Kiri and Steve.co.uk

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France

We travelled 1317 miles in France over 20 days between 29 October 2013 and 12 August 2014. It was mainly sunny (10 days) whilst we were there

Key places where we stopped


Blog posts

Europe – a new chapter (September 5, 2016)

Bertha vs. Bertha (August 13, 2014)

Another breakdown (in communication?) (August 10, 2014)

Oil’s well that ends well (April 18, 2014)

KIST 2EU… this time it’s personal (April 15, 2014)

Carcassonne (January 23, 2014)

Revelation on the Riviera (January 20, 2014)

Climbing every mountain (December 8, 2013)

To toll or not to toll… (November 24, 2013)

B-right side of the road (November 4, 2013)


The following information was last updated on July 21, 2014 and therefore may now be out of date. Please consume with a pinch of salt!

Personal comments icon

Personal comments:

Skirted through France pretty quickly on our outbound route - really good quality roads and the "RN" roads are so good that there's no need to pay for the autoroute (toll motorways). Plenty of free aires to stop at, all over the place! When we came back through Southern France towards Spain in January, we found a lot of aire facilities closed (e.g. water taps turned off)


EU Member icon

EU Member:

Yes


Currency icon

Currency:

Euro


Language(s) icon

Language(s):

French


Numbers:

1 - Un
2 - Deux
3 - Trois
4 - Quatre
5 - Cinq
6 - Six
7 - Sept
8 - Huit
9 - Neuf
10 - Dix


Useful words / phrases:

Hello - Bonjour
Goodbye - Au revoir
Yes - Oui
No - Non
Please - S'il vous plaît
Thank you - Merci
Sorry - Désolé(e)
I don't understand - Je ne comprends pas
How much does it cost? - Combien ça coûte?
Where is the toilet? - Où sont les toilettes?
Petrol - Essence


Vignette / toll requirements icon

Vignette / toll requirements:

French toll motorways (Autoroutes) are labelled "péage" (toll in English)


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Vehicle laws:

Autoroute speed limit is 130 kph, dual carriageway is 110 kph, main road is 90 kph, with 50 kph through built-up areas in the dry. 110kph on motorway, 100kph on dual carriageway and 80kph on main roads in the wet. Minimum speed of 80kph on motorways!

Give way to traffic travelling uphill on narrow mountain roads (even reversing if necessary)

You must sound your horn on roads with reduced visibility, but not in built up areas unless in an emergency

Yellow diamond-shaped signs mean you have priority apart from those with a black line through it; this means that traffic from the right has priority

Must have warning triangle, reflective jackets (must conform to EU Standard BS EN471), 2 breathalysers and bulb replacement set in the vehicle.

Snow chains should be carried (for the two driving wheels) and fitted when local signs say they should.

When cycling, high-vis vest must be worn after dark and in low visibility weather when outside built-up areas

Petrol in a can is permitted, but not on ferries


Wild camping rules icon

Wild camping rules:

Sleeping in built-up areas or by the side of the motorway is not allowed.

Definitely don't park overnight at an Autoroute service station