France is home to around 1.1 million kilometers of
roadways which provide12,000 kilometers of autoroutes (A roads) and 30,500
kilometers of national routes (N roads).
This vast country, which hosts every type of natural
landscape from the highest of mountains to the the widest of sandy beaches,
vast river valleys, great swathes of isolated countryside, vast areas of
agricultural land, hundreds of historic towns and villages and a myriad of
world renowned ski and beach resorts, has so many scenic routes that it would
take me the rest of my life to name them all.
Therefore I have chosen just seven of my own
particular favourites in the hope that it may inspire you to explore much more
of La Belle France.
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| France's Autoroute Network |
France's west coast
spans six hundred kilometers of Atlantic Ocean coastline between Brittany in
the north and Aquitaine in the south.
Most of France’s Atlantic coast runs along the vast
Bay of Biscay, a wild and forbidding maritime coastline renowned for it's rough
seas, isolated beaches, traditional fishing villages and surfing resorts.
The route, which can be accessed by way of France's A
10, A83, N10, N65 and N165 roads, takes in the historic port towns
and popular holiday resorts of Le Conquet, La Rochelle, Arcachon, Brest,
Bordeaux, Bergerac, Biarritz, Bayonne, Lacanau, Nantes and Rochefort as it
makes it's way along miles of undiscovered sandy beaches, traditional fishing
villages and miles of isolated woodland before terminating near the foothills
of the Pyrenees Mountains on the French
/ Spanish border just outside the coastal town of Saint Jean de Luz in France’s
Basque Region.
France’s
north coast spans over 500 kilometers of coastline along part of the North Sea,
located between the port town of Calais and eastwards through to the Belgium
border, and all of the English Channel, where it is known in France as La
Manche, travelling westwards from Calais through to Le Conquet in Brittany,
where the English Channel meets with the Atlantic Ocean.
France's north coast is renowned for it's
chalk cliffs and vast river estuaries located along the coast of Normandy, the
wide flat beaches, rocky coves and offshore islands of the Brittany coastline
and the lush green farmland and quaint fishing villages of Picardy, all of
which are interspersed with vast swathes of marshland and farmland and a myriad
of industrial towns, port towns and popular holiday resorts, including
Dunkerque, Calais, Boulogne, Le Touquet, Dieppe, Le Havre, Caen, Cherbourg, St
Malo and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mont Saint Michel.
The
area can be accessed by several routes, including the A13, A16, A26, A28,
A29 and the N12 and N13.
Some
of the most popular routes through northern France include the A26, also known
as the Autoroute des Anglais (the English Road) which is located between
Calais and travelling inland to Troyes passing through the historic towns
of Arras and Reims and on through the
popular Champagne region, the A28, known locally as the Autoroute des
Estuaries, due to the marshland and river estuaries of the Normandy coast
which it passes through and the A16 which will take you 180 kilometers south
all the way to Paris.
However, the most popular route of all is the 192 kilometer
drive down to Disneyland Paris. From Calais the resort can be accessed by
taking the A26 south through to Arras, then join the A1 and
travel in a south easterly direction through to Roissy en France, where the
Charles de Gaulle Airport is located, then join the A104 ( known locally
as the Francillienne) travelling in a north easterly direction. Leave
the A104 at the junction with the N34 which links with the A4,
which is the road which will take you on to Marne le Vallee where the
Disneyland Paris Resort is located.
France's south east
coast spans 505 kilometers along the Mediterranean Sea between Menton in
Provence Alpes Maritimes, near France’s border with Italy, and Perpignan in
Languedoc Roussillon, near France’s border with north east Spain.
Ths coastal area, which can be accessed by way of
France's A7, A8 and A9 roads, travels through the area
known the Cote d'Azur – the Blue Coast
- an area renowned for it's up market holiday resorts of Nice, Cannes, St
Tropez, Marseille, Toulon and Narbonne.
The area’s A7 road also connects with the Three
Corniches Road, which is a series of three steep cliff roads covering over 30 kilometers of dramatic sea
views situated between Nice and Menton via the principality of Monaco.
The corniches go by the names of the Grand Corniche
AKA the D2564 road, the Moyenne Corniche AKA the D45 road
and the Basse Corniche AKA the N98 road, and all three run
parrallel to one another running either through or above the towns of Beaulieu,
Cap Ferrat, Cap Martin, La Turbie, Monte Carlo and Villefranche sur Mer.
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| Mont Saint Michel Image courtesy of Eric Golson, wikimedia commons |
La Route des Grands Crus (The road of fine wines) - is a 60 kilometer long tourist route which travels through France’s premier wine growing region of Bourgogne, located in the north east of the country.
The route takes in an area of limestone cliffs along
the Plateau de Langres and the Cote d’Or Escarpment, a lush, green area which
is criss-crossed by the rivers Armancon, Arroux, Ouche, Saone and Seine.
The route also takes in over thirty villages along the
way, which not only produce some of the world’s most prestigious wines but
champagne, brandy and mustard, as it makes it’s way between the historic towns
of Santaney and Dijon.
Les Route des Cretes (The road
on the crest) – is an 89 kilometer long tourist route located between the picturesque mountain settlements of Saint
Marie aux Mines and Cernay in Alsace Lorraine.
The pass, which is a heavilly forested area overlooking the River Rhine and River
Moselle valleys near France’s border with Germany, reaches an ultimate
elevation of 950 meters above sea level as it makes it’s way along the crest of
the Col du Grand Ballon, the highest peak of the Vosges Mountains of north east
France.
Les Routes des Grands Alpes
is a 740 kilometer long route located in the French Alps which links the
coastal city of Nice with the spa town and upmarket holiday resort of Evian,
located on the French side of Lake Geneva.
This route is particulalrly noted for it’s twelve high
mountain passes known as col, as it makes it’s way through the famous ski
resorts of La Grave, Saint Gervais and Val d’Isere and the medieval Alpine town
of Barcelonnette located in the Ubaye Valley.
The highest of these cols is the Col de la Bonnette at
2,802 meters above sea level.
The Pas de Peyrol, located in France's Auvergne Region, is a scenic, asphalt surfaced, mountain road located in the Cantal Mountains of the country's Massif Central. The pass leads to the peak of the now extinct Puy Mary volcano, which at 1,589 meters high makes this pass the highest in the Massif Central.
The pass has become a favourite with cyclists after having been featured several times during the country's Tour de France cycling competition.
The pass can be accessed by way of the Col de Narbonne which is located on a junction of the D680 road located between the small towns of Salers and Dienne.
During the winter months the pass is generally impassable due to snow and during the Summer months may also become impassable due to heavy rain.
The Pas de Peyrol, located in France's Auvergne Region, is a scenic, asphalt surfaced, mountain road located in the Cantal Mountains of the country's Massif Central. The pass leads to the peak of the now extinct Puy Mary volcano, which at 1,589 meters high makes this pass the highest in the Massif Central.
The pass has become a favourite with cyclists after having been featured several times during the country's Tour de France cycling competition.
The pass can be accessed by way of the Col de Narbonne which is located on a junction of the D680 road located between the small towns of Salers and Dienne.
During the winter months the pass is generally impassable due to snow and during the Summer months may also become impassable due to heavy rain.
Located along the
middle stretch of the Loire Valley of central France is an 800 square kilometer
area which has been designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site due to it’s
historic towns and abundance of chateaux (castle / palace) and it's many fruit
orchards and vine yards.
The area can be accessed by way of the A11, A71,
A85 and N142 roads, all of which either pass through or near to the
historic towns of Angers, Bourges, Chinon, Orleans, Sancerre, Saumur, Tours and
Vierzon.
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| Chateau Plessis - Bourre |
Please be aware that all of France’s autoroutes – A
roads – are toll roads. To find out the
price of the various tolls, visit - www.autoroutes.fr
The speed limit in France is 130 kilometers an hour
unless otherwise stated.
Traffic in France drives on the right hand side of the
road.
Seatbelts must be worn, by both drivers and passengers
alike, at all times.
All cars in France must now carry high visibilty
jackets, to be worn in the case of break downs.
It is illegal to use a mobile phone whilst driving in
France.
Drink driving will not be tolerated on the roads of
France, therefore owing to the country’s culture of taking wine with most
meals, please be aware of your alcohol intake.
When driving around France try and steer clear of any
of it’s major city centres, especially Paris, Nice and Marseille. All of
France’s major cities have metro systems, so drive to the suburbs and use the
city metro system to travel into town.
You can find a list of France’s city metro systems by visiting - Metro systems in northwest Europe.
You can find a list of France’s city metro systems by visiting - Metro systems in northwest Europe.
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| La Route De Cretes |
To read about the geography of France, visit - Facts about France.
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