Drive in France

Any driver’s license written in Latin characters is accepted by car rental agencies for tourists – as long as it is valid.

If your license is not in Roman letters, then you will need an International driver’s license.

For instance, with a valid American, Canadian or Australian driver’s license, you do not need an international driver’s license.

Unless specified otherwise, the speed limits are :

  • 50 kms/hr in cities
  • 90 kms/hr in the countryside
  • 130 kms/hr on the highways

In miles per hour, this is about :

  • 30 miles/hr in cities
  • 55 miles/hr in the countryside
  • 80 miles/hr on the highways

Yes, car renters are obliged by the law to provide your driver’s information in case there is an infraction during the rental period.

The car renters will also charge an administration fee for about 25 to 30€ per fine.

It is in your interest to pay the fine online as soon as received to avoid any late fees.

We are sorry but highway toll pass is not available to foreign travelers in France.

You will need to pay each toll when you go through it with either coins/bills or with a credit card.

We are sorry, it is not included. We warmly recommend getting one from home and testing it before departure.

 

You will find gas available everywhere in France.

Please note that gas is much more expensive at highway resting areas, so fill-up before getting on the highway.

Gas is cheaper at supermarket stations (Leclerc, Super U, Auchan, Carrefour…) compared to traditional gas stations (Total, BP, Shell, …).

We highly recommend using the Waze phone app, which is the best at including traffic, roadwork, and navigation options.

If you are used to Google Maps or Maps, they also work well in France.

Portable GPS like Garmin will not be as updated as the above and will end up being more expensive, so we do not recommend them.

Should a GPS be built into your rental car, we still recommend using Waze as many of these systems are not fully up-to-date and do not take into account roadwork and traffic.

Go back to frequently asked questions

Our Travelers’ Reviews

Barbara & Gary
Emilie, You have created for us the most outstanding well planned vacation possible. We have thoroughly enjoyed following your suggestions each day-- each choice well selected specifically for us. And even when things didn't go perfectly-- like a flat tire on the rental car or a pilot's strike which resulted in the cancellation of our light, you …
Steve
Emilie, set up an outstanding itinerary that met all our desired needs, created a wonderful schedule with built in flexibility to handle planned and unplanned changes. Her suggestion for special sites to see and foods to sample were right on and an enhancement from the normal tourist recommendations. The attention to detail was greatly appreciated …
Lia & Grant
We had the most amazing trip to France which was so carefully curated by Laura at France Just For You. All of our interests were catered for with a fun and interesting itinerary! Laura took the time to find out where we wanted to travel in France and what we wanted to do there and made sure there were plenty of options. Everything was taken care …

Our Travelers’ Photos

The Rimlinger Family
from Australia
Came to find out about their French ancestors
Bonnie & Steve
from the US
in Provence
Jilly & Marc
from the US
in Paris
Leslie & Bill
from the US
Behing the giant clock in Orsay museum
Maureen & Victor
from the US
Visiting an Abbey in the Loire Valley
Tonia & Peter
from Canada
at the Louvre Museum in Paris
Roberta & Terry
At their B&B near Aix-en-Provence
Teri, Kennedy & Chris from the US
in Paris !
Kathy & Bill
From the US
Biking in Burgundy for a day - near Chateau de la Rochepot
Christina
from the US
in a lavender field in Provence
Marcy, Mike & their daughters
from the US
in front of Clos Vougeot in Burgundy
Sue, Steve, Janet & Denis
From the US
Enjoying a relaxing lunch

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