Last verified: October 26, 2026, against Simon's statement as published by KHOU, the Houston Chronicle, KPRC 2, ABC13, FOX 26, CW39 and CultureMap on October 21 and 22, 2026, and the Galleria's own site for the address and garage list. The rates take effect November 2, 2026; we will re-check the garages that week.
Disclosure: ParkingAccess sells no parking at the Galleria and earns nothing from this page. It exists because the mall's garages stop being free on November 2 and the rate card is scattered across news reports.
The Galleria is Texas's biggest mall and, until now, one of the few places in Uptown Houston where you could park a car for free all day. That ends on November 2, 2026. Here is the rate card Simon Property Group gave reporters, what the mall has and has not said, and how to keep a visit at the $2 tier.
What the garages charge from November 2
Simon's statement sets a flat rate by time in the garage: $2 for up to four hours, $5 for four to seven hours, and $25 for up to 24 hours, starting November 2, 2026.
Time in the garage
Rate
What that covers
Up to 4 hours
$2
A normal shopping trip, a meal, a movie at the AMC
4 to 7 hours
$5
Shopping plus dinner, or a long afternoon with kids at the ice rink
Up to 24 hours
$25
A full workday, or leaving the car overnight
Which garages: the five self-park garages that are free today, named by color on the mall's signs: Yellow, Brown, Green, Orange and Red. Paid express parking already exists in select surface lots along Westheimer Road and on Level 3 of the Yellow Garage, and valet is sold at several entrances (KHOU, October 21, 2026).
Size: the mall's site says roughly 13,000 spaces across seven garages, so the color garages are most, not all, of the parking.
Address: 5085 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77056, at Post Oak Boulevard, per the Galleria's site.
One wrinkle in the reporting: the Houston Chronicle and CW39 describe the middle tier as five to seven hours, and CultureMap describes the top tier as seven to 24 hours. Simon's own wording, carried by KHOU, KPRC 2 and ABC13, is "up to four hours," "four to seven hours" and "up to 24 hours," so this page uses that.
What Simon has not announced yet
As of October 26, the mall has not said how drivers pay, whether a car that enters and leaves without parking owes $2, which retailers will validate, or what happens after 24 hours. Treat every one of those as open until the garages post signs.
Payment: no method announced. Simon described the change only as "a modern parking system designed to provide convenient parking for guests," which reads like gated entry with plate or ticket payment, but that is our inference, not a mall statement.
Grace period: none specified. Until one is posted, budget $2 for any entry, including a drop-off loop through the garage.
Validation: Simon says "select retailers may offer parking validation at their discretion." No store has been named and no minimum purchase has been set.
Employees: Simon says they "will continue to park free in designated areas," which means some garage levels or lots will be set aside and off limits to shoppers.
Why now: Simon has given no reason beyond the system upgrade and no revenue figure (FOX 26).
How to keep a Galleria visit at $2
Watch the four-hour line. A movie plus dinner runs about four and a half hours, which tips you into the $5 tier. If the second stop is optional, make it a separate trip or move the car.
Ask at the register. Validation is at each store's discretion, so ask every time you spend; a validated $2 ticket costs nothing.
Do not use the garage as commuter parking. A weekday at the office next door is $25 a day, or $125 for a five-day week at the posted maximum, before anyone has checked whether 24-hour re-entry resets the clock.
Express lots and valet were never free. If you used the Westheimer surface lots or Level 3 of the Yellow Garage before, nothing about November 2 makes them cheaper.
Original research: what common visits will cost
At the posted tiers, a three-hour shopping trip costs $2, a six-hour shop-and-dinner evening costs $5, and an eight-hour workday costs $25. Five workdays cost $125. These are ParkingAccess arithmetic from Simon's three tiers, not figures the mall published, and they assume no validation.
Method: tier price times one entry, using Simon's statement as quoted by KHOU on October 21, 2026. We did not assume any grace period, any re-entry rule or any lost-ticket fee, because none has been announced.
Frequently asked questions
Is parking at the Houston Galleria free?
Through November 1, 2026, yes, in the Yellow, Brown, Green, Orange and Red self-park garages. From November 2 the garages charge $2 for up to four hours, $5 for four to seven hours and $25 for up to 24 hours. Express lots and valet have always been paid.
How do you pay for parking at the Galleria?
Simon has not announced the payment method, the grace period or the validation partners as of October 26, 2026. This page will be updated when the garages post their signs.
What is the Galleria's address and zip code?
5085 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77056, between Post Oak Boulevard and Sage Road, per the mall's site.
Which garage is closest to which store?
The mall's own map at simon.com/mall/the-galleria/map labels every garage by color and anchor. We have not independently walked the garages, so we do not rank them here.
Will stores validate parking?
Simon says select retailers may validate at their discretion. No store has been named, so ask at checkout.
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