Difference between revisions of "France"
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| − | '''France''' is a member state of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]. It is a great country for hitchhiking. There are many friendly car and truck drivers. Drivers have to pay toll on highways | + | '''France''' is a member state of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]. It is usually a great country for hitchhiking. There are many friendly car and truck drivers. Drivers have to pay toll on highways (except in [[Bretagne|Brittany]]), and you can get a ride quite easily at some ''barrières de péage'' (toll stations). When hitchhiking on local roads, you might face some difficulties sometimes, though. One of the commonly known barriers for traveling in France is a language - you might wanna learn some basic phrases before you off on the road in France. |
| − | There are no prohibitions | + | There are no hitchhiking prohibitions in France, apart from the restricted access roads (''Allemagne'' (all-ay-man'ye) in French). |
| − | ''Allemagne'' (all-ay-man'ye) in French. | ||
| − | It may also be helpful to | + | It may also be helpful to write '''S.V.P.''' on your sign with a destination name - it is short for ''s'il vous plaît'' (sih-voo-play) which means ''please'' in French. |
| − | On | + | On Sundays, only trucks with frozen goods are allowed to drive. |
| − | The Michelin 726 National map of France is a good choice for | + | The ''"Michelin 726 National"'' map of France is a good choice for a hitchhiker in this country. It shows all the major ''barrières de péage'' and [[service station]]s. You can get a free map in péage offices. |
| − | == | + | == ''Autoroutes'', ''péages'' and ''barrières de péage'' == |
| − | ''' | ||
| − | + | '''Péage''' is a French word for ''[[toll road]]'' in [[France]] and other French speaking countries (not to mix with ''autoroute'' which means "motorway" in French and is not necessarily a toll road). Hitchhikers usually use this word as refering to [[toll station]]s. | |
| − | + | In France, most of the motorways are toll roads which are the fastest way to hitch across the country. There are two types of toll stations on péages. First, there are big ones where all traffic has to stop to pay a fee (or to get a ticket) - these are ''barrières de péage'' and usually they are excellent spots to get a long-distance ride. They are often located near big cities on the autoroute. Another type is a side barrier situated on all exits in the toll part of the motorway. On latter ones traffic is much smaller, therefore one can expect a longer waiting time, although sometimes congested toll stations (the first type) can be a difficult place to hitch from, too. | |
| + | |||
| + | To reach the ''barrière de péage'', you may need to walk along the highway; with a help of a proper map check if the distance needed to be walked is not too long. It is actually illegal to walk on a side lane of the highway (same is valid for some parts of national roads (''voie express'') in France); if police sees you, you will be driven somewhere safe and may be fined for ~90€. Péage toll stations are considered a part of the motorway, and legally you do not have the right to solicit rides there. You may be asked to wait in the parking area which is after each ''barrière de péage''. In practice, this is rarely enforced (maybe 5% of the time), most toll station employees simply want to make sure you're not endangering yourself or others. Having a sign with your destination (or the next city) is recommended and will distinguish you as a serious hitchhiker, and not a vagrant. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The fastest way to travel on a péage is from one ''barrière de péage'' to another. Hitchhiking options are: | ||
| + | |||
| + | * You can thumb immediately after the ''barrière de péage'' | ||
| + | * If you prefer a direct approach you can dash across the lanes one at a time until you're at a busy lane, stand next to the toll machine and talk to the drivers when they stop to pay (usually it is not allowed to hitch from the toll machines but it is generally tolerated). | ||
| + | * You can wait before the ''barrière de péage'', just where the drivers choose their lane - there is often enough of space for cars to pull over to stop for you. | ||
| − | + | Some ''barrière de péage'' are really good, some are not. If you've been waiting for a while using a destination sign, drop it and try thumbing. | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | + | While on a toll road, you can always try hitchhiking from one [[gas station]] to another, either asking drivers while they refill, or thumbing at the exit of the service area. The staff usually doesn't mind hitchhikers. | |
== [[Number plates]] == | == [[Number plates]] == | ||
| − | French number plates end with | + | French number plates end with a number of the ''département'' the car is registered in. For example, [[Paris]]ian cars end with numbers 75, 78, 91, 92, 93, 94 and 95. See Wikipedia articles on |
| − | + | [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_vehicle_registration_plates French vehicle registration plates] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_arrondissements_of_France Arrondissements of France]. New number plates are to appear in the nearest future. Those will not carry any information about the region unless car owner decides to put a ''département'' reference on it. The old plates will be still in use for a while. | |
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| − | |||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
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Image:Perpignan bridgeoveronramp.jpg|On ramp bridge near [[Perpignan]]. | Image:Perpignan bridgeoveronramp.jpg|On ramp bridge near [[Perpignan]]. | ||
Image:Spot-sharing.jpg|Sharing knowledge on spots to hitch out of Paris during the [[888]] event. | Image:Spot-sharing.jpg|Sharing knowledge on spots to hitch out of Paris during the [[888]] event. | ||
| + | Image:peage.jpg|A typical ''barrière de péage'' in France. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
| − | * [http://mappy.fr/ Mappy] is a good online map for France | + | * [http://mappy.fr/ Mappy] is a good online map service for France in case you want to know where certain public transport goes to. |
| − | * [http://www.asf.fr/shared/pdf/CarteReseau.pdf Le Réseau ASF], a PDF | + | * [http://www.asf.fr/shared/pdf/CarteReseau.pdf Le Réseau ASF], a PDF file that shows all ''barrières de péage'' on major routes in France. |
| + | {{Cities France}} | ||
| + | {{Regions France}} | ||
| + | {{Template:Europe/countries}} | ||
{{IsIn|Western Europe}} | {{IsIn|Western Europe}} | ||
| − | |||
[[Category:France| ]] | [[Category:France| ]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Western Europe]] | ||
[[es:Francia]] | [[es:Francia]] | ||
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__NOTOC__ | __NOTOC__ | ||
[[trash:France]] | [[trash:France]] | ||
| + | [[wikipedia:France]] | ||
| + | [[digi:France]] | ||
Revision as of 13:57, 24 November 2008
 France | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Language: | French |
| Capital: | Paris |
| Population: | 64,102,140 |
| Currency: | Euro (€) |
| Hitchability: |  (good)
|
| Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots | |
| <map lat='47' lng='1.5' zoom='5' view='0' height='320' country='France'/> | |
France is a member state of the European Union as well as the Schengen Agreement. It is usually a great country for hitchhiking. There are many friendly car and truck drivers. Drivers have to pay toll on highways (except in Brittany), and you can get a ride quite easily at some barrières de péage (toll stations). When hitchhiking on local roads, you might face some difficulties sometimes, though. One of the commonly known barriers for traveling in France is a language - you might wanna learn some basic phrases before you off on the road in France.
There are no hitchhiking prohibitions in France, apart from the restricted access roads (Allemagne (all-ay-man'ye) in French).
It may also be helpful to write S.V.P. on your sign with a destination name - it is short for s'il vous plaît (sih-voo-play) which means please in French.
On Sundays, only trucks with frozen goods are allowed to drive.
The "Michelin 726 National" map of France is a good choice for a hitchhiker in this country. It shows all the major barrières de péage and service stations. You can get a free map in péage offices.
Autoroutes, péages and barrières de péage
Péage is a French word for toll road in France and other French speaking countries (not to mix with autoroute which means "motorway" in French and is not necessarily a toll road). Hitchhikers usually use this word as refering to toll stations.
In France, most of the motorways are toll roads which are the fastest way to hitch across the country. There are two types of toll stations on péages. First, there are big ones where all traffic has to stop to pay a fee (or to get a ticket) - these are barrières de péage and usually they are excellent spots to get a long-distance ride. They are often located near big cities on the autoroute. Another type is a side barrier situated on all exits in the toll part of the motorway. On latter ones traffic is much smaller, therefore one can expect a longer waiting time, although sometimes congested toll stations (the first type) can be a difficult place to hitch from, too.
To reach the barrière de péage, you may need to walk along the highway; with a help of a proper map check if the distance needed to be walked is not too long. It is actually illegal to walk on a side lane of the highway (same is valid for some parts of national roads (voie express) in France); if police sees you, you will be driven somewhere safe and may be fined for ~90€. Péage toll stations are considered a part of the motorway, and legally you do not have the right to solicit rides there. You may be asked to wait in the parking area which is after each barrière de péage. In practice, this is rarely enforced (maybe 5% of the time), most toll station employees simply want to make sure you're not endangering yourself or others. Having a sign with your destination (or the next city) is recommended and will distinguish you as a serious hitchhiker, and not a vagrant.
The fastest way to travel on a péage is from one barrière de péage to another. Hitchhiking options are:
- You can thumb immediately after the barrière de péage
- If you prefer a direct approach you can dash across the lanes one at a time until you're at a busy lane, stand next to the toll machine and talk to the drivers when they stop to pay (usually it is not allowed to hitch from the toll machines but it is generally tolerated).
- You can wait before the barrière de péage, just where the drivers choose their lane - there is often enough of space for cars to pull over to stop for you.
Some barrière de péage are really good, some are not. If you've been waiting for a while using a destination sign, drop it and try thumbing.
While on a toll road, you can always try hitchhiking from one gas station to another, either asking drivers while they refill, or thumbing at the exit of the service area. The staff usually doesn't mind hitchhikers.
Number plates
French number plates end with a number of the département the car is registered in. For example, Parisian cars end with numbers 75, 78, 91, 92, 93, 94 and 95. See Wikipedia articles on French vehicle registration plates and Arrondissements of France. New number plates are to appear in the nearest future. Those will not carry any information about the region unless car owner decides to put a département reference on it. The old plates will be still in use for a while.
Derek hitching at a péage near Valence.
Cynthia hitchhiking out of Paris.
On ramp bridge near Perpignan.
Sharing knowledge on spots to hitch out of Paris during the 888 event.
A typical barrière de péage in France.
External links
- Mappy is a good online map service for France in case you want to know where certain public transport goes to.
- Le Réseau ASF, a PDF file that shows all barrières de péage on major routes in France.
> 1.000.000: Paris
200.000–1.000.000: Bordeaux • Lille • Lyon • Marseille • Montpellier • Nantes • Nice • Rennes • Strasbourg • Toulouse
100.000–200.000: Aix-en-Provence • Amiens • Angers • Besançon • Brest • Caen • Clermont-Ferrand • Dijon • Grenoble • Le Havre • Le Mans • Limoges • Metz • Mulhouse • Nancy • Nîmes • Orléans • Perpignan • Reims • Rouen • Saint-Étienne • Toulon • Tours
70.000–100.000: Ajaccio • Antibes • Avignon • Béziers • Bourges • Calais • Cannes • Dunkirk • Fort-de-France • La Rochelle • Mamoudzou • Pau • Poitiers • Roubaix • Saint-Denis (Réunion) • Saint-Nazaire • Saint-Paul • Tourcoing • Versailles
If you search cities with less than 70.000 inhabitants, have a look at the seperate Région articles. You find them at the bottom of this page.
Regions of FranceRegions: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes • Bourgogne-Franche-Comté • Bretagne • Centre-Val de Loire • Corsica • Grand Est • Hauts-de-France • Île-de-France • Nouvelle-Aquitaine • Occitanie • Normandie • Pays de la Loire • Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Overseas regions: French Guiana • Guadeloupe • Martinique • Réunion
Overseas collectivities: Saint Pierre and Miquelon • New Caledonia • French Polynesia • Wallis and Futuna • Mayotte • Saint-Martin • Saint-Barthélemy
Albania • Andorra • Austria • Belarus • Belgium • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Kosovo • Latvia • Liechtenstein • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Macedonia • Malta • Moldova • Monaco • Montenegro • Netherlands • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Russia • San Marino • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • United Kingdom • Ukraine • Vatican
