Driving in Ulm 2026: The Zone Ended on 4 June 2024
Ulm, Germany · Umweltzone
Ulm has scrapped its environmental zone — no emission sticker, permit or low-emission penalty applies today.
Can your car enter Ulm?
Ulm scrapped its Umweltzone on 4 June 2024, so the green Umweltplakette that once cost around EUR 10-12 is no longer required and no low-emission fine applies to any car entering today. Park in a central garage and walk to the Ulm Minster, whose 161.5-metre spire is the tallest of any church on earth, or wander the crooked half-timbered lanes of the Fischerviertel along the Blau stream.
This page covers driving around Ulm. For the emission classes and zone boundary, see the Ulm emission zone details.
Is There an Environmental Zone in Ulm?
No. Ulm has scrapped its environmental zone, so no sticker, permit or low-emission fine applies to your car today. Ulm abolished its Umweltzone on 4 June 2024. No green Umweltplakette is required to drive here any more, and no low-emission fine applies. Source: Umweltbundesamt federal register.
Green sticker, then park and walk
Get the Umweltplakette (around EUR 10-12, permanent — German rentals carry one); without it the fine is EUR 100. Park in a garage and walk the old town — the Münsterplatz (climb the 768 steps for Alpine views) and the half-timbered Fishermen’s Quarter with its leaning house. Germany’s limits: 50 km/h urban, 0.05% alcohol (zero under 21 or first two years).
When the car helps
Keep it for Swabia and the road toward the Alps and Lake Constance, driven out from a garage. Ulm is on the Stuttgart-Munich rail line.
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Winter tyres in Germany — 2026–27 season
Winter tyres are required in Germany whenever conditions are wintry — Situational (when conditions require: ice, snow, slush, black ice).
- Tread minimum: 1.6 mm — Germany sets no separate winter figure.
- Accepted marking: 3PMSF only — the M+S transitional rule no longer applies to cars (StVZO §36(4))
- Studded tyres: banned
- Penalty: EUR 60 + 1 point; EUR 80 if you obstruct traffic; EUR 75 for the vehicle owner
In German the rule is Winterreifenpflicht, and snow chains are Schneeketten — that is the wording on signs, in hire-car paperwork and on any penalty notice.
Verified against national legislation, August 2026 · Full Germany tyre law · Compare all countries
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Ulm has scrapped its environmental zone, so no sticker or permit applies. Ulm abolished its Umweltzone on 4 June 2024. No green Umweltplakette is required to drive here any more, and no low-emission fine applies. Source: Umweltbundesamt federal register.
The Ulm Minster (Ulmer Münster) has the tallest church spire in the world at 161.5 metres. It's a vast Gothic church — though, despite its size, it's a Lutheran parish church rather than a cathedral. You can climb 768 steps up the tower for sweeping views over the city, the Danube and, on a clear day, the Alps. It dominates the old town and the walkable Münsterplatz.
The Fischerviertel (Fishermen's and Tanners' Quarter) is Ulm's most picturesque district — a cluster of half-timbered houses, narrow canals and little bridges along the Blau stream where it meets the Danube, including the famously crooked Schiefes Haus ('leaning house'). It's pedestrian and made for wandering on foot, a short walk from the Minster, and a highlight of the compact old town.
Use a central garage, then walk. The old town around the Münsterplatz and the Fishermen's Quarter is compact, flat and partly pedestrian, so once parked you explore on foot. Ulm sits on the Danube facing its twin town of Neu-Ulm across the river in Bavaria, both easily walkable.
Not for the city — the walkable old town covers it, and Ulm is on the main rail line between Stuttgart and Munich. A car helps for the surrounding Swabia and the road toward the Alps and Lake Constance, driven out from a garage rather than used in the centre.
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