Touring in France – things you will need

The medieval village of Segur-le-Chateau with half-timbered houses and a castle at the border of Auvezere river in the Dordogne area, Correze department in France.

France is a fantastic destination for a touring caravan holiday. Open roads, the relative absence of heavy traffic, wide-open spaces, history, and cuisine, it’s all there! So much so that in a posting on the 2nd of June 2021, The Local website reported that in 2019 – the year before the Covid pandemic – some 13 million Britons visited our closest neighbour.

In this blog, we look at the need-to-know information when driving in France – and we’ll also suggest some travel ideas about where to visit on your next trip to the country.

Just how foreign is it?

Listen to the language, taste the food, and experience some of the local customs and it is likely to hit you pretty early on that France is, indeed, a foreign country – that is all part of the adventure and excitement, after all.

Inevitably, there have been some changes following Britain’s decision formally to leave the EU. But it might come as something of a relief to discover that the rules of the road and the law relating to driving whilst towing a caravan remain broadly the same as at home in the UK – though, of course, you are driving on the other side of the road!

It is imperative that you stick to any local laws and regulations when you travel – falling foul of the law could also invalidate both your motor insurance and the tourer insurance that safeguards your caravan.

What kit will you need?

When driving in France, there are certain things you need to carry on board to be legally compliant. These include:

Warning triangles

  • these must be erected in the road behind your vehicle if it has broken down and is on the hard shoulder;
  • note that even if it is off the road and on the hard shoulder, you must still erect your warning triangle behind it to indicate to other approaching drivers that a potential hazard is ahead;
  • if visibility approaching your stopped vehicle is good, the triangle must be approximately 30 metres behind it and visible to approaching vehicles though not blocking the carriageway, but if visibility is obstructed by a bend, you must place your warning triangle on the other side of the bend so that drivers know there may be an obstacle as they round the corner;

Fluorescent jackets

  • the website Drive France on the 21st of January 2022, advised that there must be a high visibility (fluorescent) vest or jacket for each member of the vehicle;
  • if your vehicle breaks down and is partly or fully off the road, passengers must exit the vehicle and stand a safe distance away from it whilst keeping well back from the road;
  • all occupants of the vehicle must don their fluorescent vests;

Evidence of insurance

  • you will need to carry with you evidence of at least third party insurance for the vehicle you are driving;
  • the police in France are typically charming but also often far less tolerant of “attitude” from people – French or foreign – than their UK counterparts, so, avoid arguing about what is the norm in the UK or whether or not what they’re asking for makes sense;
  • in a story on the 1st of July 2021, the Guardian newspaper confirmed that member countries of the EU – including France – have waived the requirement for British drivers to arrange a “green card” as proof of the required insurance cover;
  • unless you have only an old-style paper driving licence (without photo ID) you will not need an International Driving Permit (IDP);

Spare bulbs

  • you are not legally obliged to carry a spare set of bulbs for your vehicle, points out Auto Bulbs Direct (ABD), but you can be fined if you are driving with a bulb that has failed or is otherwise defective;
  • the safest course of action, therefore, is to ensure you have a spare set;

Breathalyser kits

  • after years of toing and froing about whether to enforce legislation about drivers carrying a breathalyser kit in their vehicles, the French authorities have finally decided that none is now necessary – according to a posting by Auto Express on the 3rd of December 2021;
  • beware, however, that the alcohol limit for drivers in France is lower than that in the UK.

Your driving documents

By law in France, all drivers must carry their driving licence and what is effectively their registration document, with them at all times – by contrast, of course, the general advice in the UK is not to carry your registration document with you in the car;

Random stops and checks of vehicles and paperwork are perhaps rather more commonplace in France than in the United Kingdom – so be sure you will be able to produce when requested:

  • your vehicle’s registration document;
  • its MOT certificate;
  • the certificate of insurance;
  • your driving licence – and, if you have only an old-style paper licence, an International Driving Permit (IDP), too;
  • if the vehicle or caravan is not yours, a letter from the owner authorising you to take it abroad within specified dates;
  • plus, you’ll need your passport (which should have at least six months left on it);

National identifier plate

  • beware that “GB” plates are no longer valid – since 28th of September 2021, advises the RAC, the correct national identifier is now “UK” for any vehicle registered in the United Kingdom;
  • the new national identifier can be incorporated into the vehicle’s registration plate – together with the Union Flag, if you like – but the former designation of “GB” with the gold stars of the Council of Europe is no longer valid;
  • any of these older designations need to be removed or covered and replaced by the letters “UK”.

Rules of the roads

There are additional idiosyncrasies to driving in France that might catch out the unwary – be sure that it’s not you:

Speed restrictions

Satnav speed camera alerts

  • if you have a satnav that alerts you to the presence of speed cameras, it is illegal to use it in France, and you must disable the function if you are using one;
  • the penalties are severe – you face a fine of up to €1,500 or may even have your car impounded – but most newer satnavs have the ability to have the radar facility disabled, so check with your manufacturer.

Bonus travel tips for your tour de France!

Never knowingly short-changing you with helpful tips and advice, here are some of our bonus travel tips for making the most of any “tour de France”:

Toilet paper

  • on French motorways, stopping-off picnic and rest stops (called Aires) are far more commonplace and typically more picturesque than their UK equivalents;
  • those that are formal service stations with food and other facilities will have excellent and well-maintained toilet facilities;
  • those that are simply picnic spots will have reasonable toilets and water facilities but might be unlikely to have toilet paper;

A Europe-valid bank or credit card

  • the tolls at some exits from motorways in France may be entirely unmanned and automatic;
  • before being able to leave the motorway, you will need to pay your fees and if you don’t have a card in automatic situations, then this going to cause difficulties, delays, and embarrassment;
  • check with your card provider, prior to departure, that you have adequate credit and that your card is valid for use in Europe;

Check for access with overnight stops

  • it’s not unusual to see some caravan owners trying to get their vehicle and caravan into totally inadequate hotel car parks when treating themselves to an overnight stay en-route in France;
  • remember, if you are using a hotel and not your tourer for en-route accommodation, check with your hotel in advance to make sure that it has caravan access – even some hotels specifically designed for motorway travellers may well be unsuitable;
  • also, let your tourer caravan insurer know that you won’t be staying in your caravan overnight, to ensure that full cover remains in place.

Tour de France – destination ideas

The French Riviera, the Loire Valley, Mont Blanc, Paris … there are so many places to choose from when you take a trip to France – so where will you go? Here are just a few ideas to whet your appetite for any tour de France!

Unknown France

France is a vast and beautiful country but some parts of it are rather better known than others.

If you are going on holiday to France at peak times, you may be interested in a caravan tourer route where you may be less likely to find other British caravanners:

Avranches to Ducey

  • if you disembark at one of the north-western French ports, why not take a drive towards the town of Avranches;
  • this is very close to Mont St Michel and occupies a hilltop – it has a great ruined castle to explore, some nice old buildings, a pleasant public garden and something called The Scriptorial, which is an incredible museum housing ancient Normandy documents going back over 1000 years;
  • head from there to the small village of Ducey – a nice place for lunch and you can also explore the small but charming local chateau;

Ducey to Mayenne

  • a relatively short drive will take you to the very pretty town of Mayenne;
  • this has a lovely chateau and museum on cliffs overlooking the river and you can hire a boat to explore stretches of the river through the town and into the countryside;

Mayenne to Laval

  • Laval is the departmental capital of La Mayenne in France;
  • it is a very pleasant town which offers an old quarter to explore with winding streets and ancient buildings;
  • it, too, has a chateau overlooking the river, some nice eating places and if you need some retail therapy, some reasonably good and chic shopping;

Laval to Angers

  • Angers is a very impressive town on the side of another major river and has some truly lovely streets, buildings, and a very impressive castle;
  • in the medieval period, this town was once arguably as important if not more so than Paris and this shows today in some of its layout;

Angers to Chinon

  • this route makes for a very pleasant drive through parts of the Loire Valley and the town of Chinon and surrounding villages.

Northern France

If you are touring north-western France in your caravan, there are still other less well-known places, including the following:

  1. Bagnoles sur l’Orne. This is a small spa and lakeside town amongst some very pretty cliffs and hills in the Orne department of Normandy. It has a very genteel feeling to it, some great walking and climbing opportunities, the casino where you can try your luck, and you can even hire a pedalo on the local lake;
  2. Chateau-Gontier. Sitting in another southern part of the La Mayenne department, this is a very pretty town with some impressive buildings overlooking the river. The surrounding countryside is also very attractive in a gentle way and while you are in the area you can visit the very large animal sanctuary and the local abandoned Roman town of Jublains;
  3. Redon. This is a very appealing town in eastern Brittany with some lovely old ecclesiastical architecture in the centre. Even more attractive is the fact that it is at the junction point of a large canal and river system meaning that it is a popular stopping off point for river cruisers and longboats;
  4. Jallouville and south to Avranches. Some of the beaches on the western Cotentin peninsular of Normandy are stunningly beautiful and often completely isolated. If you like quiet beaches and small towns, this area may be for you – though it is worth noting that the tide can go out a very long way here and the sea, at such times, may be almost invisible! Some care must be taken before walking across the sands when the tide is out due to quicksand and should be avoided by pedestrians and vehicles alike – unless accompanied by a local professional expert;
  5. Nantes. This is one of the largest cities in France and may not perhaps immediately have occurred to you as being a natural holiday touring spot. But it is a fascinating city with a wealth of attractions and an incredibly important chateau at the centre. Of course, roads in the centre may not be ideal for the caravan but if you are parked up somewhere in the area, the city centre is well worth a visit;
  6. Villedieu-Les-Poêles. This is a small town nestling in the Normandy countryside of France, but it is also famous as a centre of copper kitchen utensil production. It is a very pretty town in its own right but the multitude of shops selling copper items makes it even more so. While you are there, remember to visit the bell foundry in the centre of town, where they continue to make bells for churches around the world and all the bells for the ships of the French Navy.

We hope you find this blog both full of useful information and good for travel ideas in France. Bon voyage!

Further reading: Guide to caravanning in France.

Please note that this information is based on our current understanding of the laws in the UK and the country you are travelling to. Laws can change, so please always check well before travelling with the relevant authorities to make sure you are legal. We cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions in this article.