Most of us can agree that finding free, cheap, or easily accessible parking in downtown San Jose can be rather difficult at times.

To make your next trip downtown a bit breezier, here’s a brief guide of cheap or free places to park downtown.

This live map shows you how full each garage is in real time. | Screenshot via Park SJ

🅿️ Parking garages

There are seven parking garages under the City of San Jose's Downtown Parking Program Park SJ. The first 90 minutes are free at these spots:

Market & San Pedro Square Garage | 45 N. Market St. | Open 24 hours
Second & San Carlos Garage | 280 S. Second St. | Open 24 hours
Third Street Garage | 95 N. Third St. | Open 24 hours
Fourth Street Garage | 44 S. Fourth St. | Open 24 hours

At these garages, $1 will be charged for each additional 15 minutes used, with a max total of $25 on the weekdays and $10 on the weekends.

The other garages charge as follows:

Convention Center Garage | 150 W. San Carlos St. | Open 24 hours | $1 per 15 min., $24-$30 max.
City Hall Garage | 200 E. Santa Clara St. | Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., closed weekends | $1 per 20 min., $20 max.
Fourth & St. John Garage | 50 N. Fourth St. | Free to the public at 6 p.m.-10 p.m. weeknights + 6 a.m.-10 p.m. weekends

Meters accept card, coins, or payment through an app. | Photo by SJtoday staff

🅿️ Curbside parking

Most of the city's meters operate from Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. — excluding city holidays. However, Little Italy's meters operate 9 a.m.-10 p.m. every day.

Other rates to note:

Multi-space meters along Almaden Boulevard + Woz Way charge $7 on non-event days and $5-$25 during events
Single-space meters near SAP Center + Diridon Station Area charge $4 on non-event days and $5-$20 during events.

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