Mice in Switzerland, the Other Cheese Country! (page 15 of 19)

Anyway, that wasn’t the reason for the fine. It just said "pm 6:00 PM"

For Basel, I just saw that you can pay for a blue zone:

https://www.bvb.ch/en/service/besucherparkkarte/

I'm interested because it actually works out cheaper than parking in Saint-Louis and paying for a round-trip tram ride, especially since in the evening there's only one red tram every 30 minutes.

But does that mean we have to leave by 7 PM, or is it okay? My partner doesn’t trust it...

Your link says you can park from 7 PM to 8 AM...

This system also exists in Geneva: https://www.multipark.ch/auth

Anyway, that wasn't the reason for the fine. It just said "pm 18h"

So clearly a violation. With the disc set to 6 PM, you can't stay past 7 PM. No need to argue, it's clearly indicated on the Swiss disc, and you can find this info all over the internet. If you're lucky, maybe the police will do you a favor. But sometimes, you just have to stop complaining and accept that you made a mistake.

Regarding the European disc, Kurtinet is right—it's not allowed in Switzerland. But I think a lot of cops are pretty lenient about it. Anyway, to avoid another fine, look for a Swiss disc.

As for parking, personally, I don’t find it a hassle in Switzerland. Sure, in cities, outside the blue zones, you have to pay, but it’s the same in Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, etc.

Hi there, For me, it's more than a hassle... In Yverdon, just to buy a baguette (4 €! We have the same low-end industrial version at home for 30 cents!), I had to park... no change... I had to exchange money at the nearest shop while keeping an eye on the car, then pay at the parking meter—all for 10 minutes. In Valence/Grenoble, you get 30 minutes free almost everywhere, and especially as soon as you're outside the city center, you can park easily and for free. Around Yverdon, even for hiking in the middle of nature, we had to pay for parking! We would’ve happily parked on the roadside without bothering anyone, but since we didn’t see any other cars, we decided not to.

Always have some coins on you—in Geneva, I think euros work too. Otherwise, some of these machines take an app, not sure, I always pay cash.

Go into one of those places for 1 hour of free parking, and you can probably pay by credit card at the exit if needed. Then just leave and walk a few meters. Otherwise, grab a loaf of bread at Migros (not amazing, but it does the trick)...

https://www.parking.ch/fr/parkings/yverdon-les-bains/m-tropole-march-migros

It's not easy to get coins when you arrive directly from France... but thanks for the tip. I'll remember that for next time. In Yverdon (it's a small town), when we arrived at the friend's place, there was no parking space. The friend was already using the owner's only parking spot. Fortunately, the neighbors were really nice and let us use one of their parking spaces... everything is strictly regulated there. I live in the countryside where you can park anywhere for free. When I go to Valence, many parking lots are free for half an hour... all you have to do at the parking meter is enter your license plate number, and then just display the (free) ticket inside your vehicle.

Yeah, parking apps are becoming almost essential in some countries. In Switzerland, I pay for parking with Twint.

I don’t pay for anything with my phone, and for now, I’m totally fine with that... 😉

Anyway, that wasn't the reason for the fine. It just said "pm 6:00"

So clearly an infraction. With the disc set to 6:00 PM, you can't stay past 7:00 PM. No need to argue, it's clearly stated on the Swiss disc, and you can find this info all over the internet. If you're lucky, maybe the police will do you a favor. But sometimes, you just have to stop complaining and accept that you made a mistake.

Regarding the European disc, Kurtinet is right—it's not allowed in Switzerland. But I think a lot of cops are pretty tolerant about it. Anyway, to avoid another fine, look for a Swiss disc.

As for parking, personally, I don’t find it a hassle in Switzerland. Sure, in cities, outside the blue zones, you always have to pay, but it’s the same in Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, etc.

So it *is* a hassle compared to France...

On Basel’s parking website, it says the European disc is accepted

I have both discs in my car and use the one that’s appropriate depending on where I am—Switzerland or Europe. The problem’s been easy to solve for at least 3 days now...

Except that’s not really the issue, and I didn’t even mention it at all !

So it's a hassle compared to France...

For you! The Swiss guy who gets fined in France because he has a Swiss parking disc might say it's a hassle compared to Switzerland. 😛 For the fine you got, you should've looked into it beforehand, and if you'd had the Swiss disc, you could've seen on the back that you couldn't stay after 7 PM. When you travel, you gotta do your research… You can find the answer, with a photo of the disc, really quickly online.

On the Basel parking website, it says the European disc is accepted

Probably for the same reason as in Geneva, a border canton with lots of French people. In this case, you could say Switzerland is more tolerant than France.

the problem has been easy to solve for at least 3 days now...

I agree with you.

There’s no issue with the disc. The European parking disc is valid in Switzerland, period.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/fr-fr/decouvrir/voyages-thematiques/auto-moto-grand-tour/informations-sur-le-grand-tour-de-suisse/parking/

But that’s not the point here...

It’s the guy who was driving, so it’s up to him to handle it, and he’s the one who contested the fine.

He looked up the laws and everything. The blue zone no longer exists after 7 PM, so there’s no reason to fine someone for a zone that doesn’t exist anymore.

Anyway, this whole thing is driving me nuts. He can deal with it himself, and honestly, I don’t want to hear about it or debate it anymore.

And yeah, at least in France, parking is easier—we’re not treated like cash cows like in so many other countries.

We’ve got that and the food. Gotta focus on the positives when everything else is going downhill! !

Shouldn’t have told us about it then 😉

Apart from the parking disc issue, which is probably tolerated in many places—but I wouldn’t risk it—the law says that if you arrive at 6 PM, you *have* to set the disc to 6:30 PM. So either you get lucky with a nice cop who cancels the fine, or it’s 40 CHF. The cop enforces the law and doesn’t check what’s written on websites...

I talked about it, I got my answer now, we can move on 🤓

I don’t think I’ll use the blue zones except by paying for half a day, and even then...

Yesterday we parked at the Kunstmuseum parking lot. It's central, so it's really convenient.

A tour of the museum for the 20th-century section, then we walked to the Tinguely Museum.

Heading back to the 1-degree city center was a bit of a shock 😄

By chance, we stumbled upon a typical tavern and saw that the reviews were positive: Brauner Mutz, the brown bear!

I finally got my good *cordon bleu*! Last summer, I had a really good one in Fribourg, but this time we were there during their closing days 😅

Yesterday we wandered around Basel despite the not-so-great weather 😅

The center is pretty, even if it gets modern quickly after that. It’s not the ideal season, but we make do with what we’ve got...

The town hall is gorgeous with its frescoes, and it looks even better at night!

A few photos!

Some news about the fine:

After more than a month, we finally got an answer. No one had guessed...

The blue zone applies 24/7 for visitors. Only residents can park without time limits between 7 PM and 9 AM.

Of course, it’s not indicated anywhere...

My husband had to ask Grok to dig through the German web. If the blue zone is numbered, it means it applies 24/7 for visitors. The info is hard to find, and only Bern and St. Gallen enforce this. Worse, in St. Gallen, the blue zone is off-limits to non-residents...