Driving in France road types · Road types in Driving in France
All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
Road types in Driving in France
Road types in Driving in France
Roads range from the narrow single-lane roads in the countryside to major highways.
Most towns and cities were built before the general availability of the automobile and thus city centers tend to be unwieldy for cars, especially large ones. The most scenic roads in mountain areas also tend to be winding and narrow. Keep this in mind when renting: large cars can be very unwieldy. In cities, it often makes sense to just park and then use public transportation.
Roads are classified into the following categories:
Axxx: autoroute (Motorway/freeway) (red number sign)
Nxxx: national road (red number sign; sometimes referred to as RNxx)
Dxxx: departmental road (yellow number sign; sometimes referred to as RDxx or CDxx)
There also are municipal (white number sign) and forestry roads (green number sign).
Note that though major map brands also use a red/yellow/white chart for roads, it has a different meaning: red means major roads, yellow means intermediate roads, and white means minor roads. A departmental road may be major, for instance.
Note that "Routes Départementales" are strictly that: each Département has its own D1, D2, etc., and D-road numbers change at Département boundaries. The government has gradually transferred national roads to départements; they are then generally numbered in a way that reminds of the original numbering. For instance, in some départements, national road number xx becomes departmental road number 9xx, in others 60xx, in others 90xx. Older signs and maps may refer to the original number.
Autoroutes, national roads and most departmental roads are almost always in good or excellent conditions. In some rural areas, secondary departmental roads may have worse conditions. In mountainous areas, roads may also have been damaged by frost, landslides, and so on, though such dangers are always signposted.
Main roads are signposted with the names of towns or cities in the direction you're going and only secondarily with the road number. Directions in green are for major destinations through major highways�; in blue, for directions through Autoroutes. Péage means "toll".
When driving out of town, look for toutes directions ("all destinations") or autres directions ("all other destinations", that is, all places other than the ones on an adjacent sign), which will point you to the main route.
If you have time, use the smaller roads. The speed is decent and you don't pay tolls; however you'll have to slow down to 50 km/h when driving through villages. Still, you have the opportunity to drive through small towns and villages, stop and grab a bite in the restaurants or buy local wine.
Detailed maps (1/200 000 scale approximately) are highly advisable unless you stick only to main cities and main highways. France has many useful or scenic secondary roads that you will not find on less detailed maps. Michelin and IGN provide good maps; they also make bound atlases containing all maps for metropolitan France (the European French territory). GPS with a detailed map may also be a good choice, especially if you do not have a passenger.
Do not underestimate driving times, especially if not going by autoroute. A rule of thumb is to expect an average speed of 60 km/h going by major roads outside autoroutes.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Driving in France
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Driving in France - updated Apr 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Driving in France hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<
WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
Driving in France Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
