Buy a vignette before you drive onto a motorway in Austria or Switzerland, and pay per section at the toll booth in France. The Austrian vignette costs €12.80 for 10 days or €106.80 for a year, while Switzerland only sells an annual vignette at about €43, even if you only drive through for one day. France has no vignette for cars, but most motorways charge tolls, and you need a Crit'Air sticker to drive in low emission zones such as Lyon, Grenoble or Strasbourg. Driving without a valid vignette costs a €200 replacement toll in Austria and a fine of about €215 in Switzerland. Below you find where to buy each vignette, the prices, validity and fines per country, and how much mobile data you need for Waze and Google Maps on the way.
Toll vignettes at a glance
Austria and Switzerland use a vignette for motorways, and France charges a toll for each section you drive. These are the 2026 rules for a car up to 3.5 tonnes:
Country | What you need | Price 2026 | Fine without it |
|---|---|---|---|
Austria | Vignette for motorways and expressways | 1 day €9.60, 10 days €12.80, 2 months €32, 1 year €106.80 | €200 replacement toll, €300 to €3,000 if unpaid |
Switzerland | Annual vignette for motorways | about €43 | about €215 plus the vignette |
France | Toll per section, Crit'Air sticker in low emission zones | Toll depends on distance, Crit'Air €5.11 for a Belgian car | €90 for an unpaid free flow toll, €68 without Crit'Air |
Austria vignette: buy digital and mind the 18 days
Buy the digital vignette in the official ASFINAG toll shop or app before you leave. It is linked to your number plate, so there is nothing to stick on your windscreen. The start date depends on the vignette and where you buy it:
Vignette | ASFINAG shop or app | Petrol station or sales point |
|---|---|---|
1 day | Valid immediately | Not available |
10 days | Valid immediately | Valid immediately |
2 months and 1 year | Valid from the 18th day after purchase | Valid immediately |
The 18 day wait comes from Austrian consumer protection rules and applies to every private buyer online. Use only the official ASFINAG shop, because reseller websites add a service fee for exactly the same vignette.
The sticker ends in 2027
The red sticker of 2026 is the last one. From 2027, Austria only sells the digital vignette, so a digital vignette is the safest choice already this year.
Sections without a vignette and extra tolls
You can drive a few short border sections without a vignette, such as the A1 from Walserberg to Salzburg Nord and the A12 from Kufstein to Kufstein Süd. Some Alpine routes charge a separate section toll that the vignette does not cover, such as the Brenner motorway and the Tauern, Arlberg and Karawanken tunnels. You pay these at the toll station or in advance in the ASFINAG shop.
Switzerland vignette: one price for the whole year
Buy the Swiss vignette for about €43, the only version for cars, whether you stay for a month or just drive through to Italy. The 2026 vignette is valid from 1 December 2025 until 31 January 2027.
Type | Where to buy | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
Digital vignette | Official Via portal of the Swiss government (e-vignette.ch) | Linked to your number plate, valid immediately |
Sticker | Border crossings, petrol stations and post offices in Switzerland, some points of sale abroad | Stick it on the inside of your windscreen |
Both cost the same. Without a vignette, you pay a fine of about €215 and must still buy the vignette on the spot.
France tolls: pay per section
Pay the toll at the péage booth with a debit or credit card, with cash at staffed lanes, or with a télépéage badge in the dedicated lanes. The price depends on the distance and your vehicle class, so check your route on the toll simulator of autoroutes.fr before you leave.
Free flow motorways
A few motorways have no toll booths at all, and cameras register your number plate instead:
Motorway | Where |
|---|---|
A79 | Allier, between Sazeret and Digoin |
A13 and A14 | Between Paris and Caen in Normandy |
A4 | Boulay exit, east of Metz |
A69 | Between Toulouse and Castres, planned from October 2026 |
Pay online on the website of the operator within 72 hours, or use a télépéage badge. If you miss the deadline, you receive a notice: pay the toll plus €10 within 15 days, otherwise it becomes a €90 fine.
Crit'Air sticker: required in French low emission zones
Order the Crit'Air sticker only on the official website certificat-air.gouv.fr. For a car registered in Belgium it costs €5.11 including postage, delivery abroad takes longer than in France, and the sticker stays valid for the life of your car. Without it, you risk a €68 fine in a low emission zone.
The low emission zones remain in place, because on 21 May 2026 the French Constitutional Council struck down the law that would have abolished them. Fines depend on the city:
City | Fines in 2026 |
|---|---|
Lyon | Yes, for Crit'Air 3 cars since 1 July 2026 |
Grand Paris | No fines before 1 January 2027 |
Grenoble | No fines before July 2027 |
During pollution peaks, cities can also limit traffic based on the Crit'Air category, so put the sticker on your windscreen even where nobody fines yet.
Mobile data for Waze and Google Maps on the road
Navigation uses little data, but Waze uses much more than Google Maps because it keeps loading live traffic and alerts. Typical figures, based on Firsty's guides on Waze, Google Maps, WhatsApp, Spotify and ChatGPT:
What you do | Data used |
|---|---|
Google Maps navigation | 3 to 5 MB per hour |
Waze navigation | 20 to 30 MB per hour |
Buying a digital vignette in an app | Under 1 MB |
WhatsApp voice call | 0.3 to 0.5 MB per minute |
ChatGPT text chat for stops and restaurants | 1 to 5 MB per hour |
Spotify for passengers, normal to high quality | 43 to 72 MB per hour |
A 10 hour driving day with Waze | 200 to 300 MB |
The same day with Spotify | Around 700 MB |
A week with three long driving days | Around 2.5 GB |
Download offline maps in Google Maps before you leave, because mountain valleys and long tunnels in Austria and Switzerland often have no signal. Waze has no offline mode, so keep Google Maps as a backup.
Austria and France are in the EU, so your Belgian plan works there at no extra cost under the roam like at home rules. Switzerland is not in the EU: some Belgian plans include it, others charge per megabyte. Close to the Swiss border, your phone can also connect to a Swiss network automatically. For a trip through Switzerland, look for a plan that also covers countries outside the EU, which is exactly the idea behind Firsty World.
Sort your data like you sort your vignette
Buy your vignette before the border and sort your connection before you leave home. With Firsty, there is no SIM card to swap, no roaming setting to remember, no zone chart to check and no surprise bill. Have a look at the Firsty plans for Belgium and the EU, including a plan with more data for passengers who stream all the way to the Alps. Every connection Firsty sells also connects someone in Belgium who needs it, not as charity, but as how the business works. Things are moving, so keep an eye on what Firsty is building and discover more at Firsty.app.
FAQ
Do I need a vignette in Austria?
Yes. Every car up to 3.5 tonnes needs a valid vignette on Austrian motorways and expressways. You can choose a vignette for 1 day, 10 days, 2 months or a full year, and in 2026 driving without one costs a €200 replacement toll.
Where can I buy the Austrian vignette from Belgium?
Buy the digital vignette in the official ASFINAG online shop or app before you leave. The 1 day and 10 day vignettes are valid immediately, but the 2 month and annual vignettes bought online only start on the 18th day after purchase.
How much does the Swiss vignette cost in 2026?
The Swiss vignette costs about €43 and is valid from 1 December 2025 until 31 January 2027. There is no short term vignette, so you pay the full price even if you only drive through Switzerland once.
Is there a vignette for France?
No. France has no vignette for cars, but you pay a toll per section on most motorways. You do need a Crit'Air sticker to drive in French low emission zones such as Lyon, Grenoble and Strasbourg.
How do I pay tolls in France?
Pay at the toll booth with a debit card, credit card or cash, or use a télépéage badge in the dedicated lanes. On free flow motorways such as the A79, A13, A14 and part of the A4, you pay online within 72 hours, or you get a notice that can become a €90 fine.
Does a Belgian car need a Crit'Air sticker?
Yes, if you drive into a French low emission zone. Order it only on certificat-air.gouv.fr, where it costs €5.11 for a car registered abroad, and order a few weeks ahead because delivery abroad takes longer.
How much data does Waze use?
Waze uses about 20 to 30 MB per hour of navigation, several times more than Google Maps at 3 to 5 MB per hour. A 10 hour driving day with Waze uses 200 to 300 MB, and Waze does not work offline.
