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Hi there

Just returned from the best holiday i have ever had  today, at 5.30 from driving in France, from Cherbouge to Biscarrosse in south west France.It was my first time driving abroad and it was great , soon get used to the wrong way roundabouts , just follow the big blue arrows.

Didn't see any  road works or red cones anywere  on my travels

The ferry was brill so easy , the wife says she won't fly again

Planning next years already,

enjoy your self and have fun

Chris 8 

Quote: Originally posted by billy on 01/08/2005

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Buy a yellow Michelin French road atlas before you go-get one from your local high st bookshop or Smiths--French Drivers I find are quite are quite rude--for instance if you drive thru villages or roadworks keeping at the indicated speed limit they will hoot & wave at you to go faster-just ignore 'em--

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Commonside

You may want to check out the price of using French motorways, as the tolls quickly add up. Going north to south through France on some routes could cost about £60, not 1 or 2 euros occasionally. You might want to look up one or two routes on the viamichelin website for an idea of the charges.

The motorway system in France is excellent, but many of their N roads are of a good standard too, and more friendly for touring. Most towns/villages advertise their attractions or services, shops etc as you approach, in a way which invites you to stop and explore. You don't get that on a boring old strip of motorway. But motorways get the job done in hot weather!

You pays yer money.......... 

 I'm driving down to Pornic from Cherbourg 13th August and can't wait.  French roads are great to drive on.  Much less traffic than the UK and straighter roads.  I find French drivers do stick to the rules of the road and are better behaved than the British but they do like to drive very very close to your bumper.  The only place I wouldn't drive in France is the centre of Paris. That is scary.    

When you are coming out of the port in France you follow the cars in front and the main routes are well signposted.  The signposts are blue for the motorways and Green for the N roads.  First time I drove in France I taped a piece of paper to the dashboard with a little drawing of a T junction and arrows indicating which side of the road to use.  After you have stopped for a meal, petrol supermarket etc. and are coming out of the carpark that is when you are most likely to forget which direction the traffic is coming from. 

You will find sometimes traffic lights can be set to flashing amber.  You can drive through the junction but check that there is nothing coming the other way first.     

The drive to and from the UK port is the hard bit with all the traffic jams and roadworks to contend with. Relax, enjoy and have a great holiday. 

Sometimes you will see large brown signs a bit like our brown signs showing zoos,etc, it doesnt mean that the place is immediately there but to tell you that you are in the general area.

Rappel means remember the speed limit!

We love Jard sur Mer- look out for the town market. Sometimes they have a fleamarket- marche des puces too which is great. Don't just stick to the beach at Jard- the other nearby ones are good too- especially the large one between Longeville and Tranche with the huge carpark and lifeguards and cafe.( Plage de Rocher?)

Oncoming cars flashing their lights are warning you of a police presence ahead, so to watch your speed. Much less common to see police operating speed traps now, as they have adopted speed cameras too, and they can be hidden, unlike those in the UK.

Driving through towns and villages the speed limit is 70k (unless posted lower) from the name board to name board crossed through at the other end of the town, and no overtaking between these points. French drivers often ignore the rules, but its your licence and your points if caught.

Remember you must carry a first aid kit, orange triangle and spare bulbs for your car, apparently there was a purge recently and on the spot fines were being dished out quicker that you can say L'escargot pour moi!

I read this in some paper or magazine recently so I thought you mightr find this useful

http://driving.drive-alive.co.uk/driving-in-france.htm

Quote: Originally posted by Sprouty on 08/08/2005

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Remember you must carry a first aid kit, orange triangle and spare bulbs for your car, apparently there was a purge recently and on the spot fines were being dished out quicker that you can say L'escargot pour moi!

I read this in some paper or magazine recently so I thought you mightr find this useful

http://driving.drive-alive.co.uk/driving-in-france.htm

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We've just come back. Just before we went we were told that fire exting - the red fire putter outter thing - was compulsory, so we nipped out and got one.

We were never stopped, did see a few speed cameras - stationary and hand held - but sticking to the limit made sure we never sped anywhere, though after 2 weeks hubby turned French and started to ignore the limits! Yup, the French 'forget' about them and are a bit impatient with anyone sticking to the limits when there are no cameras around, but they aren't nasty.

The traffic lights are a bit of an experience, they go from red to green without the amber stage after red. That takes abit of getting used to. Also, occasionally you see signs with a flashing light over the top, we've yet to find out why.

On 1 road we were behind a little blue car, the driver kept on slowing down at dangerous passing places and speeding up at proper passing places. After about 5 miles we were getting a bit sick, but we resisted passing, we weren't in a hurry. Then a car 2 cars behind us came flying out to pass us and was about to pass the funny blue car but braked sharply and pulled in, then the blue car pulled in in front of it. When we passed it we saw the policeman sitting in front!! We reckoned he'd been trying to 'catch' us. His car wasn't marked or anything, pretty scarey.

The toll roads are really good to drive on and the most we paid was 20 euros from Paris to Brittany (5 hours on the toll road), mostly it was a couple of Euros. You can avoid the toll roads by driving on the N roads - or red roads as we called them. They are pretty good, but change from single to dual along the way. Our map didn't have all the roads are even towns marked, so going off the red, red and yellow, yellow roads can be a leap unto the unkown. But if you aren't in a hurry, don't worry about it.

If you are going to Paris, park on the outskirts, the drivers are truly awful, you'll realise how bad when you see all the dented cars - every single one is - they are rude and drive like idiots.

Bon Vacances!!

Jackie

"Priorite a droite" (Priority From the Right) does still exist in France.  Although roundabouts and most side roads have now adopted the same "give way" system as us, if there are no road markings on a junction, then the rule still applies, which can catch out the unwary.  It is often stated that the French are doing away with this rule, but I know of a cross-roads in a fairly large village that has now been relaid with paviers and has no give-way markings in the road, and the natives told us that this means that the "priorite a droite" rule now applies to this junction. 

We also found the first time we went to France that going from a minor road onto a dual carriageway can confuse, and you need to remind yourself which side of it you need to be if traffic is very light.

Otherwise - enjoy.  It is far less stressful than you might expect.

Quote: Originally posted by Granville on 08/08/2005

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Quote: Originally posted by Sprouty on 08/08/2005

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Remember you must carry a first aid kit, orange triangle and spare bulbs for your car, apparently there was a purge recently and on the spot fines were being dished out quicker that you can say L'escargot pour moi!

I read this in some paper or magazine recently so I thought you mightr find this useful

http://driving.drive-alive.co.uk/driving-in-france.htm

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I find this hard to believe as the AA, RAC and the website you have cited state that first aid kits and spare bulbs are recommended, not compulsory. DONT SCAREMONGER.

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Hi

We have just returned from a fortnight in France. This was our first time and to put it mildly " I was a bit worried" - even though it was other half driving.

We got lost as soon as we got off the ferry - made our way into Calais instead of onto the motorway - but we soon turned around and found our way back onto the right road.

The tolls we came across, as we only travelled close to Paris, were automated peages that took credit cards and we didn't have to fumble with the language too much.

When we got to the campsite I thought I would not want to drive back home - but later into the holiday we had an epiphany - well 2 actually

Here they are

1) Follow signs for directions to destinations ie the place names (Don't look for road numbers - as they are usually on the road as you need to turn and sometimes on two exits as the road goes noth ways - that was why we got lost a couple of times. - Once we followed the road on the map to its destination and navigated that way everything fell into place and we did not get lost again after that point.

2) Even if we got lost the only thing that made me nervous was my own silly brain and once I decided to calm down and RELAX - the travelling was a breeze.

NOW - I would go back to France in a heartbeat and am certainly not worried about driving again.

The signs for roads sit at a funny angle sometimes not exactly pointing down the actual road you want - - but you'll get used to this.

If someone flashes their lights at you it doesn't mean come through -it means I'm coming through - get out my way.