I'm trying to parse a string containing milliseconds like this: string s = "11.05.2010 15:03:08.7718687"; // culture: de-CH DateTime d = DateTime.Parse(s); // works However, for example under the de-DE locale, the decimal separator is a comma (not a dot). So the example becomes: string s = "11.05.2010 15:03:08,7718687"; // culture: de-DE (note the comma) DateTime d = DateTime.Parse(s); // throws a FormatException It is weird to me that DateTime.Parse(s) should throw a FormatException now as it is supposed to use the CultureInfo.CurrentCulture to do the parsing. Even passing the CurrentCulture as an argument explicitly does not help neither. Does anybody have an idea why this does not work? Doesn't parsing take the NumberFormatInfo.NumberDecimalSeparator into account?