Increase in french motorway tolls

Only people with more money than sense and not enough time for a decent holiday will use autoroutes-as well as those driving huge truck types. Avoid them like the plague and see the real country and of course, save money to spend on things you like instead of things you hate.
 
teejay;n22465 said:
Only people with more money than sense and not enough time for a decent holiday will use autoroutes-as well as those driving huge truck types. Avoid them like the plague and see the real country and of course, save money to spend on things you like instead of things you hate.
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Not really.
if you want to cross France in winter, when its just cloud and fog, nothing open, nothing to see....of course you use the motorway. Its a lot quicker if you are just wanting to get from A to B. The cost isnt hideous ( and we are class 3 ) .

 
Nah. France is fantastic whatever time of year it is. It is never closed, and it is never just cloud and fog and there are always things to be seen-if you only look.(only things closed in winter are touristy stuff which is to be ignored anyway) There is not ever nothing to see and no, I do not and will not use the autoroutes. Speed is not of the essence. However, enjoyment of the country and its people/traditions/way of life etc. is and you will never ever see any of that while bumbling along the tarmac roads like a lorry driver and paying for the drudgery. I always try to plan my trips so that getting from A to B is done at a pace that we want, not dictated by the general traffic using autoroutes. If our journey has to end short of our intended destination that day, then we stop were we end up for the night and carry on the next morning. No 'schedule' to keep to, no stress. Cost of using them isn't a consideration but not using them allows spending our well earned to suit us, not a government. Sorry if I sound contradictory to others-we are all different no one right and no one wrong-just our preferences.:Smiling_Emoji_with_
 
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Use them sometimes, don't use them other times. Ideally others won't use them when I choose to, and do use them when I don't. :Slightly_Smiling_Fa
 
One cannot get off a M/Way where you want to to check out an Aire in a village where you might want to stop and if not suitable, then bumble along to the next possible Aire.

Also in winter I doubt whether many Routiers shut - best place for lunch, if you cannot picnic by a river/canal.

Vive La France.

Geoff
 
All the many many years we have been traveling around Europe we never use toll roads, our sat nave has no toll roads set in it permanently We have always found that the non toll roads are very good. and you see far more of the country you are travelling in, only one exception we made was to go across the Millau Bridge , something well worth doing at least once.
 
nicholsong;n22615 said:
One cannot get off a M/Way where you want to to check out an Aire in a village where you might want to stop and if not suitable, then bumble along to the next possible Aire.

Also in winter I doubt whether many Routiers shut - best place for lunch, if you cannot picnic by a river/canal.

Vive La France.

Geoff
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And when were you last in France in January Geoff ?
its grey and miserable. We always cross to the alps as you know and we do it as quickly as possible. Pootling across the massif in rain/fog/sleet/snow "sightseeing" is really not on. We know every single aire en route ( one of them is exceptionally pretty by a lake...I have posted photos before ) , its the only decent stopping spot in about 300km.
last Saturday we were with friends near Montpellier. Saturday night. Without actually going into Montpellier itself, we found restaurant after restaurant after restaurant that was firmly shut. Including routiers. They all say it happens everywhere. McDonalds drive ins......
 
'Mabel' you pop up everywhere.

My post was mainly about prefernce for not using M/Ways and being able to stop where one wants, Boulangeries/Patisseries, Markets etc. Basia and tarts go together - Ooooh missus!

The aside about Routiers was about those on/near truck routes, which of course would shut on a Sat afternoon till Monday, because of the Sunday truck restrictions. I only said I 'would be surprised if'. But do they not open in the week for the truckers?

I can understand the C. Massif being grim in Jan - we even ran into mist/fog when we left you one time, but in October.

Geoff

 
Many routiers have closed completely. Once the owner passes away, no one wants to take them on.
Both of them near us closed a few years ago. One was excellent, good parking outside etc etc, Now they have to use the supermarket resto, or the bar/ tabac resto both of which are closed in the evening, and have limited parking for trucks.
this happens everywhere, so the truckers make alternative plans and the routiers slowly dwindle.
The out of town ZI/ZA is slowly taking its toll on traditional France ...full of McDos etc. And the truckers get younger, more foreign and probably prefer it, quelle
Horreur.

whether you drive on motorways or not, you will stuggle to find decent food outside of a big town in the evening in winter, regardless of what day of the week it is.
thats what I mean by things being shut, not tourist attractions, cos I am not a tourist !
 
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