We are traveling in March 2017 and getting a rental car in Annecy and want to drive to Geneva. We are seeing posts that state you have to have some sort of sticker on your car in order to go between the two and if you don't have one you will be pulled over. Do rental cars generally come with this sticker or is it something we can buy for our day trip? Also, are we able to drive freely from France to Switzerland or is there a place where we will have to stop to show passports to cross over? Thank you in advance.
Posted by
Florida
498 posts
The sticker is called a vignette and as I understand it, you will need one on the windshield in order to drive in Switzerland, I don't know if rental car companies in Annecy will provide you with the vignette.
There's also "A new European Union regulation that came into force on 1 May." (from The Guardian) It introduces complications when the car is rented in Switzerland and driven into the EU. I'm not sure how it applies to your scenario.
You should ask the company you intend to rent from. I rent cars through Gemut (http://www.gemut.com). They are very helpful and should be able to answer this question for you.
Posted by
Washington DC
28082 posts
I believe the Swiss vignette is an annual one costing 38.50 euros. It's required on the Swiss highways, and it's my impression that it is very difficult to cross the border into Switzerland without being on a highway.
There are buses making the Annecy-Geneva trip. They are quite frequent during Monday-Friday commuting hours, less frequent during the middle of the day and on weekends. It appears that you would need to make a reservation. The fare is 10.50 euros one way. I'd definitely prefer to let someone else do the driving in that area in March unless I planned to stop along the way.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15784 posts
Geneva is on the Swiss-France border. Europcar has an office there in France. If you want to spend several days tootling around in a car, that might work out. If you only need to get to Geneva, there are trains.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
You can get to the Geneva Airport - French side without a vignette (there's info and a map on the airport web site), but I'm not sure there's any way to drive into Geneva proper w/o the vignette. But I see from your newer post that you're considering the bus from Annecy. That might be a better option.