Questions and answers
Questions drivers ask about Europe's roads
Short answers, each linked to the page with the full rules and their sources. City parking questions are answered on our sister site, ParkingInEurope.
Tolls and vignettes
Which European countries need a motorway vignette?
Eight: Austria, Switzerland, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Greece charge at a barrier or by camera instead.
Is an Austrian vignette bought online valid straight away?
Only the one-day (€9.60) and ten-day (€12.80) vignettes. The two-month and annual ones bought online only start on the 18th day after you buy them. At a petrol station counter every vignette is valid at once.
Is there a short-term vignette for Switzerland?
No. Switzerland only sells the year vignette, CHF 40, valid from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027, so a single afternoon on the motorway costs the same as a year.
What if I drive through a French toll with no barrier?
Pay within 72 hours at the operator's site. Miss that and a €90 surcharge is added, cut to €10 if you settle within 15 days; after two months a €375 fixed fine lands on top. The sections without a barrier are the A13 and A14, the A79 and the Boulay interchange on the A4.
Rules and fines on the road
Which European country has the most expensive traffic fines?
Of France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Italy. The same six everyday offences, paid on time, cost €1,151.40 there, against €980 in Germany, €750 in Spain and €450 in France.
Can I wear earphones while driving in France?
No. Anything in your ear that can make a sound is banned at the wheel, even one earphone for the sat nav. The fine is €135.
Can I use a speed camera app in Germany?
Not while you drive. The function that warns of speed checks must not be used on any device, your phone included. Carrying a radar detector ready for use costs €75.
Do I need a V-16 warning light to drive in Spain?
Not in a car on foreign plates: the DGT says warning triangles still comply. The V-16 is compulsory only on Spanish-registered cars, which includes almost every hire car.
Low-emission zones and old towns
What is a ZTL in Italy?
A limited-traffic zone in a historic centre, with a camera at every entrance. Nothing is for sale: your plate has to be registered before you pass the camera, usually by a hotel inside the zone. Without that it costs €83 to €332 each time.
Do I need a Crit'Air sticker to drive in France?
In a low-emission zone that restricts traffic, yes, foreign cars included. Order it from the official site: the disc is €3.11, €5.11 posted abroad, and takes about 10 working days. Without it the fine is €68.
Do foreign cars need to register for Spain's low-emission zones?
In Barcelona, Valencia and Palma, yes: there is no sticker for a foreign car, so the plate is registered before you drive in, and Barcelona can take 15 working days to answer. €200 is the standard fine.
Do I need a sticker for German city centres?
For an Umweltzone, yes: the green Umweltplakette, €5 to €10 at an issuing point in Germany, and it never expires. Driving or parking inside a zone without one is €100.
Winter tyres and chains
Are M+S tyres enough in Germany in winter?
No. Since 1 October 2024 Germany only accepts tyres with the Alpine snowflake symbol, whenever there is ice, snow or slush. The driver pays €60 and the keeper €75.
When do I need winter tyres in Austria?
From 1 November to 15 April, whenever there is snow, slush or ice on the road. Plain M+S is enough, but the tread must be at least 4 mm.
Electric cars
Can I pay for EV charging in Europe with a bank card?
At fast chargers built since April 2024, yes. Under the EU regulation, every public charging point of at least 50 kW put in from 13 April 2024 must take a bank card or contactless payment, with no contract and no subscription.
What does charging cost on a road trip across Europe?
Utrecht to Barcelona in a Tesla Model Y comes to about €110: 1,430 km and four charging stops, each priced at the bank-card price in its country. The trip calculator works it out for your own cities and car.
Hire cars and motorhomes
Who pays a traffic fine on a hire car?
You do, plus the rental company's administration fee: £40 flat at Sixt UK, €19.99 at Hertz France. The company either names you to the authority, which sends the notice to your home address, or pays it and charges your card.
Can I drive a motorhome over 3,500 kg on a car licence?
Not on an EU category B licence: above 3,500 kg you need C1, which covers up to 7,500 kg. The weight that counts is the one printed on the registration document, not what the van weighs today.
Parking in a city
Is street parking free on Sundays in Europe?
In most of the cities we cover, yes: eleven of the thirteen compared charge nothing at the kerb on a Sunday. Amsterdam charges 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and Venice has no street to park on.
Full answer and sources → on ParkingInEurope
My car has gone from where I parked it. Was it towed?
Almost always, rather than stolen. Look for a temporary no-parking board or a tow-truck sign by the kerb, then search the plate: France has a national search on the interior ministry's Ma Sécurité portal, and Paris has its own.
Full answer and sources → on ParkingInEurope
Parking, city by city
251 questions about 41 cities, answered on ParkingInEurope: where to park, what it costs, and what happens if you are towed.
- Amsterdam 7
- Antwerp 5
- Athens 5
- Barcelona 8
- Berlin 5
- Bruges 6
- Brussels 5
- Budapest 5
- Cologne 6
- Copenhagen 7
- Dublin 5
- Düsseldorf 5
- Edinburgh 8
- Florence 7
- Frankfurt 5
- Granada 5
- Innsbruck 7
- Kraków 8
- Lisbon 6
- London 5
- Lyon 5
- Maastricht 6
- Madrid 5
- Marseille 5
- Milan 6
- Monaco 7
- Munich 7
- Naples 5
- Nice 7
- Paris 8
- Prague 8
- Rome 8
- Rotterdam 6
- Salzburg 5
- Seville 7
- Strasbourg 5
- The Hague 6
- Utrecht 6
- Valencia 5
- Venice 7
- Vienna 7