World City Guide

Getting There By Road

Road signs sporting a green ‘A’ indicate international highways, blue indicates major international routes, and white the smaller routes. Swiss roads are generally good, although mountain routes can be narrow and winding. Chains and/or snow tyres may be required in winter, while after a heavy snowfall, some routes may be closed altogether. There is a general telephone number for information on national road conditions (tel: 163). Cars drive on the right. The maximum speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 80kph (50mph) on main roads, and 50kph (31mph) in towns. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.08% and the minimum driving age is 18 years. The wearing of seatbelts, both in the front and back seats of the vehicle, is compulsory. An annual road tax of SFr40 (plus an extra SFr40 for caravans) is levied; motorists should purchase a vignette (sticker) at border points or from Switzerland Tourism before departure. Stickers are valid for one calendar year. A national driving licence is sufficient documentation but Green Card insurance is recommended.

There are two motoring associations in Switzerland: Touring Club Suisse – TCS (tel: (01) 286 8686) and Automobil Club der Schweiz – ACS (tel: (01) 422 1500).

Emergency breakdown service:
Touring Club Suisse (TCS) 140

Routes to the city: Geneva is connected to the rest of Europe by an excellent network of motorways. From the south, motorists can follow the ‘Route Blanche’ to the outskirts of Geneva. Chamonix and Mont-Blanc are within one-and-a-half hours, and Italy (via the Mont-Blanc tunnel) is within two hours. A branch of the same motorway provides rapid links from Grenoble in the south and Lyon in the west, with good connections from Paris. Lausanne, Berne and Zurich are all on the northbound A1 road.

Approximate driving times to Geneva: From Lausanne – 45 minutes; Berne – 1 hour 45 minutes; and Zurich – 3 hours.

Coach services: Genevaís coach station, Gare Routière, is situated at Place Dorcière (tel: (022) 732 0230; fax: (022) 731 8547; e-mail: info@gare-routiere.ch; website: www.gare-routiere.ch). A number of operators provide regular links to Barcelona, Dover, Lisbon, London, Lyons, Madrid, Marseilles, Nice, Rome and the French skiing resort of Chamonix/Mont-Blanc. Service providers include Eurolines-Eggman & Frey (e-mail: mailbox@eurolines-schweiz.ch; website: www.eurolines-schweiz.ch) and Citybus (tel: (022) 785 4369; fax: (022) 7854110; website: www.citybus.ch).