Prepping for Road Trip in France

I suggest you read up on how to manage the highway tolls in France. Look up the signage and what it means. Even if you understand French, there rarely are explanations in words. You're expected to understand the pictures, which we found far from self-explanatory.

In one instance, we apparently went through the wrong gate and then had to pay a 30 Euro fine at the next toll booth, on top of the regular fare.

You don't need coins for the tolls, by the way. Both machines and people accept bills and give you change.

"Will banks change paper bills into coins?"
Only if you have an account with them.

I remember being in a small sleepy town trying to go thru a toll on a Sunday and it would not take our credit card (no chip) and it did not take cash. No ATMs around. This was years ago and many cards have chips now. But we make sure we have at least one credit card with a chip. At least one real map is not a bad idea in case you hit a patch with no service and get lost. You can download directions but they won’t tell you if there is a traffic jam or accident and you need an alternate route.

"Will banks change paper bills into coins?"
Only if you have an account with them.

So is there any other strategy that works for collecting enough coins, or is it just whatever you can scrounge through change from normal purchases?

Pretty much the same way you'd accumulate quarters for the laundromat or the pinball machine or whatever at home. Spend some larger notes on smaller purchases (within reason) and the euro coins will start to accumulate.

I'd also recommend a map along with GPS so you can avoid the glitches GPS sometimes deals out, and also to have an overview of where you are and where you're going. Also, set the GPS for kilometers if possible so it will match up to road signs and speed limits. Finally, be prepared for entertainment as the English-speaking GPS voice mangles the pronunciation of French place names. After a little familiarization, you could switch it to French and get some useful phrases and pronunciation, like having a very specialized language learning tape in the car. ;-)

Viamichelin website and/or app will help you figure the cost of the autoroutes/toll roads. You’ll need more than coins for sure, depending on the routes you choose. The line for cash payments will normally accept paper notes.

If you make cash purchases locally, you’ll soon accumulate 1 euro coins, etc and probably more than you will need. Keep a ziplock handy.

Coins are easy to accumulate. I had to do that in Nice a couple months ago, since all the machines for train tickets only took coins, even for tickets around €10. I just paid for everything with notes. I got 50's from the ATMs, paid for small things with them whenever it seemed possible to get smaller notes. You'll usually pay tolls fairly often, so they'll be small amounts. Feed the machine a €10 or €20 note and you'll get all your change in coins.

I spent over a week driving in Alsace and Burgundy and only took the autoroute (toll road) when I was in a hurry. The lesser roads are much more scenic and go through all the charming villages that you want to visit. You'll also need coins for parking machines in many towns and villages. The ones I encountered most, and often in parking lots, one had to park, walk to the machine and buy a ticket for a period of time, then display it inside on the dashboard.

Warnings - the autoroutes are monitored by sensors and you can get dinged with speeding tickets very easily. Get instructions on the cruise control when you pick up the car. It's all to easy to be distracted by everything else and accidentally go over the limit. Speed limits are always posted on the autoroutes, not always on side roads. Unless posted otherwise, they are determined by law by type of road. You are expected to know them (and all the other rules, like no passing on the right). I'm sure there's somewhere on the internet you can find a summary. My trip was several years ago, I know I read up on them but forget where. Warning signs are only in French - learn the vocabulary to make it easier. I think many roads other than the autoroute are also monitored for speeding. I often saw other cars going well over the limit. I made it a practice to pull over for them to pass me whenever possible, figuring they knew where the traps were, but not taking any chances myself. Alcohol limits are lower in France (0.5%, compared to 0.8% in the US).

Road maintenance and signage were very good in Alsace, not so much in Burgundy. Most of the roads were 2-lane and I didn't encounter much traffic (my trip was mid-June) but there are no shoulders, even on major roads. There are cyclists, though.

I drove a lot, only got lost a couple times trying to get to real back-roads places, and had a wonderful time. Bon Voyage!

See if you can get exact instructions on where to return the car -- we have circled train stations several times when the actual return location was inside or under or across the street, and poorly signed.
Pack water and snacks in the car.
Enjoy your trip! Back roads are great fun, and autoroutes are well-maintained.

If you find a webpage or printed map or book showing the national speed limit for single carriageways, rural, no centre divider as 90 kph - that would be old information. Several months ago it was reduced to 80 kph and often radar units were added in tricky places. The other thing about that speed reduction is that it was not popular, and then the gilet jeaunes protests came, so many radar units and new speed limit signs have been vandalised. Still enforced though...

oh, and when the rains come remember that the 130 kph on Autoroutes drops down to 110 kph.

You might go to the Join Us In France website and listen to episode #16, The Rules of Driving in France. Go to Resources tab and find Driving in France. It is very useful, as is the appendix in the RS guidebooks.

We are near the Loire Valley right now. The only toll road we saw was the A85. We paid with a card. Be sure you have a chipped card.

Regular highways usually aren’t toll roads. Go to Google maps and plot out you routes. You should see toll roads.

As suggested, study up on signage. It’s really easy. Also, are you planning to bring a GPS? Are you reserving a car? Ours had GPS built in (no choice), but it is newer technology than our Garmin and did a much better job.

Have a great trip! If you are planning on going to Chenonceau, check closing time and go late afternoon. It closed at 7:00 and by 4:00, most of the crowd had left. It was much more peaceful then and it doesn’t get dark until after 8:00.

Just returned from.thisntrip

Credit card and bills will work on tolls.

Tolls are expensive...mostly 3-33 euros depending..skip the coin stuff.

Google Maps. Download them all in offline mode. I used this for my.whole trip

They are serious about speeding in France. Lots of cameras to catch you. Use the left lane only to pass and pass only on the left.