driving in France

I plan to drive from Paris to Normandy thru Rouen and on to the D-day beaches.

Is it easy to get around by car and what is the price of Gas in France.

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I would soooo take a train. I%26#39;ve traveled in France since I was a young girl, and tooooo scarey!!! TOOOOO SCAREY

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I just meant they drive crazy fast, and pass each other around corners, I just think it%26#39;s better to take a train and let someone else do the transportation.

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I%26#39;d have to say that driving isn%26#39;t that bad, especially in the area where you are going. People go fast but they realize what a passing lane unlike americans(I%26#39;m american so i can say this :)). Gas is around $4 a gallon though, and it ain%26#39;t looking any better as the dollar continues to slip.

Of course, I do not condone having a car while in Paris, only on the autoroutes.

Mais faites attention aux payages!! (tolls)

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Driving in France is not that different from what you can experience in the US, that%26#39;s what I have seen in many years in the US. and we drive here on the same side as in the US, that helps too! It is faster than in the US (130 km/hr onthe highway, 90 on roads and 50 in cities) but i%26#39;ve experienced that everybody can do it..

There is some differences such as the fact that you are never allowed to turn on the right when the traffic light is red. When you rent a car in the major companies such as Hertz or Avis usually provide a booklet in English with some informations about regulations and practical hints. Be aware that automatic cars must be requested specifically.

To drive from Paris to Normandy is easy. Rouen is about 1,5 hour of driving, then about the same to the DDay beaches. I think it is better to have your own car rather than to rely on public transportation, this way you can move on the area (about 100 km long) at your own pace.

Driving in Paris is more difficult, because of the heavy traffic and the difficulty of parking the car. I%26#39;d suggest to rent a car near the entrance of the Normandy Highway. There is both Avis and Hertz in Porte de Saint Cloud, where the highway starts (west of Paris).

An interesting site would be www.via-michelin.com which is a usefull tool to plan a trip. It will also give some infos about tolls and gas price.

This tiny site would show some traffic signs, that are sometimes different rather the American ones :

http://mtn-cremli.ac-nice.fr/~ere/St_vallier/code/

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There is nothing scary about driving in France. Really. In fact, we find them to be better drivers than the Americans are.

The only thing that we needed to adjust to is that instructions are generally given by destination, as opposed to compass directions. So, for example, I used to take the 280 South to get get from SF to SJ, but here we take the A4 direction Rennes when leaving Paris for Normandy.

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During one summer a couple years ago, I had multiple near death experiences... I was driving in France!!

Driving outside the cities is delightful. Roads are well and clearly marked.

I found driving in the cities to be nerve racking because of very heavy traffic, not knowing where I was going, and driving behavior of the French that was somewhat different from what I am used to in the U.S. and Canada. Most of the cars in Europe are smaller than we%26#39;re used to in the U.S. but they have big side view mirrors that stick out. People drive closer to each other than we do and numerous times I thought for sure my side view mirror was going to be ripped off by the side view mirror of a rapicly approaching oncoming car. The small cars are quite maneuverable and the drivers over there take advantage of that.

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Hmm.....driving into Paris was no fun but we had a bad map and thus bad tempers ;)

Does anyone know how to buy gas in France? Do I need a eurocard or do I go inside with cash and say I want 20 liters or whatever? Just curious, my Belgian gas card wont work there :(

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I would take the train although but not for the reasons mentioned by a previous poster. France has one of the best railroad networks in the world and SNCF has very good service to Caen (closest major city to D-day beaches). Of course, by taking the train, you are subject to their timetable.

I do not find driving in France any crazier or more complicated than in the US (faster, yes, but so what ?). If you can drive in the US, you should be able to drive in France.

In Paris, use the metro and the public transportation network; it is cheap and very efficient.

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Do it, katheryn! I coudn%26#39;t disagree more with Springtraveler!

Driving in France is straightforward, once you understand a few fundamental rules and get the hang of the signposting system, which is excellent, but not immediately obvious. With a good map (Michelin 1:200,00 for example) a car lets you get to all the out-of-the-way places and beautiful little villages you would otherwise miss.

The autoroutes, which I usually try to avoid unless I am in a hurry, I find much better, safer and easier to drive than US Interstates. Yes traffic moves faster on them, but that is because they are designed and engineered for higher speeds. Do pay attention to lane discipline though.

Like the autoroutes, major roads can get congested at peak holiday periods and near cities. They and still more the local roads are often delightful to drive, though.

I do avoid driving in Parfis as much as possible. In your case, katheryn, I might be inclined to take the train to Rouen and pick my car up there. That will get you out of Paris quicker and easier.

Otherwise Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand are two places I try not to drive in. Have had no real problem anywhere else.

If you are driving you should know that the police in France have recently instituted a massive crackdown on speeders, so be aware of this.

Bonne route!

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I would assume that driving in France is no worse than driving in italy, which I found to be MUCH less painful than my average commute day in the SF Bay Area, despite many warnings about how awful it is. As one poster has already pointed out, Europeans differ drastically from your average American in that they generally understand the point of the left-hand lane. It%26#39;s for passing! Not for cruising at 63 mph. Not for chatting on your cell-phone, not for turning completely around in the driver%26#39;s seat to scold a child in the back of your Ford Excessive or Chevy Subdivision (yes, I hate SUVs). And certainly not for applying makeup, reading your map, or shaving. Sadly, I have seen all of these things on U.S. freeways. ANd most many more times than once. Many americans (yes, I am one too) also don%26#39;t seem to understand what the flat shiny things mounted on the inner windshield and outside either front door are actually for. Not once in about 100 km of driving in Italy (through Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio and then through Rome to the airport) did someone whom I was passing suddenly veer out into the passing lane at a speed about 10-20 mph slower than I was traveling. That happens so often around here that I often think I should just drive in the left shoulder.

Gas is obviously a big cost, as are tolls in most places. That said, I really enjoyed being out in the countryside with the ability to just pull into a cute-looking town on a whim.