Southern France via Paris - avoid?
Discussion
For folks here who drive to/from the UK (via Calais mostly) - do you ever go via Paris as suggested by Waze/google etc?
Firstly I am wondering about whether it would be playing traffic jam roulette and secondly, presumably a Crit'Air sticker is required just to drive through on the Peripherique?
I have always steered clear, going either Rouen and Le Mans/Chartres, or Reims/Troyes depending on where I'm heading.
Would a mid-August weekend be fairly quiet? I assume that early and late August would not be (Parisiens heading on holiday, then returning from holiday).
Firstly I am wondering about whether it would be playing traffic jam roulette and secondly, presumably a Crit'Air sticker is required just to drive through on the Peripherique?
I have always steered clear, going either Rouen and Le Mans/Chartres, or Reims/Troyes depending on where I'm heading.
Would a mid-August weekend be fairly quiet? I assume that early and late August would not be (Parisiens heading on holiday, then returning from holiday).
No weekend in August will be quiet. This is a good resource and mostly translated https://www.bison-fute.gouv.fr/index,langen.html. I'm not sure about the Crit'air for the perif but I would think that you could take some of the other outer motorways that would avoid it mostly. I would think generally better to avoid Paris unless you want to actually pause there and visit something
We've done both Le Mans route (from Caen) and also Paris. Paris wasn't as bad as we thought but maybe we were lucky. We have a Crit Air sticker for Peripherique - not sure if you actually need it as not going into centre but better to be safe than sorry.
We are doing the Paris route on 1st August. Calais to Compiegne overnight then from Compiegne to Argeles Sur Mer the following day.
We are doing the Paris route on 1st August. Calais to Compiegne overnight then from Compiegne to Argeles Sur Mer the following day.
Edited by Ben Jk on Friday 3rd July 17:02
I'd defo give that the swerve.
We've always gone the Rouen / Evreux / Chartres A75 route except the one time I absentmindedly just followed the t
t nav via Paris.
Big mistake lost several hours sat in nose to tail traffic around Paris, pretty stressful after having already driven 500 miles & being in a 9.1mtr motorhome at rush hour......
We've always gone the Rouen / Evreux / Chartres A75 route except the one time I absentmindedly just followed the t
t nav via Paris. Big mistake lost several hours sat in nose to tail traffic around Paris, pretty stressful after having already driven 500 miles & being in a 9.1mtr motorhome at rush hour......
zbc said:
No weekend in August will be quiet. This is a good resource and mostly translated https://www.bison-fute.gouv.fr/index,langen.html. I'm not sure about the Crit'air for the perif but I would think that you could take some of the other outer motorways that would avoid it mostly. I would think generally better to avoid Paris unless you want to actually pause there and visit something
Good to know, thanks. We would be hitting Paris mid-morning on a Saturday so it feels like a lottery whether the traffic will be reasonable.I think I'll avoid and go Rouen etc. If some other friends decide to go through Paris I'll leave the stress and/or time saving to them.
We drove to the Alps for half-term week in February and the traffic became horrendous from around the point that we would have been meeting up with the traffic from Paris (and Lyon). Google maps had still suggested that via Paris was faster than Reims/Troyes!
dsl2 said:
I'd defo give that the swerve.
We've always gone the Rouen / Evreux / Chartres A75 route except the one time I absentmindedly just followed the tt nav via Paris.
Big mistake lost several hours sat in nose to tail traffic around Paris, pretty stressful after having already driven 500 miles & being in a 9.1mtr motorhome at rush hour......
+1We've always gone the Rouen / Evreux / Chartres A75 route except the one time I absentmindedly just followed the t
t nav via Paris. Big mistake lost several hours sat in nose to tail traffic around Paris, pretty stressful after having already driven 500 miles & being in a 9.1mtr motorhome at rush hour......
It’s fine to go through Paris, but just pick your time carefully. Waze makes it pretty simply these days, I’ve never had a clue whereabouts in
Paris I am, but I usually keep on moving. People drive fast on the ring road, and the scooter drivers in suits seem almost suicidal, but it generally seems to work.
Paris I am, but I usually keep on moving. People drive fast on the ring road, and the scooter drivers in suits seem almost suicidal, but it generally seems to work.
braddo said:
What sort of times have you travelled through there?
If I'm doing the trip in one day, I'll arrive there around lunchtime. It's busy but it does keep moving. One other tip if you're using the Autoroutes in France, is to get a tag for your windscreen that means you can go straight through the tolls without queuing and picking up a ticket / paying by credit card.
Ben Jk said:
We go to France every year and I have considered these tags a few times. Where from and can you use any lane or only specific tag lanes?
https://www.emovis-tag.co.ukUsually the far left barriers are the 'telepeage' ones... drive through at walking pace, no queues and same price.
Another +1 for the Rouen/Evreux/Chartres route, we overnighted in Limoges.
Coming back we went via Le Mans for our overnight, a bit slow around Toulouse, but clear the rest of the way, other than an accident just outside Poitiers, so we used that as our dinner stop and waited it out.
The Emovis tag is an absolute must have in my opinion. Saved so much time and potential hassle.
Coming back we went via Le Mans for our overnight, a bit slow around Toulouse, but clear the rest of the way, other than an accident just outside Poitiers, so we used that as our dinner stop and waited it out.
The Emovis tag is an absolute must have in my opinion. Saved so much time and potential hassle.
NDA said:
Ben Jk said:
We go to France every year and I have considered these tags a few times. Where from and can you use any lane or only specific tag lanes?
https://www.emovis-tag.co.ukUsually the far left barriers are the 'telepeage' ones... drive through at walking pace, no queues and same price.
Ben Jk said:
NDA said:
Ben Jk said:
We go to France every year and I have considered these tags a few times. Where from and can you use any lane or only specific tag lanes?
https://www.emovis-tag.co.ukUsually the far left barriers are the 'telepeage' ones... drive through at walking pace, no queues and same price.
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