France

Getting around

The state-owned Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF) takes care of most land transport between départements, and short-haul bus companies are either run by the département or grouped so each local company handles different destinations. In recent years domestic air travel has been partly deregulated, but local smaller carriers continue to struggle.

While the efficient train system can get you to major cities and towns, travel within rural regions on public bus services can be slow and infrequent – if not impossible. To visit rural areas and visit small towns off the major train routes, you really need your own wheels.

Boat

Canal boating

One of the most tranquil trips through France is to rent a houseboat and cruise along canals and navigable rivers, stopping at whim along the way. Changes in altitude are taken care of by a system of écluses (locks).

Boats generally accommodate from four to 12 passengers and are fully outfitted with bedding and cooking facilities. Anyone over 18 can pilot a riverboat without a special licence, but first-time skippers are given a short instruction session. The speed limit is 6km/h on canals and 10km/h on rivers.

Prices start at around €1100 a week for a small boat. Weekends (usually 55% of the weekly price) and short four- or five-night cruises are sometimes possible. Reservations are essential during holiday periods. See the Limousin, the Dordogne & Quercy and Burgundy chapters. The Syndicat National des Loueurs de Bateaux de Plaisance (01 44 37 04 00; Port de Javel, 75015 Paris; Javel) publishes a booklet listing rental companies.

Online rental agencies:

Barging in France (www.barginginfrance.com)

Canal Boat Holidays (www.canalboatholidays.com)

Worldwide River Cruise (www.worldwide-river-cruise.com)

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Hitching

Hitching is never entirely safe in any country in the world, and we don’t recommend it. Travellers who decide to hitch should understand that they are taking a small but potentially serious risk. Remember that it’s safer to travel in pairs and be sure to inform someone of your intended destination. Hitching is not really part of French culture, and is not recommended for women in France, even in pairs.

Hitching from city centres is pretty much hopeless: take public transport to the outskirts. It is illegal to hitch on autoroutes, but you can stand near the entrance ramps as long as you don’t block traffic. Remote rural areas are a better bet, but once you get off the routes nationales there are few vehicles. If your itinerary includes a ferry crossing, it’s worth trying to score a ride before the ferry goes, since vehicle tickets sometimes include a number of passengers free of charge. At dusk, give up and think about finding somewhere to stay.

Ride-share organisations

A number of organisations around France put people looking for rides in touch with drivers going to the same destination. Usually you pay a per-kilometre fee to the driver, as well as a flat administration fee. The best known is Paris-based Allostop (0 825 803 666; www.allostop.net in French).

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Bus & tram

Bus

For travel between regions, a train is your best bet since inter-regional bus services are limited. Buses are used quite extensively for short-distance travel within départements, especially in rural areas with relatively few train lines (eg Brittany and Normandy) – but services are often slow and few and far between.

Over the years, certain uneconomical train lines have been replaced by SNCF buses, which – unlike regional buses – are free for people with train passes.

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Car & motorcycle

Having your own wheels gives you exceptional freedom and allows you to visit more remote parts of France. Unfortunately it can be expensive and in cities parking and traffic are frequently a major headache. Motorcyclists will find France great for touring, with winding roads of good quality and lots of stunning scenery. Just make sure your wet-weather gear is up to scratch.

France (along with Belgium) has the densest highway network in Europe. There are four types of intercity roads, which have alphanumeric designations:

Autoroutes (eg A14) Multilane highways, usually with tolls (péages).

Routes Nationales (N, RN) National highways.

Routes Départementales (D) Local roads.

Routes Communales (C, V) Minor rural roads.

Information on tolls, rest areas, traffic and weather updates and more is available on www.autoroutes.fr. The websites www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.fr plot itineraries for your specified departure and arrival points.

By autoroute, the drive from Paris to Nice (about 950km; eight hours of driving) costs at least €150 in petrol and autoroute tolls. By comparison, a regular one-way, 2nd-class TGV ticket for the 5½-hour Paris–Nice run costs around €106 per person (and often much less).

Roads throughout France block up during holiday periods and long weekends.

As insurance is compulsory for all cars in France, the number of the appropriate roadside assistance company is written on the insurance papers that will be in the car or stuck to the inside of the windscreen. Rental drivers should call their rental company for assistance.

Make sure your car is fitted with winter or all-season tyres if there’s a chance you’ll be driving through snow.

Motorcycle and moped rental is popular in southern France, especially in the beach resorts, but accidents are all too common. Where relevant, details on rental options appear at the end of city and town listings. To rent a moped, scooter or motorcycle you usually have to leave a large caution (deposit), which you then forfeit – up to the value of the damage – if you cause an accident or if the bike is damaged or stolen.

Bring your own vehicle

A right-hand drive vehicle brought to France from the UK or Ireland must have deflectors affixed to the headlights to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. A motor vehicle entering a foreign country must display a sticker identifying its country of registration. In the UK information on driving in France is available from the RAC (0870 0106 382; www.rac.co.uk) and the AA (0870 6000 371; www.theaa.com).

Driving licence & documents

All drivers must carry at all times: a national ID card or passport; a valid driver’s licence (permis de conduire; most foreign licences can be used in France for up to a year); car-ownership papers, known as a carte grise (grey card); and proof of third-party (liability) insurance. An International Driving Permit (IDP) is valid for a year and can be issued by your local automobile association before you leave home.

Fuel & spare parts

Essence (petrol or gasoline), also known as carburant (fuel), costs around €1.30/L for 95 unleaded. Filling up (faire le plein) is most expensive at the rest stops along the autoroutes and cheapest at supermarkets.

Many small petrol stations close on Sunday afternoons. If you’re out in the country you may have to drive to a self-service supermarket petrol station and pay by credit card.

If your car is en panne (breaks down), you’ll have to find a garage that handles your marque (make of car). Peugeot, Renault and Citroën garages are common, but if you have a non-French car you may have trouble finding someone to service it in more remote areas.

Hire

To hire a car in France you’ll generally need to be over 21 years old and in possession of a valid driver’s licence and an international credit card. Arranging your car rental or fly/drive package before you leave home is often considerably cheaper. Major rental companies include:

ADA (0 825 169 169; www.ada.fr in French)

Avis (0 820 050 505; www.avis.com)

Budget (0 825 003 564; www.budget.com)

Easycar (UK 0906 333 333 3; www.easycar.com)

Europcar (0 825 358 358; www.europcar.com)

Hertz (0 825 342 343; www.hertz.com)

OTU Voyages (01 40 29 12 12; www.otu.fr in French) For students.

Sixt (0 820 007 498; www.sixt.fr in French)

Deals can be found on the internet, with travel agencies and through companies like Auto Europe (US 1-888-223-5555; www.autoeurope.com) in the US, and Holiday Autos (UK 0870 5300 400; www.holidayautos.co.uk) in the UK.

Note that rental cars with automatic transmission are very rare in France. You will usually need to order one well in advance, with a much smaller (and invariably costlier) range of models to choose from.

For insurance reasons, you are usually not allowed to take rental cars on ferries such as to Corsica.

All rental cars registered in France have a distinctive number on the licence plate, making them easily identifiable (including to thieves – never leave anything of value in the car, even in the boot).

Insurance

Unlimited third-party liability insurance is mandatory for all automobiles entering France, whether the owner accompanies the vehicle or not. As proof of insurance, the owner must present an international motor insurance card showing that the vehicle is insured while in France. Normally cars registered in other European countries can circulate freely in France; check with your local insurance company before you leave to make sure you are covered. If necessary a temporary insurance policy, valid for eight to 30 days, is available from the vehicle insurance department of the French Customs Office (La Douane; www.douane.gouv.fr) at the point of entry (border-crossing or seaport).

Third-party liability insurance is provided by car-rental companies, but things such as collision-damage waivers (CDW, or assurance tout risqué) vary greatly from company to company. When comparing rates, the most important thing to check is the franchise (excess/deductible), which is usually around €350 for a small car. Your credit card may cover CDW if you use it to pay for the car rental.

Purchase–repurchase plans

If you’ll need a car in Europe for 17 days to six months (one year if you’re studying or teaching in France), by far your cheapest option is to ‘purchase’ a brand-new one from Citroen (www.citroen.com), Peugeot (www.peugeot-openeurope.com) or Renault (www.eurodrive.renault.com), then at the end of your trip, ‘sell’ it back to them. In reality, you pay only for the number of days you use the vehicle. Eligibility is restricted to people who are not residents of the EU (citizens of EU countries are eligible if they live outside the EU); contact the office in your home country.

Prices include unlimited kilometres, 24-hour towing and breakdown service, and comprehensive insurance with – incredibly – no excess (deductible), so returning a damaged car is totally hassle-free. Extending your contract is possible (using a credit card), but you’ll end up paying about double the prepaid per-day rate.

Cars can be picked up in cities all over France and returned to any other purchase–repurchase centre, including other European capitals.

Road rules

Enforcement of road safety rules has been stepped up in France over the last few years. French law requires that all passengers, including those in the back seat, wear seat belts. Children weighing less than 10kg must travel in backward-facing child seats; and children weighing up to 36kg must travel in child seats in the vehicle’s rear seat. A passenger car is permitted to carry a maximum of five people. North American drivers should remember that turning right on a red light is illegal in France.

You will be fined for going 10km over the speed limit. Unless otherwise posted, a limit of 50km/h applies in all areas designated as built-up, no matter how rural they may appear. Speed limits outside built-up areas:

90km/h (80km/h if it’s raining) on undivided N and D highways

110km/h (100km/h if it’s raining) on dual carriageways (divided highways) or short sections of highway with a divider strip

130km/h (110km/h in the rain, 60km/h in icy conditions) on autoroutes

Under the priorité à droite rule, any car entering an intersection (including a T-junction) from a road on your right has the right-of-way, unless the intersection is marked ‘vous n’avez pas la priorité’ (you do not have right of way) or ‘cédez le passage’ (give way). Priorité à droite is also suspended on priority roads, which are marked by an upended yellow square with a black square in the middle.

It is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol concentration over 0.05% (0.5g per litre of blood) – the equivalent of two glasses of wine for a 75kg adult. There are periodic random breathalyser tests. Mobile phones may only be used when accompanied by a hands-free kit or speakerphone.

Motoring in Europe, published in the UK by the RAC, gives an excellent summary of road regulations in each European country, including parking rules. British drivers committing driving offences in France can receive on-the-spot fines and get penalty points added to their driving licence.

Riders of any type of two-wheeled vehicle with a motor (except motor-assisted bicycles) must wear a helmet. No special licence is required to ride a motorbike whose engine is smaller than 50cc, which is why you often find places renting scooters rated at 49.9cc.

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Train

France’s superb rail network reaches almost every part of the country. Many towns and villages not on the SNCF train and bus network are served by bus lines linking départements.

France’s most important train lines radiate from Paris like the spokes of a wheel, making train travel between provincial towns situated on spur lines infrequent and often slow. In some cases you have to transit through Paris.

Since its inauguration in the 1980s, the pride and joy of SNCF – and the French – is the world-renowned TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, www.tgv.com). Pronounced ‘teh-zheh-veh’, it literally is a ‘high-speed train’, travelling at speeds of over 300km/h (186mph).

TGV Atlantique Sud-Ouest & TGV Atlantique Ouest These link Paris’ Gare Montparnasse with western and southwestern France, including Brittany (Rennes, Quimper, Brest), Nantes, Tours, Poitiers, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Biarritz and Toulouse.

TGV Est Under construction at press time, this line will connect Paris with Strasbourg and continue to Germany, Austria and Eastern European destinations.

TGV Nord, Thalys & Eurostar These link Paris’ Gare du Nord with Arras, Lille, Calais, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne and, via the Channel Tunnel, Ashford and London Waterloo.

TGV Sud-Est & TGV Midi-Méditerranée These link Paris’ Gare de Lyon with the southeast, including Dijon, Lyon, Geneva, the Alps, Avignon, Marseille, Nice and Montpellier.

TGV lines are interconnected, making it possible to go directly from, say, Lyon to Nantes or Bordeaux to Lille, without switching trains in Paris. Stops on the link-up, which runs east and south of Paris, include Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, Massy and Disneyland Paris.

A train that is not a TGV is often referred to as a corail, a classique or a TER (train express régional).

Between major stations, passengers can rent a DVD player from €9.95.

Classes & sleeping cars

Most French trains have 1st- and 2nd-class sections. On overnight trains the 2nd-class couchette compartments have six berths, while those in 1st class have four. In addition to bed linen, you are issued a bottle of water and a little ‘welcome kit’. Some couchette compartments are reserved for women travelling alone or with children.

Many overnight trains have voitures-lits (sleeping cars), which provide private facilities, a continental breakfast and greater security. Second class holds up to three people; 1st-class compartments are somewhat larger and accommodate one or two people.

Costs

Significant discounts are available on regular train fares. Full-price fares can be very expensive (eg TGV Paris–Lyon €76.30 one way). Full-fare return (round-trip) passage costs twice as much as one-way fares. Travel in 1st class is 50% more expensive than 2nd class. Train tickets (including the TGV) are more expensive during the peak periods (commuting hours, weekends, holiday periods).

Tickets & reservations

You can buy a ticket with a credit card via the SNCF’s website and either have it sent to you by post if you have an address in France or collect it from any SNCF ticket office. Nearly every SNCF station in the country has at least one billeterie automatique (automatic ticket machine) that accepts computer-chip credit cards. Large stations often have separate ticket windows for international, grandes lignes (long-haul) and banlieue (suburban) lines, and achat à l’avance (advance purchase) and départ du jour (same-day departure).

Before boarding the train you must validate your ticket by time-stamping it in a composteur, one of those yellow posts located at the start of the platform. If you forget, find a conductor on the train so they can punch it for you to avoid being fined.

Reserving in advance (€1.50) is optional unless: you’re travelling by TGV, Eurostar or Thalys; you want a couchette (sleeping berth; €16) or a bed; or you’ll be travelling during peak holiday periods when trains may be full. Reservations can be made by telephone or via the SNCF’s website. Reservations can usually be changed before departure time by telephone.

Long-distance trains sometimes split at a station; that is, each half of the train leaves for a different destination. You should verify the destination as you board the car, or you could wind up very, very far from wherever it was you intended to go.

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Tours

Local tourist offices, museums, wineries, chateaux and private companies all over France offer a wide variety of guided tours that you arrange locally. Some tourist offices also offer tours to destinations outside of town. Guided hikes, cycling tours and other organised outdoor activities appear under Activities. Some places are difficult to visit unless you have wheels, or are much more interesting with expert commentary.

The Association of British Tour Operators to France (www.holidayfrance.org.uk) has an extensive list of UK-based companies offering trips to France.

A multitude of companies run activities-based tours, usually including accommodation, meals and transport.

ATG Oxford (www.atg-oxford.co.uk) Cycling and rambling holidays for independent travellers.

Butterfield & Robinson (www.butterfield.com) Canada-based upmarket walking and biking holidays.

CBT Tours (www.biketrip.net) Cycling tours from the USA.

Classic Bike Provence (www.classicbikeprovence.com) Motorcycling tours in Provence and beyond astride classic 1950s-‘80s bikes.

Cycling for Softies (www.cycling-for-softies.co.uk) Unescorted cycling trips through rural France.

French Travel Connection (www.frenchtravel.com.au) Australia-based themed tours including language study.

French Wine Explorers (www.wine-tours-france.com) Small-group wine tours of Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley.

Olde Ipswich Tours (www.ipswichtours.com) Specialist wine tours (USA based).

Ramblers Holidays (www.ramblersholidays.co.uk) Tours based on outdoor activities such as walking, trekking and cross-country skiing.

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Local transport

France’s cities and larger towns generally have excellent public-transport systems. City centres are small and compact – most can be visited entirely on foot.

There are underground subway systems (metros) in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille and Toulouse.

Ultramodern tramways exist in Paris, Grenoble, Nantes, Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Nancy and Bordeaux, and are being built in cities across the country. Bus systems tend to be less reliable.

Details on routes, fares, tourist passes etc, are available at tourist offices and from local bus companies.

Taxi

All large and medium-sized train stations – and many small ones – have a taxi stand out the front.

In small cities and towns, where taxi drivers are unlikely to find another fare anywhere near where they let you off, there are four kinds of per-kilometre tariffs, set locally by the préfecture. Rates are more expensive at night and on Sundays and holidays.

Travel under 20km/h (or thereabouts) is calculated by time (about €15 an hour) rather than distance. There may be a surcharge of €1 to get picked up at a train station or airport, and a small additional fee per bag or for a fourth passenger.

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Air

All of France’s major cities – as well as many minor ones – have airports, which we mention in the destination chapters. National carrier Air France (0 820 820 820; www.airfrance.com) continues to control the lion’s share of France’s long-protected domestic airline industry. British budget carrier easyJet has flights linking Paris with Marseille, Nice and Toulouse. Other European budget carriers may soon try to muscle in on France’s domestic market.

Until then, the stiffest competition in the transport price war comes from the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV), which has made travel between some cities (eg Paris and Lyon or Marseille) faster and easier by train than by air.

Any French travel agency or Air France office can make bookings for domestic flights and supply details on the complicated fare options. Outside France, Air France representatives sell tickets for many domestic flights.

You can save up to 84% if you fly during the week and buy your ticket three weeks in advance. Significant discounts are available to children, young people, families, seniors, and couples who are married or have proof of cohabitation. Special last-minute offers are posted on the Air France website every Wednesday.

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Bicycle

In general, France is a great place to cycle, thanks in part to its extensive network of secondary and tertiary roads, many of which carry relatively light traffic. One pitfall: the roads rarely have proper shoulders (verges). Many French cities have a growing network of urban and suburban pistes cyclables (bicycle paths), and in some areas (eg around Bordeaux) such paths link one town to the next. Never leave your bicycle locked up outside overnight if you want to see it or most of its parts again.

French law dictates that bicycles must have two functioning brakes, a bell, a red reflector on the back and yellow reflectors on the pedals. After sunset and when visibility is poor, cyclists must turn on a white light in front and a red one in the rear. When being overtaken by a car or lorry, cyclists are required to ride in single file.

Bicycles are not allowed on most local or intercity buses or on trams. On some regional trains you can take a bicycle free of charge. On train timetables, a bicycle symbol indicates that bicycles are allowed on particular trains. On some regional trains, bikes have to be covered and stored in the luggage van. The SNCF baggage service Sernam (0 825 845 845) will transport your bicycle door-to-door in France for €49, with bicycles delivered within 48 hours excluding Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

European Bike Express (UK 01642-713 710; www.bike-express.co.uk) transports cyclists and their bikes from the UK to places all over France.

A useful resource is the Fédération Française de Cyclisme (01 49 35 69 00; www.ffc.fr in French).

Hire & purchase

Most towns have at least one shop that hires vélos tout terrains (mountain bikes), popularly known as VTTs (around €15 to €25 a day), or cheaper touring bikes. They generally require a deposit of around €150 to €300, which you forfeit if the bike is damaged or stolen. Some cities, such as Strasbourg, have remarkably inexpensive rental agencies run by the municipality.

A VTT can be purchased from around €250. Reselling your bike at the end of your trip (for around two-thirds of its purchase price) is possible at certain bike shops and pawnbrokers. The French-language website www.velo101.com has classified ads and advice.

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