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► Option no tolls
at all
This
is not the best, nor
maybe even the cheapest option, since
the odd euros saved by avoiding absolutely all tolls will mean a longer
journey with more stress negotiating built-up
areas, rather than avoiding them.
For this reason, the details of the no tolls at all route are indicated
below.
►Option minimal tolls
Paying
a few euros in tolls
on a 1200 km is economical
in time saved and less
stress. The route proposed here provides the best balance between speed
and toll costs
for driving from Calais to the Mediterranean beaches of
Languedoc and on into Spain towards the Costa Brava..
About-France.com
recommended toll-saving route: Calais
> Abbeville > Rouen > Chartres > Orleans
> Briare > Nevers > Clermont-Ferrand >
Millau > Béziers > Perpignan (> Girona >.
Barcelona)
and Calais....
> Provence
The tolls that are worth
paying:
Calais
to Abbeville on A16 : 7.50 Euros
South
exit from Rouen on A 13 > A154 : 2 Euros
Motorway
Riom to Clermont Ferrand: 1.20 Euros
Millau
Viaduct - Cost: 8.20 Euros in July / August, 6.40 rest of
year.
Total
recommended tolls (Jan 2012): 10.70 Euros for a car, or
18.90
if you take the Millau viaduct for the experience. 50% more for caravan
/ motorhome.
Time
saved by paying tolls: at least 1 hour.
Route
guide:
Leave Calais on the free A16
/
E402 motorway in the direction of Boulogne,
Amiens. The toll
section starts just before Boulogne. We recommend using this short toll
section as far as Abbeville.
Just before Abbeville, take the free A28
/
E402 motorway to Rouen.
Entering Rouen the A28
becomes the N28.
Follow on down through the tunnel, then across the Seine. After that,
follow signs for Paris
and Evreux
then Evreux & Orleans .
You will join the A13
motorway west of Rouen: there will be a 2 € toll to pay (car rate).
About 10 km south or Rouen, leave the A13 motorway for the A154 motorway. Toll gate at the
intersection.
Then follow the A154 > N154
dual carriageway / divided highway almost to Dreux. At
Dreux, follow signs for Chartres
and Orleans. The
N154 is almost all modern dual-carriageway from
Dreux to Chartres.
At Allaines, do not follow signs for A10 motorway. Continue on D994
(old N154) to Artenay, where you join the D2020 (old N20) to Orleans.
At entrance to Orleans, pass under ring-road,
then immediately right
following green signs D2060
/
E60 to Montargis.
Follow dual-carriageway D2060 for 30 km, then exit on D952 marked Nevers in green.
Follow D952 48 km, past Gien to reach the D2007 (former N7) by Briare.
Keep following the green signs for Nevers.
Join the dual-carriageway D2007 (old N7). At Cosne sur Loire,
join the A77
motorway, which is now free.
Now follow the A77 / N7 for 100 km, mostly dual
carriageway, past Nevers and on until south of Moulins.
Turn right onto N 79/
E62 for Montlucon. Then, 4.5 km later,
turn right again onto
D2009 following green signs for Clermont Ferrand.
►
For the Alps,
continue on the N7 to Lyon,
then follow green signs for Grenoble par RN: all Alpine motorways are
expensive.
Follow D2009 almost to Clermont, but at Riom join
the A71
motorway. There is a toll of 1.20 € for the last five miles of toll
section, after that the motorway, which becomes the A75
at Clermont, is free for the next
300 km as far as Beziers
(except the toll at the Millau
viaduct).
At Beziers, leave at jct. 63, and follow green
signs for Narbonne
then Perpignan....
or head for the beach at Sète.
Toll-free
routes to Provence
Use the above route as far as south of Clermont Ferrand.
Thereafter there are two possibilities.
1. Traffic heading to Provence
can leave the A75 after Lodève, well south of Millau, at the
interchange with A750, and head to
Montpellier.
Beyond Montpellier, there is a choice of non-toll routes.
All motorways beyond Montpellier are toll.
2. Leave A75 at Exit 20, south of Issoire, and follow the
N
102 for Le Puy en Velay
(skirt, or visit) then Aubenas,
then Montelimar.
From Montelimar, follow the N7 to Orange and Avignon and beyond. The
roads are good, and the N102 is scenic, but there is little dual
carriageway after leaving the A75 .
Important warning:
The A75 route is not recommended in winter or
for cars towing heavy caravans. It is a mountain motorway that rises on
3 occasions to over 1100 metres and has several long and relatively
steep gradients.
Click here for more information on Routes
through France to Spain
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Hotels
along the route - all very easy to find
Red markers
on the map indicate handy hotels close to the road. Click any marker
for details. Direction indications for reaching hotels are for
southbound traffic.
Alternative route avoiding all
tolls :
a) Boulogne:
Leave A16 motorway at exit 29, and follow D901 > D1001 as far
as the entrance to Abbeville, where you take the Free A 28.
b) At Rouen,
before reaching the Seine, take exit at the entrance to a
short tunnel, for D6015 marked Vernon, Cergy Pontoise. Follow D6015 as
far as Le Vaudreuil, then join the free A154 > N154.
c) At Riom,
continue following the green signs for Clermont Ferrand. Then the blue
motorway signs for Montpellier
d) To avoid the Millau
viaduct toll, go through Millau town, leaving motorway at junction 45,
rejoining at junction 47.
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