PARKING ASSISTANCE APPARATUS

A parking assistance apparatus capable of making a parking route shorter when providing parking assistance for parallel parking is obtained. The parking assistance apparatus according to the present invention is a parking assistance apparatus for assisting the parallel parking of a driver's own vehicle and has a configuration that: calculates an escapable position where the driver's own vehicle can be made to escape from a parking area Sp; calculates a parking-space leaving route E where the driver's own vehicle can be moved from the escapable position to an initial position P in a passage area Sr; and sets a parking route based on the parking-space leaving route E. The parking-space leaving route E is calculated by using a first turning circle C when turning from the escapable position P to a passage side, a second turning circle C when turning in a direction of a target parking position P at the initial position P of the driver's own vehicle , and a third turning circle which is a locus of a turning center when the driver's own vehicle has moved along the first turning circle C and turns in a direction different from the first turning circle C