Going to France by car

We always use a tomtom satnav with Europe on it. It has never let us down - and you can set it to show all places of interest, petrol stations, pharmacies - it's simply a case of plugging it into your computer for an evening and learning how to use it properly. If we hadn't had it in Paris we would still have been circling the Arc de Triomphe now. And would never ever have found our apartement. Because so many roads and tunnels were shut because of Paris Plage, which is something not shown on a map.

I think I will buy myself a birthday prezzie of Satnav. We go away about 5 trips each year, and though I know most areas well-favourites- we occasionally 'get lost'. And I quite like useful gadgets, so I shall zone in to a Tomtom. We have over the last 2 years availed ourselves of the cheepo hols in the newspapers. The statics are always newish and most pleasant to use as a base. Usually Cornwall, Dorset and I o W. And now we shall have a good excuse to 'do France ' for another trip.

Thanks everyone. There is so much experience out there of almost any situation that we are likely to encounter. I may have become a bit of a worrier, but I am trying to avoid that occasion where I tell myself 'I should have done that'. Must be the boy scout in me, be - prepared!After our trip, I shall PS this and let you know how it all went. My wife and sister are my 'team', so between us we shall cope and hopefully enjoy our adventure. We usually do. Regards to you all.

Do follow mamie's advice re telepeage, it saved our marriage, it was so dreadful the previous time we went about 6 years ago! They all charge different amounts. So being able to just whizz through is wonderful.

Change the way your lights dip - we remembered, just as well as the police were checking furriners' lights at a beach in the south.

baubles Your road trip sounds like a great adventure. Just avoid Turin during rush hour.

That was the Madrid ring road.
We did have people who stayed here and went everywhere by SatNav. They drove past petrol stations if they weren't shown on the screen and were amazed by Bayeux when SatNav took them past the town on the way to Mont St Michel.

We had a particularly bad experience when we were flagged down and stopped by what looked like a police car. We were very suspicious and eventually they drove off again, but it was quite scary.
And never mind deciding if we needed to take the exit for the M3/4/5 the A3/4/5 the R4 or the NI/II/III/IV, all of which have a 5m warning before the 5m slip road (to left, right or in the middle) and you can see why SatNav might help.
We have done it about 10 times now and it changes every time.

We took our sat av to USA last Nov - we have US maps too in ours - it was such a boon when we were caught in the tail end of the tornado as we were negotiating our way around Indianapolis. The rain was so heavy we could not see any directions on the overhead gantries and just had to listen and follow instructions - which turned out to be perfect. As to maps - we tried in a number of places to buy maps or an atlas while in America and no-one stocked any!! They just said that everyone used GPS. We did eventually get a map from a restaurant chain which had enough info on it for what we wanted - relative distances between places etc.

Drove down to Portugal from UK over 10 years ago and I still remember the Madrid ring roads.

We did a similar little trip last year, and it was lovely. We usually use SatNav and maps (and iPhone!) wherever we are in the world, and it works very well. Got a bit confused in the far reaches of KwaZuluNatal, though!

We thoroughly enjoyed the overnight trip, in style, from Plymouth, and Roscoff is well worth a couple of nights. (Used to live in Kent so always used the tunnel, but, while it is quick, it doesn't have much else to recommend it!)

Just concentrate, and all will be well - spoken from experience...

Well this is what OH says and up to a point, I agree. But have you ever navigated the Madrid ring roads in rush hour? Rural France is fine, but big cities are very different, imo.

I agree with FlicketyB - you can't beat maps.
Not that we've ever used satnavs while traveling to France by car.
I would rather decide for myself which route to take, rather than obey some mechanical voice.
I think the ability to read and understand maps is a mental skill which is being lost to the human race ( together with many others, eg writing letters.)
Perhaps it's just old age.

That sound great geeljay, I'm sure you'll have fun.

DH & I are also off on a road trip next month, a wee bit longer than yours though.

We are driving to Athens via Paris, Heidelberg and Salzburg then down into Croatia, Albania and into Greece. From Greece by ferry to Italy then a meander northwards taking in Pompeii, Rome, Verona, and wherever else takes our fancy.

We will definitely be in need of up to date sat nav maps for the sake of my sanity if nothing else .

We have been driving to and from our French home in Normandy and all round the area for over 20 years and find maps completely satisfactory. We can indulge the family hobby of 'That way be quicker, but this way be prettier' or 'lets go down here it looks interesting' without a problem and, as another poster said, French road signage, number and destination, is excellent and can be found on even the smallest roads.

When there were road blocks some years ago road maps got us round all the blockages onto little cross country routes and we caught the ferry on time.

I find I travel better if I can put my road journey in context, see where the road runs in relation to nearby towns, famous places and people,and the landscape and geology. Even on regular long journeys in the UK the road map is on my lap, if I am not driving and if I am, I will have studied the whole route and 20 or 30 miles each side of it before starting the journey. I am always finding items of interest that enliven my journey and keep me alert and focussed. Paradoxically I would find a journey that only consisted of instructions on the road ahead, both boring and confusing.

I think satnav is a good idea. My OH refuses to have it, so we argue our way around France and Spain and it is always my fault, (especially on the Madrid ring road).
And whoops pedantic gender alert that should have been priorité refusée.

Never heard of satnav being checked, but high vis jackets and breathalysers yes.
Priorité à droite means that in towns you give way to the right unless they have a give way or stop sign. On country roads you will see a sign like a St Andrew's cross. This means traffic from the right has priority even if you are on the bigger and faster road. Round here in Normandy it is very common and cars (and tractors) do pull out without checking the main road. In one town near here you even have it on the roundabouts.
Bizarrely you sometimes see accounts in the paper of accidents caused by priorité refusé.
You don't normally get PaD on the big main roads.

What an adventure!
Bez so right about Rouen, we never went thro the same way once until we got a satnav! Even then it seemed horribly convoluted! Satnav was also brilliant at finding our hotel in Chartres, but hopeless in Italy (rural postcodes a nightmare!)
I envy you geeljay! We have spent many happy hours driving thro France avoiding toll roads. The 'N' (Route Nationale I think) roads are so good. You make me want to do it again!
The French tourist info offices seem to follow the same pattern as ours, if you pitch up before a certain time they will find you a bed for the night (they have approved lists AND will make phonecalls to check vacancies).
Debncreme , as you know I will only drive thro Bristol with a navigator!!!!

You make such sense. Priority a droite, I assume French drivers join without looking first. Which is probably scary. I shall take the action that 'if in doubt-give way. I am not normally a timid driver, but haven't mixed it abroad for some time. I have been on so many touring sites for info, and here it all is on here! How keen are Le gendarmerie on examining the satnav to ensure speed cameras etc... are not listed? I now have my travel kit, spare bulbs etc, having acquired stuff I may never need. I will have to go back to France later in the year to justify my preperations. I dunno, what with breakdown ins, health ins, green card and other things, it has almost doubled the price of the actual holiday. Nice adventure, though, and I am sure we shall enjoy. I am trying to share more memorable experiences with my OH who had a virulent shingles illness about 3 years ago which left her with a touch of the dreaded altzeimers. She copes well, and is looking forward to the trip.

For anyone who uses the French autoroutes a lot, these automatic payment gadgets save a lot of time and effort:
https://www.saneftolling.co.uk
You can sail through the telepeage lanes and the payment is taken automatically.
Also geeljay, do check up on priorité à droite. A lot of UK registered cars seem to think it no longer exists / doesn't apply to them. We see quite a few near misses in our local town every tourist season!

Funny that this thread is in "ask a grandad"! Seems that we grannies know all about satnavs.

I hate the road signs Toutes and Autres, if one is all directions where are the others going to ?

Our first trip, in our 40's, we took the ferry and then drove to the Spanish border. No problems, proper old route maps and a pocket language guide. We were so innocent we didn't realise we had chosen the one weekend when most of France drives South. Slept in the car as everywhere was full and I remember coming out of one of a rural ladies and telling my husband the toilets had been stolen, there were just open drains. It was my first visit out of England.

Purpledaffodil that reminds me of the pre SarNav time many years ago when my sister and I got lost in the centre of Bristol. We found our way out by following the scent of the brewery.

I haven't been to the Vendée for a while but I strongly suspect that Nantes is still scattered with existentialist signs for "toutes directions" that take you nowhere except back to where you started.

Hey, thanks, and lots of great responses with useful info. Feeling more optimistic already! I do remember Nantes from way back, and must have lapped the town so many times, trying to find the way out. Looks like a tomtom is now on the agenda.