1994, I think this is the kind of road you are talking about? It's the D16 climbing out of the Gorges du Tarn. One lane, narrow shoulders, switchbacks, no guardrail, and it's a long way to the bottom. D995 on the other side of the gorge has even more switchbacks.



And this is what it looks like:

Oh yeah !!! We have HUNDREDS of roads like that around where I currently live in the Dordogne. And these are two lane roads. Try meeting a workman's van on one of these. Joyeuse..

"4. Before you leave the rental office, be sure you know how to have the GPS speak to you in English".

Excellent advice. The car we rented from Hertz in Nice spoke only Finnish--the office didn't know how to change the language.

Hallo again all,

Holy cow, weeks just slip by. I've been meaning to say another "thanks all!" but haven't gotten around to it. I fly on Monday, so the trip is just around the corner!

Yep, kerouac, I have gotten led astray by the GPS, nothing serious, just tooling down a farm road while the bemused Austrian farmer observed. But the local paper had a photo the other day of a car driven by a 70-year-old who'd driven his BMW onto a lakeside walking path at the Wolfgangsee.... one side of the car scraped by the wooded railing, the other side of the car scraped by the cliff face. Thankfully I haven't been quite that bad.

Thanks for the suggestion, twk. I've been comparing viamichelin and google routes, and they are very similar. I am alone, and scenic routes are a waste of time, as I'll have my eyes glued to the road, the map, & the GPS

Thanks shelemm! That's reassuring. Oh, I will definitely avoid driving at night.

AnselmAdone, no, thank goodness, the roads I'm talking about are not that bad. Yeah, that does not look wonderful, lol. I've driven over mountain passes, but in Germany and Austria, with nice, wider roads. But I'll attach a photo below of what I'm talking about.

Underhill, as I mentioned above, I live in Germany, and I have some experience with changing the language on my car's GPS (every time it comes home from the shop), on my tablet, on my computer, and on my cellphone. I also used to be able to manage in French. Hopefully this won't be a problem.

Thanks again folks. You really helped to ease my anxiety.

s

We have driven a 6m long, 2.2m wide campervan on D roads throughout France. All sorts, from dual carriageways to nearly single tracks, up and down mountains, round hairpins. Drive with confidence but not overconfidence, pay attention to other traffic, and if need be where there is a passing bay, watch out for speed cameras as you enter villages - they will often be just past the name board which is also the speed limit sign. Be aware of priority in towns and villages. Understand road signs.
You get to see the real France rather than the blur from the motorways.

Thanks, hetismij2! That is reassuring! And -- those rules sound a lot like driving in Germany, where every town sign also means the speed limit is 50 kph. I understand European priority roads, European signage, and am comfortable with round-abouts.

Thanks again!

s

Oh. Here's the photo of the car stuck at the Wolfgangsee walking path ...

Yikes! When the GPS in France led me onto a bike path at least all I had to avoid were trees.