We'll be travelling around the Tours, France region for a week in a rental car. I see on viaMichelin.com that frequently there are tolls along the main roads. Please tell me about how they are set-up in that region; i.e. Are they mostly unmanned and accept only the correct change? Thanks!
Posted by
sacramento
63 posts
We drove from Paris to Normandy to Dordogne. The toll roads are hilarious and so are the round- abouts. Move from one road to another and there's another toll. Almost all are unmanned, just throw your coins in and the gates open. But really, it wasnt that big of a deal. Just have lots of coins with you. The roads are marked better then I thought they would be; we did Not have gps, just google maps.
The rest stops are easy to use and we never had a problem getting gas using an American credit card.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
I agree with Laura. We drove 2,000 KM in France last year and we experienced two types of toll roads. First is the one where you stop and take a ticket. At some point where you exit the toll road or it ends, there are toll booths. Sometimes they are staffed and sometimes not. The second type of toll road is where your pay a bit as you drive along. No ticket. At the large toll booths, the far right booth may be the only one that is staffed. Be very careful not to get into the credit card lane because yours won't work. The best hint is to have at least 20E is coins and possbily 25E-30E in coins. Per Km, France is probably the most expensive in Europe. Just throw in the coins and move on.
Posted by
Littleton, Colorado, United States
44 posts
So what's the best way to convert euro paper to coins?
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
We did encounter coin booths that would also accept paper Euros. It seemed to work OK but mostly, we used coins.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Of course, it is often not even necessary to use the (toll) autoroutes, especially if you want to be able to stop off at villages on the way for lunch or to see the markets. We have driven many thousands of kms in France with only infrequent legs on autoroutes.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
Pretty much all automated toll payment machines in France accept both coins and notes - I can't remember one that didn't. Here you can see some pictures of what the machines look like: http://tinyurl.com/8394qkk Be sure NOT to enter the "telepeage" lanes (marked by an orange "t"). These lanes are for cars equipped with an electronic transponder for toll payment. The cash lane is invariably the one furthest to the right.