Travel advice · by car
Driving to Europe from the UK.
What the law requires (marked Law, with its source) and what we’d do (marked Tip). Checked 25 September 2026: rules change, so check the source before you go.Travelling by motorcycle? See the motorcycle advice.
Documents
- LawLicence, log book and insurance
Carry your UK photocard driving licence, the vehicle’s log book (V5C), or a VE103 if it’s hired or leased, and your insurance certificate.
Source: GOV.UK: driving in the EU - LawNo green card or international permit for the EU
You don’t need a green card to drive in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, and you don’t need an international driving permit in the EU, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein with a UK photocard licence.
Source: GOV.UK: driving in the EU - LawUK identifier, not GB
If your number plate shows the UK identifier with the Union flag, you need nothing else. Otherwise (a GB identifier, a Euro symbol, a national flag or no identifier) display a UK sticker. In Spain, Cyprus and Malta you need a UK sticker whatever your plate shows.
Source: GOV.UK: driving in the EU - TipCheck your cover before you go
Ask your insurer and breakdown provider exactly which countries and how many days you’re covered for, and whether a track day or an organised event is excluded. Keep their European helpline number in your phone and on paper.
Tolls, vignettes and town-centre zones
Switzerland and Austria charge for motorways by time (a vignette), not by distance. France and Italy use péages and cameras.
- Law · SwitzerlandMotorway vignette: CHF 40
Needed on Swiss motorways for cars and motorcycles alike. The 2026 vignette runs from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027; the e-vignette can be bought online before you go.
Source: Tolls.eu: Swiss vignette - Law · AustriaMotorway vignette (2026 prices)
Cars: €9.60 for a day, €12.80 for 10 days, €32.00 for 2 months, €106.80 for a year. Motorcycles: €3.80, €5.10, €12.80 and €42.70. Buy a 2-month or annual digital vignette online and it’s only valid from the 18th day after purchase; the 1-day digital vignette is valid straight away. Without one you face a substitute toll, then fines of €300 to €3,000.
Source: oesterreich.gv.at: vignette - Law · FranceCrit’Air sticker for low-emission zones
Many French cities require a Crit’Air sticker (€4.91 from the official site) to enter their low-emission zones; driving in without the right one can cost €135 on the spot.
Source: RAC: driving in France - Law · ItalyStay out of ZTLs
Historic centres in Italian cities are camera-controlled limited traffic zones (ZTL). Each entry without permission is a separate fine, typically €80 to €300, arriving weeks or months later.
Source: European Consumer Centre: ZTL fines in Italy - Tip · ItalyStaying inside a ZTL?
Ask your hotel before you arrive whether it can register your number plate for access, and follow its directions in rather than your satnav.
On the road in France
- Law · FranceSpeed-camera detectors are illegal
Devices that detect speed cameras are banned: fines up to €1,500 and the device can be confiscated. Turn off camera alerts in satnavs and apps.
Source: RAC: driving in France - Law · FranceMotorway limit 130 km/h, 110 in the rain
The standard motorway limit drops from 130 km/h to 110 km/h when it rains.
Source: RAC: driving in France
What the car needs
- Law · FranceWarning triangle, reflective jackets, beam adjustment
Carry a warning triangle and reflective jackets, and fit beam deflectors or adjust your headlights so a right-hand-drive car doesn’t dazzle oncoming drivers.
Source: RAC: driving in France - Law · FranceNo breathalyser needed any more
Carrying a breathalyser kit is no longer required in France, whatever older guides say.
Source: RAC: driving in France - Law · FranceChild seats
Children under 10 must use an approved child restraint.
Source: RAC: driving in France - Law · SpainTriangles or the new V16 beacon
Spanish-registered cars now need a connected V16 warning beacon. Reports say foreign-registered cars may still use triangles, but the rule is new: carry triangles and check before you go.
Source: ROADPOL: Spain’s V16 beacon - TipLow cars
Hotel ramps, ferry decks and Alpine village kerbs catch splitters. Check the hotel reports on The Stradale for low-car access, and take steep underground car parks diagonally and slowly.
- TipTyres and brakes for the passes
Long descents cook brakes: use a lower gear rather than riding the pedal. Check tyre pressures cold before a day in the mountains, not at the top.
Crossing the Channel
Border checks for car passengers are changing with the EU’s Entry/Exit System. Where things stand at Dover and Eurotunnel.