Spain

Driving in Spain

Spain's rules have moved more than most in recent years, and the two changes that matter most both make the country cheaper and slower than visitors expect. Tolls first. A large number of former autopistas de peaje have reverted to free autovías, so the toll map you remember is probably out of date. Some routes still charge — mostly around Barcelona, the north, and parts of the Mediterranean coast — and those are pay-by-distance at barriers or by Vía-T tag. Check your specific road rather than assuming either way. Speed is the other. The headline urban limit is 50 km/h, but a 2021 reform pushed most narrower residential streets down to 30 or lower. In practice a town centre is a 30 zone with 50 on the wider arteries, so read the signs rather than trusting the default. Low-emission zones are spreading quickly and run on the DGT environmental label, which a foreign-registered car does not carry. Madrid assesses foreign plates by equivalence and Barcelona requires every foreign vehicle to register in advance — including a modern car that would obviously qualify on emissions. The rest is straightforward: 120 on the motorway, a 0.5‰ alcohol limit dropping to 0.3 for novices, priority to the right at unmarked junctions, and blue-zone paid parking in towns. Enforcement is camera-heavy, with average-speed stretches and radar vans both in regular use.