Routes
through France. Click to enlarge
Bookmark
this page..... 
Motorway driving in France is normally quite relaxed...
Related
pages:
To
contact About France com, send an email to info "at" about-france.com
|
|
DRIVING THROUGH FRANCE TO
SPAIN
► ►
Beware of the "cheap ferries" scam
Some internet sites that announce "cheap" ferry prices are actually
charging more
than the Ferry companies themselves. Avoid dodgy websites; click to book directly with ferry
companies |
When driving through
France, don't forget to carry a yellow fluorescent jacket...
All vehicles driving on French roads are obliged to carry a yellow
fluorescent jacket, that must be put on if the driver has to get out in
an emergency. The jacket must be stored in the car, not in the boot,
and be easily accessible. Failure to carry the obligatory jacket may
lead to an instant fine of up to 130 Euros, if stopped by police.
► See Driving in France
for information on the new ban on radar speed trap detectors in France |
 ►ALL ROADS SOUTH LEAD TO SPAIN ......
There are four main routes south through France, and all of them lead
to Spain.
They all include long stretches of toll motorway, but three out of four
also include long sections of road that are not toll roads.
While it is of course possible to find a route
south through France from Calais to the Spanish border avoiding all
tolls, this is generally a pointless exercise except for very
slow-moving vehicles, as it would involve hundreds of kilometres on
slow road with numerous towns and villages to negotiate.
Routes
to Mediterranean Spain:
Destinations
: Barcelona, Valencia, the Spanish Costas from the Costa Brava to the
Costa del Sol.
The Spanish border crossing is at le Perthus, south of Perpignan
Recommended
routes:
- a) All
motorway, avoiding Paris. : Leave Calais on the A 26
following signs for Reims. Then follow down through Reims, Troyes,
Dijon, Lyon, Valence, Montpellier and Perpignan, to the Spanish border
at Le Perthus.
Distance:
1238 km Map, showing motorway hotels -
Calais, Reims, Dijon, Lyon route
- b)
All motorway, via Paris. Leave Calais on the A 26
following signs for Reims. Then follow down through Paris, Orleans,
Clermont Ferrand, Beziers, Perpignan. Motorway free from Clermont
Ferrand to Béziers, except for toll on Millau viaduct.
Distance: 1174 km Map,
showing motorway hotels - Calais, Rouen, Orleans route
- c)
Mostly motorway, avoiding Paris. Leave Calais on the A 16
following signs for Abbeville. Then follow down through Rouen, Evreux,
Chartres, Orleans, Clermont Ferrand, Beziers,
Perpignan. Motorways free from Abbeville to Rouen, and
Clermont Ferrand to Béziers, except for toll on Millau viaduct.
Distance:
1172 km Map with hotels
- d) The fastest route without
any tolls: see To
the Mediterranean without tolls Distance, a little
over 1200 km.
But it will take about 3 to 4 hours more driving than any of the other
routes
Routes
to northern and western Spain,
via southwest France.
Destinations
: San Sebastian, Bilbao, Madrid, Portugal, Asturias, La Coruña .
The border crossing is at Irun.
Recommended
routes
- a) Fastest
route - all motorway or dual carriageway except through
Rouen. Leave Calais on the A 16 following signs for Abbeville. Then
follow down through Rouen, Alençon, Le Mans, Tours, Bordeaux, Bayonne
and the Spanish border.
See tolls and details below
► Map, showing motorway
hotels on these routes
- b) The fastest route without
any tolls: see Calais
to Bayonne / Irun without tolls Distance, about 1100 km. But it will
be over 3 hours more driving than the motorway route
- c) Alternative
good routes -
See tolls and details below
Motorway tolls on routes through
France to Spain: January 2012
(For
Car
+ caravan; add about 50%).
Truck / HGV toll rates (class 4) : approximately three
times the rate for cars. |
Calais-Spain
motorway toll costs:
a) Eastern route - for
Mediterranean destinations, via border crossing at Le Perthus
- Calais
- Le Perthus via Rouen, Chartres & Clermont
Ferrand: 53.00 € (cheapest
fast route)
- Calais
- Le Perthus via A26, Reims and Lyon:
96.70 €
- Calais
- Le Perthus via Paris, Orleans
& Clermont-Ferrand: 70.90 €
- Le
Havre - Le Perthus via Chartres, Orleans
& A 71. 49.60 €
|
Calais-Spain
border motorway toll costs:
b) Western route - for
northern Spain, central Spain and Portugal via border
crossing at Irun. (See below for details)
- Calais
- Irun via Rouen, Alençon, le Mans, and A10 to Bordeaux: 72.00 €
(fastest)
- Calais
- Irun via Rouen, Chartres, then N10 to Tours, and A10 to
Poitiers, and N10 to Bordeaux: 14.70 €
(shortest, but
Chartres to Tours, 120 km, mostly single carriageway)
- Calais
- Irun via Rouen, Orleans, and A10 to Poitiers, then N10
to Bordeaux: 42.10
€ (almost
all dual carriageway or motorway)
- Calais
- Irun via Rouen, Orleans, Vierzon, Limoges, Angoulême,
Bordeaux: 27.20 €
|
►
TIP
: Alternative
routes through France to Spain via Bordeaux
Though it is usually easiest and faster to stick to French motorways
and pay the toll, this is not necessarily true when driving from
Calais to Southwest France and the border crossing to Spain at
Irun. The choices come after Rouen or Chartres.
- a) The shortest route,
after Rouen, but not the fastest nor the least stressful, is via
Chartres, then to take the N10 from Chartres to Tours, then join the
A10 (toll) as far as Poitiers, then the N10 again to Bordeaux. The N10
from Chartres to Tours is largely single carriageway.
- b) The fastest route,
is almost all motorway via Rouen, Alençon, le Mans, and then from Tours
the A10 (toll) as far as Bordeaux.
- c) A shorter fast route,
is to continue on the N154 from Chartres towards Orleans, then take the
A10 (toll) as far as Poitiers , then rejoin the N10 (free, dual
carriageway) as far as Bordeaux.
- d) For an even cheaper fast
route at Orleans, take the A71
> A20 in the direction of Toulouse. At Limoges, follow N141 for
Angoulême, where you can then take the N10 as far as Bordeaux. All but
about 40 miles of this alternative route to Bordeaux is on motorways or
dual carriageway, but there are no tolls after Vierzon.
Map,
showing motorway
hotels on these routes
Savings
on tolls: for cars, 58 € difference between the fastest
and the shortest routes: for camper vans the difference is about 85 €,
and for HGVs and trucks, about 170 €.
NB:
The shortest route..... Since the savings on
fuel and on distance make the shortest route an attractive
proposition for HGVs, it is not necessarily a route that is recommended
for cars. Routes c and d are recommended as offering a good balance
between speed and toll costs.
|
|
|
