Sirmione ZTL: hours, cameras and who can drive in

Checked on 23 October 2026 against the city's ordinances and official pages.

Photo: Olga1969, CC BY-SA 4.0

Right now in Sirmione

Worked out with Italian time and public holidays from the official hours. The sign at the gate always prevails. Signs and cameras: the guide.

Sirmione sits on a narrow peninsula reaching out into Lake Garda, and its ZTL has just one way in: Largo Goethe, at the foot of the Scaliger Castle. That is where the town's only camera stands. Everything beyond it, as far as the Grotte di Catullo at the northern tip, is closed to unauthorised vehicles day and night, all year round.

So there is no time window to wait for and no ticket to buy: visitors leave the car before the castle. The "summer" and "winter" hours you may see posted apply only to permit holders, and even they lose access on certain afternoons, when the whole peninsula becomes pedestrian-only.

The zones and their hours

ZTL Centro storico

From the junction of Largo Goethe and Viale Marconi (level with numbers 5 and 7) to the Grotte di Catullo: Piazza Castello, Piazza Carducci, Via Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza Flaminia, Piazza Piatti, Via Catullo. Vehicles over 2.70 m high, 2.20 m wide, 6 m long or 3.5 tonnes never get in, even with a permit.

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.

A single camera checks the entrance.

Inside, the speed limit is 30 km/h.

The camera (varco)

Viale Marconi / Largo Goethe

Who can drive in

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. It must do so no later than 24 hours after you enter. Give your plate number to reception as soon as you arrive. Deadlines for every city are compared in our guide to hotels in a ZTL.

Tickets for non-residents

There is no day ticket for tourists. Temporary permits do exist (temporary permit for up to 3 consecutive days, to be requested at least 7 days ahead, price not published), 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. Admin fees, timings, appeals: see our guide to rental cars and ZTLs.

Watch out with bikes. Unless you belong to an authorised category, motorbikes, scooters and even bicycles may not enter or ride on the peninsula, not even pushed by hand.

Car-free afternoons. In 2026 the peninsula was closed to all vehicles, permit holders included, from 2 pm to 7 pm on 31 afternoons: 4 to 6 April (Easter), 24 to 26 April, 1 to 3 May, 30 May to 2 June, 15 August and every Sunday from June to September. During those hours nobody drives in or out, except emergency services and residents leaving in an emergency. The season is over; the 2027 calendar will be set by a new order in the spring.

At your hotel. Accommodation registers plates only up to its number of parking spaces and rooms. If you are staying between Piazza Castello and Piazza Piatti somewhere without its own car park, you cannot drive in at all. Other guests get two entries a day, with narrower windows on the eves of public holidays and on holidays in summer; on arrival and departure days there is no time limit, except during the car-free afternoons. Stopping outside the hotel to unload luggage is limited to 30 minutes. Guests of hotels in the old town can use the Grifo Parking on Piazzale Europa, with an electric shuttle for luggage (price not published). If you are staying with a private host, they apply for a temporary permit valid for a single entry to unload.

Taxis. Taxis and private hire cars (NCC) may only enter to drop off or pick up residents or guests of accommodation inside the zone: a ride to a hotel off the peninsula stops before the castle.

Deliveries and Blue Badges. Authorised suppliers enter on working days from 6 am to 9 am and must be out by 9.30 am (permit price not published). With a disabled parking badge, you report the plate on form Mod. 05, sent to ztl@sirmionebs.it with a copy of the badge; no source mentions the national CUDE platform. The same form is used to regularise, within 72 hours, an entry caused by a documented emergency.

Sirmione in numbers

Where official sources disagree

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. Paying from abroad, deadlines and appeals are explained in the ZTL fine guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive up to the Scaliger Castle or the Grotte di Catullo?

No. The camera is at the foot of the castle, and the whole peninsula beyond it is closed 24 hours a day to unauthorised vehicles.

Is there a day pass for visiting Sirmione by car?

No. There is no paid access for visitors. Temporary permits are kept for specific cases, such as a wedding or a house move.

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

Yes, if the hotel registers your plate within 24 hours of your arrival. The exception: accommodation between Piazza Castello and Piazza Piatti without its own car park gives no right of entry.

Can I cycle onto the peninsula?

No. Visitors' bicycles are banned just like motorbikes and scooters, even when pushed.

Which days is the peninsula completely car-free?

In 2026, 31 afternoons from 2 pm to 7 pm between Easter and the end of September, including every Sunday from June to September. The 2027 dates will be set in the spring.

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.