Paestum 2026: Park at the Temples, Leave the ZTL Alone
Paestum, Italy · ZTL
Paestum's ZTL sub-zones range from permit-only by the ruins to evening-only streets; Euro class never counts. A breach costs EUR 83-332. The temple car parks lie outside.
Locally the zone is called Zona a Traffico Limitato Paestum (Italy) — that is the wording on the boundary signs, on the official portal and on any penalty notice, so it is the phrase to search for once you are there.
Next
- Check your own car against Paestum — enter your fuel and Euro class, get a yes or no in one step.
- Salerno has a zone too — the nearest one to Paestum, and the rules are not identical.
- If a fine arrives after you get home — who pays on a hire car, and what is actually enforceable across borders.
Paestum holds three of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples in the world, standing golden in a quiet plain south of Salerno amid the buffalo farms behind Campania’s mozzarella. The streets around the archaeological area form a permit-only ZTL, with some nearby streets closed only in the evening, and an unauthorised entry costs EUR 83-332. Visitors rarely need to worry: the site’s own car parks sit beside the temples and the museum.
This page covers driving to Paestum. For the zone details, see the Paestum ZTL details.
Park at the temples
Drive to the car parks by the three Doric temples and the museum, home of the Tomb of the Diver frescoes, and explore on foot. Each sub-zone posts its own hours at the gate; if you cross the same one twice on a day, article 198 c.2-bis of the Highway Code counts one violation. Italy’s limits: 50 km/h in town and 0.05% alcohol, zero for drivers under 21 or in their first three years.
The car’s bonus: mozzarella country
The plain around Paestum is the heartland of mozzarella di bufala. Drive out to the caseifici for a tasting, and on to the Cilento coast.
Sources
- Codice della Strada art. 7 c.14 (ZTL fine): normattiva.it
- Codice della Strada art. 198 c.2-bis, Law 177/2024: normattiva.it
- UNESCO, Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with Paestum: whc.unesco.org
Speed limits, fines, equipment & license requirements
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Winter tyres in Italy — 2026–27 season
Winter tyres are required in Italy whenever conditions are wintry — 15 Nov - 15 Apr (varies by region and road).
- Tread minimum: 1.6 mm — Italy sets no separate winter figure.
- Accepted marking: M+S / MS / M-S / M&S (3PMSF not required)
- Studded tyres: restricted
- Penalty: €87–345 outside built-up areas, from €42 inside, plus an order not to continue
In Italian the rule is pneumatici invernali, and snow chains are catene da neve — that is the wording on signs, in hire-car paperwork and on any penalty notice.
Checked against national legislation, 30 Sep 2026 · Full Italy tyre law · Compare all countries
Frequently Asked Questions
Paestum is an archaeological site within the comune of Capaccio Paestum. The area around the ruins is a permit-only ZTL, and some streets nearby close only in the evening, each on its own posted timetable. Visitors use the car parks by the temples and the museum and explore on foot. An unauthorised entry costs EUR 83-332, and since 14 December 2024 the same zone on the same day brings one fine.
Paestum, the Greek Poseidonia, has three Doric temples from the 6th and 5th centuries BC, among the best preserved anywhere, including the great Temple of Neptune standing almost complete in a grassy plain. The museum on site holds the Tomb of the Diver frescoes.
Use the paid car parks by the temples and the museum entrance, then walk. The ruins and the museum are a few steps from the parking.
The plain around Paestum and the Sele valley is the heartland of mozzarella di bufala campana, made from the milk of water buffalo raised on the farms here. Many caseifici sell it fresh and some offer visits, which a car makes easy to reach.
It helps. The temples, the museum, the beaches and the buffalo farms are spread across the countryside, although there is a railway station near the site. Drive to the site car parks for the temples and use the car for the Cilento coast.
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