FYI about paying tolls for highways, bridges, etc. in Alps countries.
- You pay for tolls in France and Italy the old-fashioned way: at tollbooths with either cash or credit card. They aren't cheap; for example, driving from Milan airport to the Milky Way resorts or Serre Chevalier (less than three hours) will cost you $30 in each direction (the tolls are similarly brutal to drive from Geneva airport to the Tarantaise resorts).
- Austria and Switzerland require a "vignette" (pronounced VIN YET) for their respective countries -- what we on the U.S. East Coast would call an EZ-Pass -- which is read by cameras on the autobahns and big tunnels.
- Vehicles from the major rental car companies in those countries always come with one so you don't need to purchase one if you stay in that country; however, if you pick up your car in a different country (i.e. Germany, France, or Italy) and drive into Austria or Switzerland, you'll need to purchase a vignette at a highway gas station before crossing the border. It costs approx. $15 for ten days. Compared to the tolls in France and Italy, it's a bargain and if you're busted by cameras that read your license plate, they'll send your rental agency a fine for $200, which the agency then puts on your credit card along with an additional processing fee.
- As a best practice, it can't hurt to ask at the rental counter to make sure that your car has either a sticker on the windshield or a digital vignette linked to the license plate before leaving the airport garage.
