Milan has highway access from all directions, making the city extremely accessible by car. The city's ring road, divided into the eastern Tangenziale Est and the western Tangenziale Ovest, is the end point of a number of main regional highways, including the A4 coming from Turin, Venice and Verona, the A1 connecting Milan and Bologna, Florence and Rome, the A7 coming from Genoa and Liguria, and the A8/A9 that go to Switzerland and Lakes Como and Maggiore.
Short-term visitors will have no problem driving with the licence of their home country, although those with a licence written in different alphabets or scripts may find an international licence useful. Driving licences issued by other EU countries are valid in Italy, and there is never an obligation to convert them. Other licences, however, must be converted after the owner has been resident in Italy for one year.
The speed limit on motorways is 130 km/h, on dual carriageway roads is 110 km/h, on non-urban roads is 90 km/h, in urban areas 50 km/h, unless otherwise indicated by road signs.
It is compulsory to wear front and rear seat belts. Headlights have to be always turned on when driving on non-urban roads. Drinking and driving is heavily fined. The legal limit is 0.5 g/l.
It is important to know that large sections of Milan have been pedestrianised and are closed to traffic at all times. Area C (www.comune.milano.it/areac) is the city centre with precise traffic restrictions in effect Monday-Wednesday and Friday from 07:30 - 19:30, Thursday from 07:30 - 18:00. Admittance to Area C for one day can be purchased for €5 by midnight of the previous day, or €15 for deferred payments. Register online or call the Area C offices at (+39) 02 48 68 40 01. Violations of the policy will result in a fine and a wheel-clamp, if parked. The fast lanes that form the central parts of ring roads are strictly reserved for buses and taxis.