Sat Nav in France?

Thanks for all suggestions. We've just arrived back after the most amazing holiday. We eventually borrowed a satnav from a friend and it was a real godsend. I did have words with him occasionally when he wanted to take us up what looked like cart tracks when it was quicker to use a main road. We did get to Cordes sur Ciel and Albi. Wonderful places. Also some great 'country markets' in different towns. The bridge at Millau was stunning. But best of all was just being in France, eating all our meals outside and sitting out late into the evening. The weather on our return has brought us back with a bump, but we've got some brilliant photos to remind us of our French idyll. Will have to plot and plan to return next year!!!

Note that you must turn off the app that warns of speed cameras. Using it is illegal in France, I think.

Also go to Cordes sur Ciel - not far from Albi - but park at the bottom and walk up - its amazing. Just noticed, your already here! So all this is probably too late!

Just make sure you have the complete map amd not just the main roads, the first time we only downloaded the main roads and we ran out of map. But otherwise it works well.

Rosiebee I live in France and we have built in satnav in our main car. We find it useful for getting around big towns, i.e. finding the route to the hotel/beach/station etc. But I prefer to use one of the big map books for travelling from A to B. Thats if I'm navigating of course (I love navigating by the way) You can buy the map books in any large shop, supermarket or newsagent ('Presse') they cost about 10 euros. You can then plan your trip before you set off from the cottage.
The thing to remember is that the road signage is very explicit - if you can't see a sign for the place you want to visit, follow 'autres directions' or 'toutes directions' - eventually you will see a sign for your destination.
The breathalyser kits which became law today can be bought at chemists, supermarkets - you need two. They are not expensive. There is going to be a level of tolerance regarding them until the 1st November, so if you haven't got any, just indicate your Englishness and the gendarmes will probably let you off. "Je ne comprend pas" usually works wonders!
Hope you have a lovely time and I agree, do go to Albi - the cathedral is mind blowing and the Toulouse Lautrec museum is not to be missed. There's a restaurant nearby called Lautrecs which is very nice.

We travel by motorbike to lots of countries , there are new regulations in France & other countries so check on the RAC website , 1 you have deactivate the speed camera warning on your satnav there are others so would be useful to check even if you're in a hire car

I know someone who had a French SatNav and used it in the UK. It thought the M in M1, M25 etc stood for Monsieur. So "prenez Monsieur vingt-cinq a Guildford" etc

We bought a Garmin sat nav and it was very useful in France and our little jaunt over the border to Spain. It stopped any arguments as to whether we were heading in the right direction. Sat navs mean a lot less work for the navigator and gives the driver information well in advance. In France we switched from English to French speaking because the pronunciation of the french road names had us in stitches and could not be understood.

Rosiebee I hope you enjoy your stay in the French cottage. By and large there is very much less traffic in this part of France than in the UK. Yes the sign posts can be misleading. Enjoy the small roads with the help of GPS. Bonne route.

Just been looking at buying the Sat Nav - scary. So many to choose from and not cheap. Don't know if I'm just being mean.
Can anyone recommend a brand or a supplier? I'm not sure that we'd get much use out of one in the UK and so I'm also wondering about hiring one, as this may be a one-off trip. Has anyone ever hired one? I found a quote of £58 for 16 days from a UK firm. It has all the up to date maps of France, is delivered to your door and you just pop it back in the post when you've finished with it. Any thoughts really appreciated.
Merci, Rosie.

The essentials will probably be supplied, but it is worth checking with the rental company.

Well you've all convinced me to beg, borrow or buy a Sat Nav. However I am a bit concerned about the list of things that are compulsory to have in the car. We're hiring the car through Jet2.com at the airport. Does anyone know if the car will come with the high visablity gilets etc that Greatnan has written about, also the breath test kit? I don't want to be having to pay out for them at the carhire place where you are a sitting duck for expensive 'essentials'. I'm sure we could pick up the gilets and warning triangles cheaper over here.
Thanks again. I think the massively unwieldy map will be staying at home although the road atlas will be coming, just to plan routes and I just love looking at maps anyway.
Rosie

We too have used our Sat Nav in France and it has always worked well except once in pouring rain I disagreed with DH about the route (We were checking with a map too).
Well to my horror I found myself driving into Paris, the Sacré Coeur over on the right and coming onto a six lane highway.....I carried on until I found a place to swap drivers and he got us out eventually on the west side, the air was very 'bleu'!
Happy hols Rosiebee

Don't forget the high visibility gilets and spare bulbs/fuses and headlight deflectors and warning triangles! The breathalyser law does not come in until July, I think. I hope so because I haven't got one yet. And the drink driving limit is very much lower in France - in fact, I don't drink at all when I am driving. (Although you will see gendarmes knocking back wine in most bars at lunchtime!)

That's handy to know tanith

I was just reading an article that its illegal to have the speed camera alerts turned on in France on a sat nav advising people to make sure its turned off also you now have to carry a breath test kit in France..

Android smartphones also have satnav apps for France and pretty well anywhere else. I used mine to navigate around London, country mouse that I am!

NevFree does a free app for iphones for France. I have one for the UK and ROI and it's every bit as good as the TomTom. but cost nothing.

My sister, who lives in France, has a satnav app on her iphone. She loves it. It 'talks' to her as she is blind, and helps her find her way places.

Yes, Yes, yes to the sat nav. We found it a godsend when we went to stay with DD1 in France last year. She is in a small village in the middle of nowhere and it took us there without a hitch. We would never have found it just using the map - even tho' we had 3 just in case!!! . DH is not a great lover of 'new fangled gadgets' and has 'managed with maps all of his life', etc. etc. etc.

If you like art, do visit the Toulouse Lautrec museum in Albi - it is fascinating.
The Citadel of Carcassonne (where they shot 'Robin, Price of Thieves') gets very crowded on bank holidays and weekends. It is worth seeing, but is a bit tacky, full of souvenir shops and restaurants, which are much more expensive than those in the town itself. Fanjeaux and Castres are lovely, and Mirepoix is a must.
I switch from left to right hand driving several times a year, and as long as you are driving the appropriate car it really is automatic. The danger time is leaving petrol stations or car parks. Don't forget that many of the minor roads still operate under 'priorite au droit' and some old French drivers still drive straight out into a main road without a pause.

I hope you give us some photos and a travelogue!

Just be aware of "priorite a droite". If you see a road sign like a St Andrew's cross then you need to prepare to give way to the right, even though you are on the main road. This is also the rule in towns and villages, but some junctions will be give way or stop as in the UK. The big main roads don't normally have it, but country roads do. The lack of traffic is wonderful compared with the UK, but some people drive as if they never expect to meet another car!

The only problem I find after driving in France is when I dock in England Is remembering which side of the road I should be driving on don't seem to have a problem in France.

Yes we use the SATNAV when travelling in France, and so far it has never let us down. It details all the tiniest of roads and lanes. You need to get one that will cover Europe in detail though ours is a TOM TOM I think!

Short answer - YES!

I live in France, and the signs, well - enough said! Get that Sat. Nav. and you will have a stress free driving holiday.