---
title: "The old town by car"
description: "It is Santiago's Low Emission Zone, yet your emissions sticker will not get you in: access runs on eleven bollard gates, five plate-reading cameras and a municipal permit with no visitor category. Who may enter, for how long, and the delivery windows, straight from the ordinance."
url: https://santiago.es/en/getting-around/historic-centre-by-car
locale: en
---

# The old town by car

Getting around

Eleven bollard gates, five cameras reading number plates and a twenty-minute ceiling if you don't live there. It is the city's Low Emission Zone, and even so your emissions sticker decides nothing.

**Access control**

11 bollard gates and 5 plate-reading cameras

**If you are not a resident**

20 minutes inside, maximum

**Emissions sticker**

No help, LEZ or not

![Praza do Toural con la fachada del Pazo de Bendaña y su fuente, Santiago de Compostela](https://santiago.es/img/praza-toural.jpg)

[© Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez · CC BY-SA 4.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2026_Praza_do_Toural_e_Pazo_de_Benda%C3%B1a._Santiago_de_Compostela._Galiza.jpg)

By [Cesar Rodriguez](https://santiago.es/en/author)

Santiago's historic centre **is the city's Low Emission Zone**, and it works the opposite way round from what that name leads you to expect: **the emissions sticker will not get you in**. In most Spanish LEZs the DGT label is the key; here it opens nothing. A car with a C, ECO or CERO sticker does not pass the gate for being cleaner. What you need is a **municipal permit**, granted on specific grounds, with no visitor category at all, and the zone is closed off with electronic bollards and watched by cameras that read number plates. If you are wondering which sticker lets you drive in, the answer is that the sticker is not part of the equation.

The short answer, if you are visiting

You cannot drive in. Authorisations are granted for specific reasons — living inside, holding a garage space, running a business, caring for a dependent resident, making deliveries — and there is no visitor category at all. Leave the car in one of the car parks around the old town (Xoán XXIII is 150 metres from the Cathedral) and walk in. If your hotel is inside the walls, call ahead: the ordinance lets the council grant authorisations to hotels that request one with a justified reason, so it is the hotel that has to arrange it, not you on arrival.

## An LEZ, but not the kind you expect

It is worth understanding why, because it explains almost everything else. Access is governed by **Annex II of the traffic ordinance**, «Réxime de mobilidade na Cidade Histórica», passed by the full council on 26 September 2024: a restricted-access regime grounded in safety and heritage protection, not emissions. Nowhere in its published text do the words «baixas emisións», «ZBE» or «etiqueta ambiental» appear.

The name came later. On **10 November 2025** the Xunta de Goberno Local approved an amendment to that same Annex II which **expressly recognises the old town as a Low Emission Zone**, under article 14 of Spain's 2021 climate law and in line with the city's Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. What changed was the legal name and the grounds — air quality and greenhouse gases now sit alongside safety and heritage — **not who may enter**. Hence the oddity: this is an LEZ whose gate is opened by paperwork, not by a sticker.

Two things that come from that amendment and are worth knowing

One: if the council **declares a pollution episode**, a protocol kicks in that **bans all vehicle access** to the zone, and ignoring it becomes a serious offence. So even with a permit in hand, a bad air-quality day can shut you out. Two: the amendment **enables** extending delivery hours for zero-emission vehicles, which is the one place the sticker counts for anything. We do not publish those hours, because what is on record is the enabling power, not a specific window in force.

Both come from secondary sources, and it is worth saying why: **this amendment was not published in the official bulletin**but on the council's own website, and `santiagodecompostela.gal`does not respond (checked on 14 and 15 October 2026). So we have not been able to read the amendment's text; what we have is two independent sources that agree, one of them quoting the council spokesperson. Everything else on this page does come from the bulletin.

## The eleven bollard gates

The ordinance numbers them one by one, and each authorisation states which of them its holder may use: you don't get to pick. Several are one-way only, which matters more than it sounds if somebody has given you directions from memory.

**The eleven access-control gates into Santiago's Cidade Histórica, with the number and direction given in article 2 of Annex II of the traffic ordinance (BOP da Coruña no. 192, 04-10-2024).**

| No. | Street | Direction |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Rúa de San Francisco | In and out |
| 2 | Rúa da Porta da Pena | In |
| 3 | Rúa da Algalia de Arriba | Out |
| 4 | Rúa da Algalia de Abaixo | In |
| 5 | Rúa das Casas Reais | In |
| 6 | Praza San Fiz | In and out |
| 7 | Rúa do Cardeal Payá | In |
| 8 | Rúa da Porta Faxeira | In |
| 9 | Travesa de Fonseca | Out |
| 10 | Rúa das Carretas | In |
| 11 | Rúa de San Clemente | In |

On top of those eleven there are **five accesses controlled by plate-reading cameras**, with no physical barrier: Costa Vella, Porta da Mámoa, Rúa do Castro, Rúa da Oliveira and Rúa de Entremuros. The absence of a bollard does not mean you may drive through; it means your plate is on record.

We can't give you the perimeter street by street, and anyone who does is making it up

Article 1 says the area «coincide coa Cidade Histórica e delimítase no plano que se xunta a esta ordenanza»: the boundary is a map, not a list of streets. Neither Virxe da Cerca nor Praza de Galicia is named anywhere in the text, so any street-by-street boundary you see cited to the ordinance does not come from the ordinance. The honest answer is to read the sign: every access has one warning of the restriction.

## Twenty minutes, and the clock is running

The pass-and-stop authorisation — the one held by people who are not residents — gives you the right to enter, not to stay: **time inside may not exceed twenty minutes**. There are only three exceptions, and none of them is yours: emergency vehicles while attending one, public or essential-service vehicles for as long as the job lasts, and professional goods delivery within its hours. The ordinance also reserves the right to police the stay with stickers, tickets or any other system.

Inside, the traffic rules are those of a street that belongs to people before cars: **10 km/h** maximum, pedestrian priority, pedestrians free to use the whole carriageway, no driving through without stopping, and no heavy vehicles without a special permit. Bicycles may ride at the same 10 km/h except where a sign forbids it. Parking, only in the marked bays.

## Who can apply

Everything goes through the same form, **model MO025**, filed at the Registro Xeral or through the council's electronic office. There are two broad families.

**Residents.**You must be registered on the municipal roll at an address inside the Cidade Histórica and own the vehicle, with its circulation tax paid in Santiago and no final traffic penalties outstanding. A leased car and a company car assigned for private use also qualify, with the lease or the employer's letter. The authorisation is valid for **two years**, and one is granted per person and vehicle, with a second and up to a third per household.

**Pass and stop, the twenty minutes.** Four cases, each with its own ceiling: owners or tenants of a property in the old town, whether or not they are on the municipal roll (up to three per dwelling); holders of a business open to the public (up to two vehicles); relatives and carers of a dependent resident (one per dependent person, three per dwelling at most); and stallholders at the Praza de Abastos market (up to two vehicles). Taxis are a separate case: they may use the control system when on duty with the fare light on, and only then.

One door is left open for whatever fits no box — a wedding, a funeral, a house move, an illness, a cultural event: you notify it in writing or by email to **dptotrafico@santiagodecompostela.gal** far enough ahead that it can be processed in office hours, giving the plate, the destination and documentary proof of the reason. On arrival you call from the intercom at the gate and the local police open it. Without that paperwork beforehand, it stays shut.

## Delivery windows, which is what many people are actually looking for

If what you have on your hands is a delivery rather than a visit, the ordinance is quite precise. The least known and most useful line is the second one in the table: companies carrying backpacks and suitcases have their own midday window, which is exactly what a walker who has sent the pack ahead needs to know.

**Loading, unloading and delivery windows in the Cidade Histórica under articles 11 and 13 of Annex II. Indicative: the ordinance allows exceptional permits outside these hours.**

| What is delivered | When | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| General goods | 7:00 to 10:00 | Every day except Sundays and public holidays |
| Backpacks and suitcases | 12:00 to 14:00 | Ring the gate's video intercom |
| Urgent couriers | 16:00 to 18:00 | Every day, also via the intercom |
| Bars and restaurants | Thursdays, 16:00 to 21:00 | On top of the morning slot. At Praza de San Fiz or the car parks around the old town |
| Deliveries by bike or moped | No time limit | The ordinance sets them no window |
| Praza de Abastos market | 6:00 to 8:00 | The San Fiz bollard stays down for market loading |

For packs, the practical move is to make sure [your luggage transfer company](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/luggage-transfer) knows your accommodation is inside the old town, because delivery there has an hour and elsewhere in the city it does not.

## Reduced mobility

The ordinance grants the reduced-mobility parking card to people who **live inside the area**and have had their reduced mobility recognised by the Xunta de Galicia's services. For a visitor holding a card from another region or another country, Annex II says nothing explicit, and we are not going to infer it: ask the Concellaría de Mobilidade before you travel. Everything else worth knowing about slopes, cobbles and step-free routes is in the [accessible Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/accessible) guide.

## Frequently asked questions

**Is Santiago's old town a Low Emission Zone?**

Yes, since 10 November 2025, when an amendment to Annex II of the traffic ordinance expressly recognised it as one. But it does not work like most LEZs: a Spanish DGT emissions sticker neither grants nor denies you entry. Access runs on a municipal permit, with bollards and plate-reading cameras, and there is no visitor permit.

**Which emissions sticker do I need to drive into the old town?**

None, because the sticker is not the key. A car with a C, ECO or CERO label does not get in for being cleaner, and a car with no label is not excluded for that reason either. What decides it is holding a municipal permit, granted for residency, a garage space, a business, caring for a dependent resident or deliveries. The only place the label counts is the power to extend delivery hours for zero-emission vehicles.

**Can I drive into the old town if my hotel is inside it?**

Not on your own account. There is no visitor authorisation. The ordinance lets the council grant permits to hotels that request one with a justified reason, so tell the hotel before you arrive and let it arrange matters. Otherwise the normal thing is to park outside and walk in.

**How long can I stay inside with a pass-and-stop authorisation?**

Twenty minutes at most. The only exceptions are emergency vehicles while attending an emergency, public or essential-service vehicles for as long as the job lasts, and professional goods delivery within its hours.

**What happens if I drive in without a permit through a camera-controlled access?**

The camera records your plate. Five accesses (Costa Vella, Porta da Mámoa, Rúa do Castro, Rúa da Oliveira and Rúa de Entremuros) are controlled by camera instead of a barrier, so finding no bollard does not mean the way is open.

**When can Camino backpack transfers be delivered inside the old town?**

Between 12:00 and 14:00, ringing the video intercom at the access system. That is a different window from general goods, which runs from 7:00 to 10:00 every day except Sundays and public holidays.

**Are taxis allowed into the old town?**

Yes, when they are on duty with the fare light on; the control system opens for them. In any other circumstance they are not allowed in.

Source for the gates, the cameras, the time limits, the delivery windows and the permit regime: Annex II of Santiago de Compostela's Ordenanza de circulación e uso da vía pública, passed by the city council on 26 September 2024 and published in the [BOP da Coruña no. 192 of 4 October 2024](https://bop.dacoruna.gal/bopportal/publicado/2024/10/04/2024_0000006857.html). The Low Emission Zone designation, the pollution protocol and the zero-emission delivery provision come from the amendment approved by the Xunta de Goberno Local on 10 November 2025, which **was published on the municipal website rather than the bulletin**: we have not been able to read its text because the council's site does not respond, so those three points rest on two agreeing secondary sources, the [report of the decision quoting the council spokesperson](https://coruna365.es/movilidad/santiago-refuerza-la-regulacion-de-la-zona-de-bajas-emisiones-del-casco-historico-20251114-1111/) and the LEZ entry on ecomovilidad.es. Times and procedures are indicative: ordinances get amended, and the version in force is the one that counts.

## Keep reading

**[Getting around Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/getting-around)** — Around the city — City buses, taxis, paid street parking and the car parks around the old town. — Read the guide

**[Getting to Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/getting-there)** — Reaching the city — Train, bus, plane and car, and what changes once you reach the city. — Read the guide

**[Practical information](https://santiago.es/en/practical-info)** — Before you come — Tourist offices, luggage storage, duty pharmacies and emergencies. — Read the guide