We are planning a trip to France in September. We'll be in Paris for a few nights then head out to the Loire Valley for another 4-5 days. We're planning to pick up a car rental in Chartes, however, we would like to know what the roads are like for driving?
Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
Posted by
76 posts
Hi. In this region of France, the highways are rarely congested, and the other roads are often very good, straight, and the traffic is light. In short, it's certainly one of the most pleasant regions in France to travel by car.
Posted by
Normandie, France
611 posts
If this is your first time driving in France, you might want to consult this webpage for some tips on driving in France. It's targeted at Americans but most of it would apply to travelers from most other countries. It's pretty useful.
One deficiency is it doesn't show all the signage associated with managing priorité à droit, nor does it explain why speed limit signs are somewhat rare in France compared to the U.S. It just complains about it. The reason why is that speed limits are largely standardized by location and type of road. As with so many things in France, you're just supposed to know that.
This website is in French so if you can't read it you can use an online translator such as DeepL, Bing Translate, or Google Translate, but it's an excerpt from the French driving rules (le code de la route) explaining the speeds associated with different types of roads within and outside "agglomerations" (that is, town limits).
No matter the speed limit, count on French drivers tailgating you and passing you at the first chance. It's the national pastime, and, unlike you, because they know where the speed cameras are located, they do it with abandon.