Driving in France
Just back from a Winter break in Spain for which I used the ferry from Poole to Cherbourg and then drove through France to Spain using the road from Bordeaux to Irun, then returning from Zaragoza via the Somport Tunnel.
First. - Be aware the road South of Bordeaux that was the RN Route (Nationale) N10 is now a toll road and is operated by a private company. You will have to pay for toll charges which can be done through several means. For most this means obtaining a transponder and paying the tolls in arrears, but this on the face of it is only economical if you travel on French toll roads frequently ( or at least often enough to justify the initial and monthly fees as well as the actual tolls. All toll stations are fully automated and apart from the transponder lanes there are lanes for HGV's and pay on demand booths. Pay on demand can be in cash or by most debit/credit cards and contactless cards are accepted as well. All toll stations are located for Left hand Drive and any Right Hand drive vehicle inevitably needs either a passenger to make the transaction or for a solo drive the need to stop completely and release seat belt to get across to make the payment. In passing the toll stations are on two height settings and the one you will need to use depends on the overall height of your vehicle, which also determines the toll rate charged.
I used my contactless debit card as it offered the quickest means of making the transaction and bearing in mind there are a number of toll stations to pass through it can become quite a chore.
The sting in the tail for me was that it was not until I examined my bank statement after returning home that I discovered that each toll payment had incurred a separate charge from my bank for 'foreign currency purchase'. This was £1.25 for each transaction and when you consider that the toll stage charges varied between £5+ and £3.17 you can see that this was a hefty increase. My advice is to check with your bank before travelling to see if your card will attract similar charges and decide how you wish to pay before you travel.
Further information on the transponders can be found at www.emovis-tag.co.uk/
Second - For the return journey I used the A23 in an effort to avoid the toll road. This is a good autoroute, and free of tolls, from Valencia up to Zaragoza and on towards the Somport Tunnel. The Spanish authorities are busy extending the A23 up to the tunnel and the final 20-30 km are on the old road which winds its way upwards with roadworks all around. Once through the toll free Somport tunnel the road becomes the RN134 (E07 in the European road network) but is a plain two lane road that winds its way down a valley for some 25km. and it is not to the same standard as the A23 on the Spanish side. However, outside of the main French holiday peak it is a scenic alternative to the heavily used road passing Bayonne and Irun. You need to ignore any satnav directions and follow the lorry road (the E07) from Oloron-Sainte-Marie to Pau then pick up the road to Aire-sur-L'Adour, then Roquefort, to Bazas, Langdon, Podensac and follow the N1113 to junction 1.1 on the Bordeaux ring road. There are plenty of camp-sites and aires dotted along this route.
TIP - plan your route identifying towns and villages frequently as road numbers change and are often not easy to spot. The road number of a ring road will be different to the main road although following the same numerical pattern eg. the N10 for one town ring road becomes the N1010, and for another it is the D910; hence following town names is easier.
Third - French Speed limits - Most single carriage way roads in France are now subject to an 80kmph speed limit, this is most roads outside of dual carriageways and roads containing a third alternate overtaking lane. Furthermore many towns and villages have a 30kmph limit imposed on the central area which is delineated by a road hump with a red facing, be aware these humps are steep and need to be taken with care if towing and must be respected by motorhomes as well, both on entry and departure from the controlled area! Outside of the usual 50kmph limit advised by the red framed town name the speed limits vary very frequently, consequently there is frequent need to use the gear-change and throttle.
The implications on the overall speed of your journey from these 'improvements' may justify the toll road costs, but beware that using toll roads from the North to South of France can amount to a fair amount of money.
Hope this information may be of some use to fellow Continental travellers
Moderator Comment - As this is more of an information post rather than a Blog I will move it to the Overseas Touring section where more people might see it.
Comments
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Thank you for taking the touble to write a very informative post GOM. Did you use the N10 north of Bordeaux to Poitiers? They have been threatening to toll this section as well. They still had not done so in March 2018 when I returned from Spain. The route north you descibe is one I mostly use to and from Spain's Costa Blanca. I have to pay class three tolls so try to avoid these in France as much as practical. The one section I will willing pay is to use is the A62 is between Langon and the Bordeaux ring road. The N1113 (D1113) is dreadfull. 30kph limits in every frequent built up area enforced by frequent sleeping policemen.
peedee
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As an adjunct to GOM's post, the A7 from Alicante to Valencia is a toll-free alternative to the AP7. You do get quite a few lorries on it though.
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GOM - many thanks for your observations.
Toll Motorways and Normal roads – my view
Just a personal view on French Toll Motorways and 'normal' French roads now that there has recently been a price increase on the Toll roads.
We use the Toll roads at the start and end of the holiday to get us further into France at speed and our early destinations and we don't mind paying the price for the time it saves against using 'normal' roads.
And then we meander around from Aire to Aire on normal roads for much of the holiday
But normal roads - many very good and relatively traffic free - in my opinion can be a pain in the butt.
There seem to be Villages every few miles with their chicanes, speed bumps slow you down to around 20 mph and rattle everything in your vehicle and its chassis and many 'Passages' (pedestrian crossings marked by white 'blocks' across the road) in each village and town that have to be keenly watched.
Stopping for pedestrians on Passages is considered mandatory and watching out for pedestrians who suddenly walk across without prior warning can be an art in itself.
Town ring roads usually have many roundabouts, constantly slowing down and speeding up, every few hundred yards and if you have to go near Centre Ville you meet slow moving traffic, long delays at traffic lights and parked traffic difficult to manoeuvre around in the narrower roads with a Motorhome and/or Caravan.
Cities have a multitude of roundabouts and traffic lights, signs that point in your direction - and then aren't available or visible when you really, really need them at T-junctions.
And don't get me started on Cyclists (as many as 50 at a time) out for a ride who are almost impossible to pass as they serenely block your path.
'Route Barrée' signs that can send you literally miles out of your way on unfamiliar narrow roads that your SatNav would tell you to avoid – but you can't avoid them when following the 'Déviation' signs.
The new top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h) on rural roads in France on a straight, flat and traffic free road can be as boring as is possible and we often yearn for a bit of welly on the pedal - which is possible on the Motorways.
Yes, France has a lot of places to see when off the Motorways - but after the 30th or 40th roundabout and 20th speed bump, constant speed changes from 80 to 70 to 50 to 30 and back again it gets a bit tiresome and irritating when you feel you could be much further on and less tired by using a few miles of Motorway – albeit at a cost.
Using Motorways constantly makes no financial sense but those who believe that normal roads are the ideal solution must have more patience than I have.
Having said all that – driving in France is considerably more pleasurable than driving in the UK.
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The other side of the coin, we toured France last year for 10 weeks. Through the tunnel, travelled east and then down to Annecy, onward to Avignon in the south and then west to Toulouse before heading north via Bordeaux, Limoges and back to Calais.
Not one toll road, it was slower but suited our tour, and who knows maybe we will have a particular destination in mind next time that maybe would necessitate a toll or two.
We had a few deviations, actually completely lost it in one big town and ended up in a bus lane only, right in the centre
, and all we wanted to do was circumnavigate the town 
Non toll roads certainly are not for some, and for us it has nothing to do with cost but just our way of doing things.
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We tow a caravan and like Keith and Margaret use the toll roads to get us speedily to our first destination. Even though we are there for six weeks we regard it worth every penny, or should that be cent, to have a tow that is completely hassle free. Also a little in saved in fuel and wear and tear on the car because you tow at a constant speed.
One the caravan is parked up the smaller, windier, more scenic the road the better.
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Too many generalisations so far. Starting points and destinations vary so much.
From here in Cornwall I have to pay £3 to cross the Tamar bridge with the caravan, but then the next 250 miles heading south across France are on dual carriageways that are completely toll free. Not a speed bump in sight. After that I can continue on good roads to the Mediterranean for tolls costing only €18.
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Hi Grumpy et al,
I did this trip from Cherbourg to Spain just two weeks ago and a number of times in the last few years and the majority of the A63 from Bordeaux to the border is not tolled. There are two very short sections that have a fixed fee of around €3.60. They are from Js 18 - 17 and 12 - 11 and normal tolls don’t start until J10 to the border. I would say that more than 70% of that road is toll free.
It is worth pointing out that most of the toll free motorways in France are toll free because they were funded by the EU and the French cannot just change them to tolls when it suits them.
I can drive from Cherbourg to Benicassim, mostly on motorways and good duals like the N137 and get away with as little as €44 in tolls.
BillC
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Are the N roads mentioned operated by the same people as the Autoroutes so that you can use the same tag?
If you get a Halifax Clarity card you won’t pay the bank fees mentioned by the OP. See other posts on this topic.
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To avoid the charges referred to in the OP, I can recommend the Santander Zero credit card - I have one that I only ever use abroad. It offers zero charges for all foreign purchases and cash withdrawals anywhere in the world.
The only thing to be aware of is that (like all credit cards) while purchases don't attract interest until after you've had a monthly bill, cash withdrawals start accruing interest immediately. However, these days it's very easy to make payments online if you are away for any length of time to stop the interest adding up and even a whole month's worth of interest on the cash you take out is probably the same or less than a single 'transaction charge' mentioned by the OP. I paid less than 80 pence in interest during my last 2+ weeks away in France, where I used the card as the sole means of paying/getting cash out and paid off the balance after a week away and again as soon as we got home.
To 'payage or not' is completely a matter of preference and I tend to do a 'bit of both' depending on how good the alternative roads are. If UK had motorways like the payage I'd certainly pay to use them on occasion!
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Just to clarify my comments, I was not complaining about the tolls themselves but WARNING any unsuspecting driver to be aware of the additional charge imposed by my Bank/Debit Card Company. I am not sure if the same charges would apply if a Credit Card was used, in fact the costs incurred through using a credit card vary significantly between card providers.
However, there are sections of the journey where the toll road is certainly worth using. Travelling South the section forming the ring road around Tours is well worth using and cheap. Similarly the original section from near Bayonne down past Biarritz, junctions 7 down to 1, avoids a stretch of road that is almost continuously fluctuating between 30 and 70 km/h and is built up the whole distance so crossings, roundabouts etc. abound.
North of Bordeaux the N10 road is still toll free but the A10 toll road parallels it up to Tours. Again, North of Tours there are both toll roads and alternative routes heading North and North East.
The other point I was trying to make is not to rely on road numbers in France as responsibility for much of the network has been devolved from Central to Regional government and the regional authorities, Departments, have revised road numbers from National, RN, to Departmental, D; and in some cases where by-pass roads have been constructed these have been allocated a different number. The old road through the town etc. had remained with its original road number. So if for example you travel along the N10 between Chartres and Angouleme the road number changes, becoming the D910 for some sections and D1010 in others. From experience, and many many errors, I have found it safer to plan the journey and write down in sequence the names of towns, both large and small, and navigate using the town direction signs as these are much larger and display in advance of road junctions. Road numbers, where shown, are usually on the finger boards pointing down the road right on the junction; AND are a small add-on piece above the main destination finger board.
Hope this clarifies some of my earlier ramblings!
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Have to admit that travelling Bilbao to Albufeira I preferred the toll routes as they were less hassle than diving through towns and villages to avoid the costs. I did of course have a wad of Euro notes to operate the machinery/pay the toll booth operator.
But having said that, it is best to use fuel stations off the motorways (as in the UK) for the cheaper fuel.
Bon Voyages.
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That's why we use a transponder (originally SANEF, now ATMB). Quite apart from avoiding the extra costs, it saves having to nuzzle up to the toll booth to pay, and allows (when I'm feeling brave) us to sweep through the high-speed barriers at a lordly 30 kph.
It's also a real boon for the occasional times when I'm on my own in the car.
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thanks all your info will be motoring down from Cherbourg into Spain next week, as i have a 7.3m caravan that is not really in tune with sleeping policeman, i will be using A83/A10/A63 Irun , if i have to pay lots of tolls so be it better that than wrecking the caravan, i have one of those Emovis tags for Spain and France, only ever driven car in France so tugging should be a whole new experience. I have Sat Nav and one of the huge AA easy read road maps, and a magnifying glass and can see what you mean re road numbers, dog will be in the back and he knows where he wants to be so should be ok.
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If not already well aware, whilst towing watch your speed even on the Autoroutes.
From the size of the van mentioned I would expect the tow car to have a GTW, plated Gross Train Weight, of over 3500 kgs.
This despite however competent a tow vehicle it might be is limited to a maximum towing speed of 90 kph, about 56 mph. This places it with the lorries, though they often move a bit faster on the flat and down hill but I expect with the climbs still keep below as an average, toll booth to toll booth.
IMO this restriction is a real pain and seems often ignored, but it's obviously chancing it.
Then there, are the new single carriageway 80 kph [50 mph] limits, these fall below the lorry governors so you are likely to have a lorry trying to unnerve you, inches off your rear.
I note on forums a whole rash of speeding fines now coming through with their 360 day notice rule; I am watching the post deliveries with some trepidation.
Travel trouble free.
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Its a 2008 coachman Amara 550/5, tow car is a Kia Sorento auto 2013, I think when i checked it was something like 90% so good match, i think your GTW 3500 is a bit high, i think more like 2500 kgs, not a petrol head so only going on what the tech spec says. 90 Kph is not good, but i guess it keeps the diesel consumption down
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Rufs, unfortunately you have misunderstood the point I am making here.
We are not talking matching weights, towing limit weight or what any actual weights things are, but simply the vehicles Gross Train Weight, as given on its attached plate. In bonnet or on a door pillar.
The French speed limits apply to what figure the car maker put on the plate as GVW [or the highest of any figure on that plate]. Any checks made will simply use that figure even if you had a 750 kg camping trailer in tow.
The Kia Sorento of any flavour has a GTW well over the critical 3500kg value, so you are limited to a maximum of 56 mph whatever road you tow on.
I hope that helps, even though it is IMO a pain.
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Yes IMO as I have already said, it is not so much about that speed itself but relative to the HGVs who governors in Europe must be set at 56 MPH [or less].
The reality, is if you keep to the French law then many lorries will be right up on your van's rear, getting more than a little irritated with you. These will often be tweaked to run just over the limit, hence catching you up if you choose to keep legal. The only way over this is to slow enough to let them overtake safely, as being good you can't go faster, just as legally you can't briskly overtake one running a tad slower.
At our UK 60 mph, whilst some UK lorries can run at that, many will have the European 56 mph setting, enabling you to run clear.
IMO, all a great deal less hassle, and with that safer if you can run out of their way and legally overtake if needed.
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Ah, I see where you are coming from now. Early last summer, just days after the new speed limits came in force, I was caught in a convoy of HGV's travelling north towards Roscoff. Forced to travel at their speed, I was (I think) flashed by a camera. Not heard anything yet, but still time. Let's hope nothing comes of it.
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A Sanef tag, now called, Emovis, is 10€ to buy, a 25€ deposit, 6€ a year, and 5€ a month when it is used, up to 10€.
So in reality, it will cost you 16€ a year to use one, or 6€ a year if you don't use it. A small price to pay for fast travel across France.
It depends on what type of holiday you are on. If you have weeks and want to meander, then use main roads and see as much as you can, while taking your time. If, like us you are time limited, then use the toll motorways.
We have a week in Ruoms in August, it was two weeks, but we have had to change the dates, so we need to get there fast, and that will be on toll roads. Even if it had been for two weeks, we would still use the toll motorways. The minor routes, as already stated, are laborious, and with the new lower speed limits, actually painful and boring. Plus the wear and tear on your vehicle, and you and your passengers, plus the extra fuel and more chance of an accident, toll motorways make much more sense if your destination is far away.
In all honesty, with the new lower speed limits in Europe, and having work and children, so we don't have much time, it is getting to the point of just getting a taxi to our local airport, and jumping on a plane to get out of Europe, for around the same money as a campsite, diesel and tolls in Europe.
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Just a few more words on French Autoroute speed limits.
It is a myth that your average speed is calculated from toll booth to toll booth. If you see peeps being pulled by Les Flicks at a booth, it is because they have gone through a hidden speed trap somewhere prior to the booth. On the long French routes, with a van on, you would almost certainly stop at least once between toll booths anyway, reducing your average speeds.
Without the van, and in a very fast car, I have never been pulled at a toll booth despite having made "good progress" for many kilometers.
The fixed cameras are usually well marked, and in any event (as far as I am aware - Lutz may correct this) are set at the standard car speed limit and cannot differentiate between different classes of vehicle.
With the van on (over 3500 KGS train weight) I tend to set the cruise at 100KPH, which on an accurate GPS reading is around 95 kph. A fixed camera will not get me, and realistically the Flicks are more interested in the fast cars than a relatively slow moving car/caravan combo.
Having recently done a round trip to Alicante from Calais using the autoroutes all the way, progressing as above, I will report back if any tickets arrive in the next 11 months!!
Incidentally, the toll cost through France (Calais to Hendaye via Rouen,Le Mans and Bordeaux) was €145 each way.
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Last time I drove to Alicante I went via Dover, notwithstanding I live ten minutes from Portsmouth ferry terminal. It ain't worth it for a cheaper crossing. Coming as you do from Oxfordshire, may I recommend coming straight down the A34/M3/M27 and going via Portsmouth unless you are a confirmed tunneller who suffers from seasickness.
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Up thread, kontikiboy said that toll-free autoroutes (A roads) were those paid for by the EU. I have always understood that autoroutes in France are toll-free where there is no alternative n or d route.
For first-time drivers in France, you should note:
No matter how fast you drive, someone will want to overtake you.
If you keep to the speed limit, everyone will want to overtake you!
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The fixed cameras are usually well marked, and in any event (as far as I am aware - Lutz may correct this) are set at the standard car speed limit and cannot differentiate between different classes of vehicle.
With the new speed limits, new multifunction cameras are being deployed. It is alleged these can differentiate between types of vehicles.
Check >this< out.
peedee
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Hi Cyberyacht
My wife has bad seasickness, and does not enjoy the long crossing from Portsmouth. Its not cost that is the issue.
I am working on it for next February. I hate the drag to Dover, and the over nighter there, then the long haul down the French Coast to Rouen, Le Mans, Tours, usually in torrential rain.
I always use the Portsmouth - Caen crossing going to Le Mans with my mates, far easier.
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