Switzerland Austria
Switzerland 
AustriaLast reviewed July 2026
Crossing the border
Switzerland and Austria share a land border you can cross by car. Keep your passport, national driving licence and International Driving Permit together, and check opening hours and any toll or vignette requirements before you travel.
Driving rules in Austria
- Motorway vignette (Pickerl) mandatory.
- Headlights recommended day and night.
- Reflective vest and triangle required.
- 0.05% alcohol limit; 0.01% for novice drivers.
What to see when you arrive in Austria
- Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna
- Salzburg's old town and Mozart sites
- the Hallstatt lakeside village
- the Tyrolean Alps
- the Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Once you're driving in Austria
Destination-specific detail sourced from national road authorities, motoring clubs and rental policies — the things that catch cross-border drivers out.
Driving on a foreign licence
A valid foreign licence is accepted for tourist visits; non-EU/EEA visitors should carry an IDP alongside it, and it becomes effectively mandatory where the licence is not in German or uses a non-Roman alphabet.
Tolls & road charges
All motorways and expressways require a vignette (digital or sticker): a 1-day digital vignette was introduced in 2025, plus 10-day, 2-month and annual options. Several Alpine routes (Brenner, Tauern, Arlberg tunnel, Grossglockner) charge separate tolls; driving without a vignette risks a minimum substitute toll/fine around EUR 120.
Parking in the cities
Cities use Kurzparkzone short-stay zones marked by blue lines and signs, paid by paper ticket/Parkschein or apps like HANDY Parken/EasyPark; Vienna's entire inner districts (1 to 9 and beyond) are a paid Kurzparkzone on weekdays. Illegal parking fines start around EUR 20 and wrongly parked cars are towed.
Fines & camera enforcement
Police are strict and can demand immediate cash payment of fines up to about EUR 90 (a deposit for larger amounts); speeding, handheld phone use and no seatbelt are routinely enforced including by camera. Rental companies pass on camera fines with an administrative fee.
If you have an accident
Call 133 for police or the pan-European 112 (ambulance 144); police must be called if anyone is injured or if drivers cannot agree, otherwise a police report is not mandatory for minor damage where details are exchanged. Place the warning triangle, wear the hi-vis vest, photograph the scene and complete the European Accident Statement; do not move vehicles if there are injuries.
Driving in the capital
Vienna's flachendeckende Kurzparkzone covers the whole urban area on weekdays (max ~2 hours in many districts) and the historic 1st district is largely restricted; the Ring boulevard's multi-lane one-way system and heavy tram traffic catch out first-time visitors.
Sources: austria.info · visitaustria.info · lifeistravel.info · eurocampings.co.uk