We have been travelling extensively in France since 1984. As novices we failed to realize that a map of France is deceptive - 4 inches on the map was 500 kilometers, not the 200 it would be on a map of Ontario. Exhausted after flying all night, we ended up driving for 4 hours when we thought we would be driving for 2. Here are some things you may want to keep in mind.

Driving in France - considerations

First and foremost, gasoline is about 2 times more expensive than 1999 Canadian prices. A tank of gas can cost $70 Canadian – even for a small car.

Our recommendation is to think about what kind of driving the majority of your trip is going to be. If you are going to be travelling great distances (say over 200 kms per day,) you will likely want to take the expressways. These are toll roads with a speed limit of 130 km/hr (110 if it is raining). Even at that speed you will likely spend most of your time in the right hand (ie the slow) lane. French drivers expect other drivers to use the left 1 or 2 lanes strictly for over-taking – left lane hogging is frowned upon. It is not un-usual to be passed by vehicles going 150 km/hr or more, and if they are going that fast they expect to be given a clear path in the left lane. Watch your rear-view mirrors – if someone is bearing down on you they will be flashing their headlights to warn you out of their way. They will be upset if they have to slow down because you have not moved to the right. The A roads have a radio station (the dial setting is posted) that gives road and weather conditions, as well as availability of gas/diesel during peak holiday times. They usually broadcast traffic and weather in English once or twice an hour.

European cars are generally smaller than North American models. Most rental cars are between a Ford Festiva (really small) to Ford Escort/Mondeo (up to a GM Sunfire or a Dodge Neon) size. Almost all cars have manual transmissions unless you explicitly ask for an automatic, and that may require going to a larger car or a luxury make like Mercedes.

Small cars are driven very fast on expressways, so if you are going to do a lot of highway driving, you may want to get a somewhat larger car. While European manufacturers have gotten better at building in quality a small car still feels flimsy and light – even more so than North American cars - on these roads at these speeds. Gas mileage in a smaller car at higher speeds is lousy – I can remember watching that gas level gauge move down at anything over 120 km/h!

Regardless of the size of car, give some thought to requesting a diesel. Most rental companies will not guarantee one on pick up, but should you get one, they get much better fuel economy and the fuel is about 80% of the cost of gas. Our experience is that operating cost of a diesel is about half of a comparable gasoline car. Almost every station sells diesel, and the cars are just as simple to drive as a gas automobile – the only difference is the start up sequence. If you are not going into the ski areas in winter, you will not have a problem with a diesel.

It is a very common experience not to get the car you originally ordered – have we got stories. Rental companies seem to be more like North American companies every year - people seem to get an upgraded car when things go strange.

Gas stations like Shell and Esso are plentiful as well as major European petroleum companies. There are some no-name outlets, and the major grocery store chains have stations at most of their stores. These stations at the grocery stores can save you 5 to 10% off the name-brand fuel stations. Most US/Canadian gas credit cards won’t work (i.e. a Shell card, even at a Shell station) unless it is also a Visa or MasterCard. Most gas stations will not accept American Express credit cards (though they likely will on the expressways). Many stations have automatic pumps that appear to accept Visa/MasterCard cards, but they typically only work with cards issued in Europe since they are really expecting a debit card with a PIN rather than a credit card. An automatic pump will not start if you give it the wrong kind of card. Especially in smaller towns, gas stations may be closed on Sundays, so keep that tank full on Saturday. Late night stations off the beaten path are also rare.

Since 1997 car rental rates seem to have come down. The purchase/sell back packages that Renault and others offer used to be a great deal if you needed a car for more than 20 days, but it appears they are a savings only on 30 day or more deals now. It pays to shop around.

There are four basic classes of roadway in France: almost every road is paved

1. The toll roads are generally designated with an A. Most are 3 lanes in each direction and always look brand new. There is very little construction on most of them, and they are expensive. If you are trying to cover more than 200 kms per day they are the best choice. It may seem indirect to use them to get from point A to point B, and it might be a longer distance, but D roads will not reduce the travel time, so if you have a schedule to keep use the expressways.
2. RN roads: Route National. Think inter-city highway, usually 2 lanes in total but sometimes more. May go through towns, although more and more have bypasses. Depending on how many towns are on your route, these can be very slow since you have to reduce speeds in the towns. These roads generally have lots of truck traffic, which can really slow you down. These were used as express ways before the toll roads were built. You can still take an RN drive from Paris to the south, but it would likely take 3 days, while you can do it in 8 hours on the expressway. Not the best roads for sight seeing.
3. Departmental roads – labeled Dxxx where xxx is a number (like D6). Narrower than RN roads. These can take you past amazing countryside. In the south, think vineyards, olive groves, sunflower and lavender fields.
4. Cxxx roads. These can be very narrow (they feel one car wide sometimes) and very little work is expended to make them straight and level. Some feel like driveways. There are better golf cart paths on most golf courses in North America.

The biggest trick when driving in France

Is the traffic circle: they are almost universally used where North America would have an intersection. As you approach one you are usually given a schematic on a large sign that shows which exit goes where. Count the number of exits you have to pass before you get the exit you want and then aim for it. Remember you can always go around the circle again if you miss your exit, and pay attention to who has the right of way. Read the next section as well. Once you get the hang of it you will likely prefer them to an intersection, since they seem to keep traffic flowing better. North American style intersections and traffic lights are generally found in towns and cities.

Navigating in France

Road signs are different in that the emphasis is on the town/city down the road, not the road number or its direction. It pays to know the names of a few of the towns that are along the road that you want (both before and after), because as you approach a circle or off-ramp you will see those place names listed (like "Avignon, Aix-en-Provence" not "RN7 South") on the sign. If you are headed to a small town you may not see it named until you get close to it.

There are usually markers on the side of the road every tenth of a kilometer that show you the number of the road (ie RN7) and it may also show a distance marker. Older ones may even list the name of the place they are giving the distance to (ie "Apt 10.2 km"). The old ones are about a foot high, and look like a short white square post. More modern ones are higher and less stocky looking. There are very few square intersections, and few straight roads.

A handy rule: in the absence of a direction sign, don’t turn off the road. We have had many experiences where we have been driving along and all of a sudden all place names disappear – no signs to be seen anywhere. If you are sure you were headed in the right direction, just keep going with what looks like the natural flow of traffic – you’ll either find signs soon or you’ll end up in somebody’s driveway. Enjoy the adventure.

You want a really good map. There are maps by Michelin and others that show great detail. If you are going to spend much time driving on D or C roads you need this detailed a map. The added feature is that these maps show the scenic stretches of the roads and also mark interesting things like castle ruins and other sightseeing points of interest.

Parking lot technology

France (Europe in general, actually) makes great use of automation for parking fee collection. Most parking lots automatically issue a parking ticket on entry – so far, just like home you think. You are meant to keep the ticket with you as you leave the car, not leave it in the car to show you have a ticket. When you return to the lot you will find an automated machine like a banking machine (aka ATM) labeled CAISSE that you put the ticket into. The machine will tell you (some offer multiple language displays) how much you owe. You pay for the parking and the ticket is returned to you. You have a fixed amount of time (5 to 10 minutes) to get you car to an exit gate. The paid in full ticket will open the gate, so don’t lose it.

The CAISSE is usually close to the exit, and sometimes there is a small parking area where you can leave the car and use the machine if you left the ticket in the car, but don’t count on it. If you cause a traffic jam in the parking lot exit because you forgot to pay before trying to exit you will learn some new French phrases from the other drivers. They know how the system works and may not have much patience with someone who made a mistake.

Late at night the garage may appear to be closed, but you should be able to find a door that will open when you insert the ticket into a reader. Once you get in you pay for your parking and the exterior exit door will open when you insert the paid parking ticket.

These machines will accept bank notes up to 50 or 100 FF, and some say they accept Visa/Mastercard cards. A North American credit card may not work unless it has a PIN AND your bank is connected to banks in Europe. Credit cards issued in France tend to act more like debit cards than credit cards, so most terminals expect you to enter a PIN.

Street side parking is unlikely to use meters like North America, but there will be some machine to take your money – watch for the word PAYANT on signs. These machines will emit a slip of paper that shows how much parking you paid for and should be displayed on the dash.

Speed control

We have not seen any radar traps. I suspect you have to be going very fast on an expressway to get a speeding ticket. We have had cars that felt controlled at 150 km/h and over, and drove them that fast, and not gotten a ticket. Your mileage may vary. More often, we have been passed by other cars as if we were standing still when driving at 120 km/h.

You may see several officers on the side of a road who may be watching traffic go by and they may choose to pull some vehicles over. Typically this is for a document check. Vehicles must have ownership/rental documents and insurance certificates. People are supposed to carry passports with them at all times – even French nationals.

Personal security – the car and your possessions.

The most important rule – do not leave anything visible in the car when you park it – even for a couple of minutes. This might not apply in small towns and villages, but is a good rule to follow always. Most rental cars will have remote locking, and some may have some level of car alarm type technology.

If your rental car has an up-market stereo system in it, it may have a detachable faceplate or some other security device.

Reporting a car break-in to the police can be a tedious experience (been there, done that) so best to try to avoid the whole scenario – make sure nothing valuable is visible whenever you park and leave the car out of your sight.