotel Greif may cross it at walking pace on their way out.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

It uses the same cameras as the “ZTL Centro storico (Verkehrsberuhigte Zone Altstadt)” zone.

Who can drive in

Motorbikes and scooters: same rules as cars.
Disabled parking badge: the number plate must be reported before you drive in, on 0471 997799. Disabled badges and ZTLs: what to do, city by city.
Electric cars: no exemption. Every city's rules are compared in our guide to electric cars and two-wheelers.
Hybrids: no exemption for private drivers.
Taxis and chauffeur cars (NCC): allowed once registered on the white list.
Residents: permit.
Deliveries and tradespeople: no permit needed from 6:00 to 10:30 for vehicles up to 3.5 t; a permit is required outside these hours.

Visitors: hotels, rental cars, tickets

Staying in a hotel

Only accommodation located inside the ZTL can register your number plate. A hotel outside the zone gives you no right to drive in. Send the hotel your plate number before you arrive. This access is only for dropping off or picking up luggage, then the car must leave the zone. To compare with other cities, see the guide to hotels inside a ZTL.

Tickets for non-residents

There is no day ticket for tourists. Temporary permits do exist (€16 revenue stamp for a temporary permit of more than two days), but only for the specific cases the city lists, not for sightseeing. The simplest option is to park outside and walk or take a bus.

Rental cars

The fine notice goes to the rental company, which names you as the driver and, depending on your contract, may charge an admin fee, before the fine itself reaches you, sometimes months later. A registration made in time by your hotel covers a rental car just as well: all that counts is the number plate. The rental company's fees are set out in the rental car guide.

Where to leave the car. The underground car park beneath piazza Walther (Waltherplatz), which the council lists for visitors along with the Mayr-Nusser car park, is outside the ZTL: the restricted stretch of viale Stazione (Bahnhofsallee) begins after its entrance. Since 1 September 2025 a tunnel has linked it to via Mayr-Nusser, and the old entrances are due to close on a date the council has not yet set.

Residents cannot drive in at any hour either. Their “green with red stripe” permit is valid on weekdays from 19:15 to 08:30 the next morning, from Saturday 13:00 to Monday 08:30, on public holidays, and from 13:00 on 24 and 31 December. People using a private parking space in via Cappuccini, via Laurin, via Conciapelli or piazza Domenicani, on the other hand, pass without formal authorisation. Seeing a local car go in tells you nothing about your own rights.

Deliveries. The free window applies Monday to Saturday, not on public holidays; with a permit, electric, hybrid or hydrogen vans of up to 4.25 tonnes also get 10:30 to 11:00.

Older diesels. Across the whole municipality, not just the ZTL, Euro 0 and Euro 1 vehicles and Euro 2 and Euro 3 diesels may not be driven Monday to Friday (except public holidays) from 7:00 to 10:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00.

After a camera passage. The photos can be viewed free of charge on the council's “Multe online” portal, where you can also name the driver and pay. The cameras produced 6,902 fines in 2024, down from 7,359 in 2023.

Bolzano in numbers

11 cameras in total, ranking 22 of the 42 cities on this site.

Where official sources disagree

Via Alto Adige and via Perathoner: order no. 709 (in force since 1 February 2023) and the camera map put them in the ZTL, but the council's press release of 1 September 2025 on the Walther tunnel says they “will become” restricted traffic zones. With no later order found, we keep the 2022 boundary; whether the via Alto Adige camera is actually live remains to be confirmed.
Cameras: the video-surveillance sheet (a 2018 scan) lists 12, one of them switched off, and shows via della Roggia as two-way. We keep the 11 named in the 2022 order and the directions on the map linked from the July 2026 guide (via della Roggia exit-only).
Deliveries: the service page of 23 July 2026 says a permit is needed before entering, whereas the order opens the zone without authorisation from 6:00 to 10:30. We follow the order. Its goal of all-electric deliveries from 1 January 2025 was never applied.
Disabled badge: the council's guide refers to the national CUDE platform without saying Bolzano is connected to it, and in the same text requires the plate to be registered in advance on the Portale ZTL. We keep advance registration.

If you drive in without a permit

Driving past an active gate without a permit costs €83 to €332 (article 7 of the Italian Highway Code), cut by 30% if you pay within 5 days. Since the 2024 reform, when the passages are recorded by camera rather than by an officer on the spot, only one fine per calendar day applies within the same ZTL, even if you drive through several times (article 198); two different zones mean two fines. For drivers living abroad, the notice can arrive up to 360 days after the offence. No licence points are deducted. If you think you were entitled to enter (hotel, disabled badge), contact the office named on the notice before paying: a late registration can sometimes still be sorted out. To appeal or pay from abroad, see our guide to the fine.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive into central Bolzano on a Sunday or in the evening?

No. The ZTL is active 24 hours a day, every day. The evening and weekend times in the order apply only to residents holding a permit.

My hotel is in the old town: can I drive there?

Yes, if it is inside the ZTL (a bed and breakfast counts too). Give it your number plate before you arrive. The access is for unloading luggage only; afterwards the car must leave the zone.

Is the piazza Walther car park inside the ZTL?

No: its entrance comes before the restricted stretch of viale Stazione. It is the square above that is pedestrian.

Can an electric or hybrid car go in?

No. Private drivers get no exemption; the electric benefits apply only to delivery and service vehicles.

Are cars leaving the zone checked too?

Yes: nine of the eleven cameras film cars going out, and the council says all accesses are monitored. Do not count on leniency on the way out.

Sources

Based on the city's own ordinances, rewritten in plain language. Only the ordinance in force and the sign at the gate are legally binding.