first time drive in france

Highly recommend listening to this Join Us in France podcast episode on driving in France. I found it very helpful.
https://joinusinfrance.com/episode/the-rules-of-driving-in-france-episode-16/

I am like you - older and prefer to drive a bit slower. Just stay in the right hand lane with the trucks and buses. If you need to get in a center lane temporarily to pass, be sure that you have lots of clearance. Those cars in the center lane may be coming up on you much faster than 120 km/hour!

90 km/h is the motorway truck speed, so if you stay on the right lane, you'll be with the truck flow. Just follow a truck.
And many people drive at about 110 these days, gas being expensive, so if you are able to speed up a notch, you won't lag too far behind the other cars. You will find that French motorways are often better laid out than Italian ones, with wider lanes, so they tend to invite a higher speed.
As for D and N roads, it depends on the population density and on the flatness of the terrain, but average speed is somewhere between 55-70 kph (speed limit is 80 for the most part) in most cases.

Hi,
I would look at the possibility of renting the car in Tours. Unless you have something between Paris and Tours you want to access by car. Two reasons. Avoids the Paris section of driving. And maybe a day or more shaved off your rental.

If you have driven in Italy, you will be fine in France. Let me warn you that going through their villages the speed limit will suddenly drop from full ahead to snails pace, often without warning. Speeding tickets are issued too late to pay them on time, so the fee is doubled for being late. Sur ses gardes.

wayne iNWI

Wonderful!
This is the help that I needed.
Many thanks,
Roadgard

I don't know what "Nickbooth" is, but as for your questions:

Q1. When on an "A-road", with 130 km speed limit; can I reasonably drive 90-100 km? (I am older than you, I prefer to drive a bit slower)

Roads with an "A" are autoroutes, which are similar to U.S Interstates. The speed limit is 130 km/h in dry conditions and 110 km/h during rain or snow, 50 km/h in fog. If you're driving 90 to 100 km/h in dry conditions expect to be tailgated. I wouldn't recommend it.

Instead, I would recommend "N" highways for that speed. You'll have more opportunities to stop and less expectation by other drivers for high speed. Autoroutes, because they are mostly toll roads, have relatively few exits because each exit (except in parts of Normandie or Bretagne, or in metropolitan areas) requires a toll payment station.

Q2. With a (USA) chip and pin VISA card, and euro cash, will I be able to pay all the tolls?

Cash always works. As for your card, you'll have to rely on other people with American cards for advice. I suspect you would have occasional success and occasional frustration.

Q3. If we prefer to get off of the A roads, how much slower will the D or N roads usually be? I know, impossible question, but might one usually expect twice as long, 50% longer, 20% longer?

It's not just the maximum speed that you would have to consider, but also encountering towns, which generally require a speed reduction from the prevailing speed (80 km/h, 90km/h, or 110 km/h) to (most often) 50 km/h. Départemental highways ("D" roads) commonly have roundabout after roundabout in populated areas, and can be quite narrow and winding in many places. National highways (N" roads) usually are faster and have fewer slow sections.

Think of it like this:
Autoroutes are similar to U.S. Interstates.
National routes are similar to U.S. highways or state highways in the U.S.
Départemental highways are similar to county highways in the U.S.

It's impossible to predict how much faster an Autoroute might be. Often, distances on an Autoroute will be greater than if you use N or D highways, but the higher speeds possible on an Autoroute could mean much less time involved. If you're seeking time estimates. I would use the viamichelin website to evaluate alternative routes. It gives you good information on tolls and time, and even tries to estimate fuel costs based on the type of car you've told it you're using.

On départemental highways especially, you have to be aware of French driving idiosyncrasies such as the concept of priorité à droit (priority to the right), which requires you to slow and yield at many intersections. Websites such as Google Maps don't take that into account, and sometimes will recommend a départemental highway based on its speed limit (generally 80 km/h and sometimes 90 km/h), where, in reality, the road is far too narrow and winding to drive anywhere near that speed, and you have to yield at many intersections to drivers entering the road from the right, so that requires slowing to check for incoming cars.

This website gives a summary of the concept of priorité à droit, though it mistakenly makes it sound quaint and rare whereas it very much is in effect over much of rural France and in many towns.

"Let me warn you that going through their villages the speed limit will suddenly drop from full ahead to snails pace, often without warning."

No. That's not the case. There's warning. Drivers unfamiliar with French driving rules just aren't aware of it.

Take a look at the sign at this link.

It is a sign indicating that you're entering a town. White rectangle, red border, and town name in black letters.

But it's not just a sign indicating that you're entering a town. It's also a speed limit sign. It communicates that the speed limit from that point on, until cancelled, is 50 km/h unless otherwise posted.

The sign at this link shows that you're exiting a town. White rectangle, black border, town name in black letters with a red diagonal slash through it. There, the speed limit increases, generally to 80 or 90 km/h or possibly to 110 km/h, depending on what kind of road you're on.

I drove 2000+ kilometers in France in March/April this year. I used my contactless Costco Visa for all gas and road tolls. Much easier than fumbling around for cash at a toll booth, just tap and go. Make sure that your Visa is tap enabled. I have never been asked for a pin with my credit card.
Brad

Driving in France was just fine for us. 10 days last July from Lyon to Chamonix to Nimes to Cretest to Avignon Gare TGV. We drove in the right lane at first, but as we got more comfortable, we were driving like right here in good old New Jersey. We paid cash for our first couple of tolls, but then got brave and used our Chase United Visa with the tap function (it worked like a charm).. I'll just give you a friendly warning about our experience with Avis. Take a bunch of pictures of the car before and after. Make sure there is background in the pictures too, like the rental office or signs. Our story; We dropped the car off at Avignon Gare TGV before they opened. Dropped the keys in the box and ran for the train. When I checked my Visa statement a few days later, I saw that Avis charged me $250 more than the agreed to price. It took 3 weeks before we finally got an explanation for the charge. It was a tiny scratch on the underside of the front spoiler (like if you brushed up on a curb). Literally could have been fixed with sandpaper or a nail clipper. Luckily we had our "before" picture which clearly showed the existing scratch with the Lyon office building in the background. Avis reversed the charge the next day. Enjoy the tripl!!!

We've never had trouble using our debit card with chip for tolls....you can also rent the toll pass. We've used cash but some times cash is not an option.