Speed limits in Europe

Every European country enforces speed limits on its roads. The one exception is Germany, where on stretches of the Autobahn without a posted sign, there’s no general speed limit at all.

Limits are generally set depending on the type of road you’re driving on:

Within a city or built-up area (urban roads)
Outside built-up areas (rural roads)
Motorways
In some countries, there’s also a separate category for expressways — a step between a regular road and a full motorway.

Speeding fines in Europe can be steep — often several hundred euros for exceeding the limit outside a city, and issued automatically by radar with no warning.

We strongly recommend using Waze or a similar navigation app alongside your GPS for live speed camera and limit alerts, and simply not rushing — the time you save is rarely worth the risk or the fine.

Germany is an exception. German law (§23 StVO) prohibits drivers from using apps or devices that warn about speed cameras — the fine is €75 plus a penalty point. Before you cross the border, check which version of Waze you have and whether speed camera alerts are switched on, and turn them off while you are driving in Germany. Speed limit alerts on their own are fine. Switzerland has a similar ban.

Country	Within city	Outside the city	Motorway	Highway
🇦🇹 Austria	50	100	—	130
🇧🇪 Belgium	50	90	120	120
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	48	96	112	112
🇭🇺 Hungary	50	90	110	130
🇩🇪 Germany	50	100	—	130recommended, no fixed limit
🇩🇰 Denmark	50	80	110	130
🇪🇸 Spain	50	90	100	120
🇮🇹 Italy	50	90	110	130
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	50	80	—	—
🇱🇺 Luxembourg	50	90	—	130
🇳🇱 Netherlands	50	80	100	130
🇳🇴 Norway	50	80	—	110only on 8 road sections
🇸🇰 Slovakia	50	90	90	130
🇸🇮 Slovenia	50	90	110	130
🇫🇷 France	50	90	110	130
🇭🇷 Croatia	50	90	110	130
🇨🇿 Czech Republic	50	90	80within city limits	130
🇨🇭 Switzerland	50	80	100	120
🇸🇪 Sweden	50	90	—	120only on 7 road sections

All figures are in km/h and provided for general reference — always follow posted road signs, as limits can change and vary by specific road section.