World City Guide

Getting There By Road

Motorways (autoroutes) bear the prefix ‘A’, national roads ‘N’ and minor roads (départementales) are classed as ‘D’ roads. Traffic drives on the right and drivers must give way to the right, unless the route is marked with 'passage protégé' signs (a broad arrow, a yellow diamond or an ‘X’ on a triangular background) or if the driver is at a roundabout indicating ‘Vous n’avez pas la priorité’. Tolls (péages) are enforced. Speed limits are 130kph (81mph) on motorways, 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways separated by a central reservation, 90kph (56mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. The minimum age for driving is 18 years. Seatbelts must be worn by all passengers (front and rear). Children under 10 may not travel in the front seat. A national driving licence, the car’s registration document and a red warning triangle must be carried at all times. All headlamp beams must be adjusted for right-side driving, by use of beam deflectors or by tilting the headlamp bulb-holder. The French police fine motorists on the spot for driving offences. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%. EU nationals taking their own cars to France are strongly advised to obtain a Green Card, without which insurance cover is limited to the minimum legal cover in France. The Green Card tops this up to the level of cover provided by the car owner’s domestic policy.

Autoroutes du Sud de la France – ASF (tel: (04) 9032 9005; website: www.asf.fr ) is responsible for the southern France motorway network and produces free maps with information in English – available at Avignon Tourist Office (see Sightseeing). The motorway network number (tel: (04) 9178 7878) provides information on traffic conditions and driving regulations in southeastern France. Information is also available from Autoroutel (tel: (08) 9270 7001). Traffic conditions are broadcast on RadioTrafic 107.7FM. Emergency telephones linked up to the police are located every two kilometres (1.2 miles) on each side of the motorway.

Emergency breakdown service: Garage CATTO (04) 9082 1611

Routes to the city: The motorways A7 (direction Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Nice and Italy) and A9 (direction Nîmes, Perpignan and Barcelona) are located seven and 10 kilometres (four and six miles) from central Avignon, north and southwest respectively.

Approximate driving times to Avignon: From Marseilles – 1 hour; Barcelona – 3 hours 45 minutes; Paris – 6 hours.

Coach services: The coach station, Gare Routière, boulevard St Roch (tel: (04) 9082 0735) serves the Vaucluse department, including Aix, l’Isle/Sorgue, Nîmes, Carpentras and Cavaillon. International services, operated by Linebus (tel: (04) 9085 3048) and Eurolines (tel: (04) 9085 2760; website: www.eurolines.com), with connections to Brussels, Morocco, London, Prague, Italy and Spain, also depart from here. The Avignon Tourist Office (see Sightseeing) can provide information on the independent companies operating from the coach station. Tickets are available for purchase from the driver.