Matchday parking at The City Ground
Set your sat-nav to the car park you actually intend to use, not just the stadium postcode NG2 5FJ. Forest suggests approaching Nottingham from M1 junction 24 via the A453 from the south, or junction 26 and the ring road from the north.
Plan a stay at Nottingham Forest ↗Put your trip together
Your route into The City Ground
Head for the visiting section in the lower Bridgford Stand, on the far side of the ground from Trent Bridge. After crossing the river, continue along Radcliffe Road and follow the signs around towards Colwick Road and the away turnstiles. Do not turn into Pavilion Road expecting to reach the visitors' entrance. Your ticket is the final authority on which turnstile to use. Visiting blocks can be split between entrances, and the separate away ticket-collection point is immediately behind the stand. Allow time for queues and searches: the club normally opens the turnstiles about 90 minutes before kick-off. If approaching from Lady Bay Bridge rather than Trent Bridge, Scarrington Road is the usual stadium-side approach, subject to matchday road controls.
Information for fans travelling to Forest on Saturday ↗Parking & park-and-ride
You do not have to pre-book parking for every Forest match, but you should travel with a proper paid car park in mind. Do not rely on free residential parking around West Bridgford. Forest warns about enforced residents' schemes, and the council's central on-street bays now carry daytime charges or short stays. For value, try Green Parking on Queen's Road (NG2 3AD). It charges £6 all day on matchdays, has 88 spaces and takes RingGo or payment at the machine. The operator estimates a 15-minute walk towards the stadium over Trent Bridge; allow a little longer to reach the visitors' entrance. Places are not guaranteed. We could not confirm a particular unrestricted street suitable for the whole match. Bridgford Road, Fox Road and Hound Road have designated long-stay paid bays, while roads including Florence Road and Priory Road have short-stay restrictions on relevant sections. Reports of free parking at Victoria Embankment or on industrial streets do not establish matchday permission. If Queen's Road is full, Nottingham Station's 24-hour multi-storey on Queen's Road costs £5.50 on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. Nottingham Rugby's ground on Holme Road offers £10 Forest matchday parking, first come, first served. County Hall, Meadow Lane and Cattle Market are other named parking sites, but check their current opening and charges. Aim to park at least 90 minutes before kick-off, earlier for a big game. Allow around four-and-a-half to five hours for parking, both walks, the match and the return to your car. Avoid ASDA and other customer-only retail spaces unless their operator explicitly allows football parking for that full period. Sunday and evening restrictions still need checking: neither automatically makes these streets free.
The City Ground: Your Definitive Matchday Guide ↗Choose your base before your hotel
Stay near Nottingham station or the southern edge of the city centre for the easiest football weekend. You can walk to the City Ground over Trent Bridge, get back to your train without a cross-city transfer, and still have a decent choice of places to eat after the match.
Hotel to compare: Leonardo Hotel Nottingham · Station Street / Nottingham Station, southern city centre
Compare the stay areas →Driving & road restrictions
Set your sat-nav to the car park you actually intend to use, not just the stadium postcode NG2 5FJ. Forest suggests approaching Nottingham from M1 junction 24 via the A453 from the south, or junction 26 and the ring road from the north. The last roads around Trent Bridge and Lady Bay Bridge can become congested.
Do not assume you can drive along Colwick Road, Pavilion Road or Scarrington Road close to kick-off. Forest has used timed closures and restricted access around those roads, while Nottinghamshire has also imposed match-specific closures at Lady Bay Bridge. These are fixture-specific arrangements, so check the latest match guide and highway notices before setting off.
Parking north of the river and walking across Trent Bridge avoids needing vehicle access beside the away entrance.
- Stadium sat nav
- NG2 5FJ; use the selected car park postcode instead when parking
- From M1 north
- Club suggests M1 junction 26 via A610 and southern ring road
- From M1 south
- Club suggests M1 junction 24 via A453 and A52
- Matchday closures
- Previous official guides describe Colwick Road, Pavilion Road, Trent Road and Lady Bay Bridge controls
- 2026 Lady Bay Bridge restrictions
- August 2026 event-specific notice described temporary restrictions and diversions
Parking & park-and-ride
You do not have to pre-book parking for every Forest match, but you should travel with a proper paid car park in mind. Do not rely on free residential parking around West Bridgford. Forest warns about enforced residents' schemes, and the council's central on-street bays now carry daytime charges or short stays.
For value, try Green Parking on Queen's Road (NG2 3AD). It charges £6 all day on matchdays, has 88 spaces and takes RingGo or payment at the machine. The operator estimates a 15-minute walk towards the stadium over Trent Bridge; allow a little longer to reach the visitors' entrance. Places are not guaranteed.
We could not confirm a particular unrestricted street suitable for the whole match. Bridgford Road, Fox Road and Hound Road have designated long-stay paid bays, while roads including Florence Road and Priory Road have short-stay restrictions on relevant sections. Reports of free parking at Victoria Embankment or on industrial streets do not establish matchday permission.
If Queen's Road is full, Nottingham Station's 24-hour multi-storey on Queen's Road costs £5.50 on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. Nottingham Rugby's ground on Holme Road offers £10 Forest matchday parking, first come, first served. County Hall, Meadow Lane and Cattle Market are other named parking sites, but check their current opening and charges.
Aim to park at least 90 minutes before kick-off, earlier for a big game. Allow around four-and-a-half to five hours for parking, both walks, the match and the return to your car. Avoid ASDA and other customer-only retail spaces unless their operator explicitly allows football parking for that full period. Sunday and evening restrictions still need checking: neither automatically makes these streets free.
- Parking verdict
- Booking advisable for certainty but not compulsory when arriving early with a verified pay-on-arrival alternative; do not rely on free residential streets
- Free option — area
- No legally verified unrestricted named street for a full matchday visit
- Legal restrictions — Bridgford Road
- Designated long-stay paid bays, 8am–8pm daily, first 30 minutes free only with ticket
- Legal restrictions — Fox Road and Hound Road
- Hybrid long-stay pay-and-display/resident permit bays on named sections; 8am–8pm daily charging
- Legal restrictions — Florence Road and Priory Road
- Specified central on-street bays limited to three hours; not suitable for standard full visit
- Legal restrictions — West Bridgford
- Resident permit schemes and controlled zones enforced on matchdays
- Matchday availability — West Bridgford
- Council studies and March 2026 supporter reports indicate pressure on bays; no guaranteed street space
- Free option — Victoria Embankment
- Not recommended: 2026 supporter claimed free Saturday parking but 2025/26 city fee schedule lists a separate £5 football-parking charge; current event allocation not established
- Free option — Freeth Street / Poulton Drive
- Anecdotal free industrial-street parking reported in 2023, but exact sections and 2026 restrictions not established
- Paid option — Green Parking Queens Road
- NG2 3AD; £6 all-day matchday, 88 spaces, 24/7, RingGo 2867 or pay-and-display, ANPR
- Walk — Green Parking Queens Road
- Operator gives roughly 15 minutes to City Ground via London Road and Trent Bridge; allow more to away entrance
- Matchday availability — Green Parking
- 88 total spaces; first come/pay on arrival and not a reserved or guaranteed matchday space
- Paid fallback — Nottingham Station
- Queens Road multi-storey; open 24/7; £5.50 Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays
- Paid fallback — Nottingham Station weekday
- £10.50 weekday peak, £5.50 weekday after 10am to 02:30; £3.30 evening after 18:00
- Paid fallback — Nottingham Rugby
- The Bay, 1 Holme Road, NG2 5AA; £10 on Forest matchdays; first come, first served, arrive 2–3 hours early
- Walk — Nottingham Rugby
- Forest accessibility guide describes rugby club as about half a mile from the stadium
- Paid fallback — County Hall
- Nottinghamshire County Hall, Loughborough Road, NG2 7QP; Forest-recognised option, subject to spaces and current price
- Paid fallback — Meadow Lane/Cattlemarket
- Both listed by Forest as approved matchday parking choices; current price and access need fixture/operator checks
- Paid on-street fallback — Bridgford Road
- Designated long-stay pay-and-display bays: more than four hours £6 within 8am–8pm charge window, if available and signage permits
- Booking recommendation
- For peace of mind on a large fixture book a legitimately authorised independent space; verify its confirmation and access terms. Public pay-on-arrival sites cannot guarantee a bay.
- Supermarket permission/time limit
- ASDA West Bridgford exists on Loughborough Road but no permission or matchday stay allowance was verified; do not recommend football parking there
- Total dwell time
- Allow about 4.5–5 hours for arrival, walking both ways, match with half-time/stoppages and exit delays; longer for extra time
- Arrive by — paid car parks
- Aim at least 90 minutes before kick-off; operator at rugby club recommends 2–3 hours before kick-off
- After the match
- Lady Bay Bridge and approach roads may be closed temporarily; allow for pedestrians and staggered parking exits
- Sunday/bank holiday note
- Council on-street central West Bridgford charges apply all days 8am–8pm; station off-peak £5.50 applies weekends and bank holidays
Driving and staying overnight?
Plan a base for the match. Check parking arrangements with the hotel before booking.
Where to stay
Stay near Nottingham station or the southern edge of the city centre for the easiest football weekend. You can walk to the City Ground over Trent Bridge, get back to your train without a cross-city transfer, and still have a decent choice of places to eat after the match. For more of an evening out, look towards Hockley or the Lace Market. Those neighbourhoods have a stronger collection of independent restaurants and bars, but mean a longer walk to the stadium and station. West Bridgford is the alternative if being close to the ground matters most. It has the stadium and Trent Bridge sporting quarter on its doorstep, but there is less reason to stay beside the turnstiles if you also want Nottingham city-centre nightlife.
The City Ground: Your Definitive Matchday Guide ↗For most supporters, base yourself between Nottingham Station and the city centre rather than forcing a stay beside the stadium. West Bridgford is useful when being close to the ground is the overriding priority, but its small hotel stock currently involves more quality trade-offs. The station/city-centre corridor gives a straightforward walk over Trent Bridge to the match and a better choice of reliable hotels.
For the evening
For a proper evening after the match, the city centre is stronger. Hockley and the Lace Market are the clearest food-and-drink cluster, with bars, restaurants and late venues, while the Talbot Street/Rock City side of the centre is also strong for live music, bars and late-night activity. A city-centre hotel is therefore a better nightlife base than the immediate City Ground area.
For the train
Nottingham Station is the key rail anchor. Nottingham Forest's own matchday guidance puts the City Ground at roughly a 20-minute walk or ten-minute bus ride from the station, with the walking route continuing over Trent Bridge. Hotels close to the station are therefore unusually useful for this stadium.
Hotels to compare
Leonardo Hotel NottinghamStation Street / Nottingham Station, southern city centreAll-round choice · For the shortest ground journey
About a one-mile practical walking route to the City Ground, so there is no need to depend on post-match taxis.
Bear in mind: Sampled rates sit above Nottingham's budget tier and midweek pricing was quite variable.
Hotel details checked 2026-09-30Check availability ↗Booking.com · Choose your dates and check the final price.More about this choice
Around five minutes on foot from Nottingham Station, making arrival and departure unusually simple for a football trip.
Strong current provider feedback: Booking.com around 8.5/10 with more than 8,000 reviews at the time checked.
Recent Tripadvisor feedback commonly mentions clean rooms, comfortable beds and helpful staff.
City-centre bars and nightlife are still reachable on foot, so staying closer to the ground does not mean giving up the evening.
Several recent guests describe bathrooms or parts of the rooms as dated/tired.
Occasional door/corridor noise appears in reviews.
Parking is not the hotel's strongest feature; nearby/off-site parking can add a walk.
Roomzzz Nottingham CityTalbot Street / Rock City, northern city centreFor the evening
Excellent current reputation: Booking.com around 8.8–8.9/10 and Tripadvisor around 4.6/5 when checked.
Bear in mind: Longer walk to the City Ground than Leonardo; this is a nightlife-first choice rather than a stadium-first one.
Hotel details checked 2026-09-30Check availability ↗Booking.com · Choose your dates and check the final price.More about this choice
Rock City is essentially next door and the property says popular bars, shops and restaurants are within about five minutes.
Recent September 2026 reviews repeatedly praise staff, cleanliness, comfort and central location.
Studios include kitchen facilities, useful for a one- or two-night football trip where eating out every meal is not essential.
Sampled non-match prices were materially lower than the four-star full-service city-centre options.
Noise from Rock City, revellers, bins or people returning late is a recurring risk in reviews.
A small number of recent/2026 reviews describe room wear or an uncomfortable bed, so room consistency is not perfect.
It is an aparthotel rather than a conventional full-service hotel and does not offer the same on-site restaurant/bar experience.
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Sources, limitations and matchday changes
Reviewed transport publication. This permanent guide uses the existing approved research; admission, opening hours, services and parking controls may change for each match.
Station mappings identify arrival options. They do not guarantee a walking route, step-free access or a train timetable. Confirm current club guidance and your actual service.
Official club guidance ↗