DeborahAnn

I'm doing research of an upcoming trip to France The Rough Guide to France says that no one who values their life, limb or sanity should be on the road during the last weekend of July, August and least of all the weekend of August 15. Of course that is exactly when we will be traveling.

How bad can things be? Any suggestions to make the most of our travels and save life, limb and sanity. It's the sanity I'm concerned about; I've got a strong sense of self preservation for my life and limbs. Deborah

LoveItaly

And why is that DeborahAnn? Is that when the French start their vacations and consequently the roads are very congested with auto traffic?

DeborahAnn

Loveitaly, that is exactly what I am wondering.

This books creates a very alarming picture like walking a kilometer in Paris trying to find an open boulangerie.

It says the seaside is the worst, but mountains and the Dordogne are not far behind. Guess where we will be-- the seaside for a wedding weekend and mountains because we want to go to the Alps.

How bad can things be? I'm curious. Thanks for any experiences, stories people have had during a French holiday period. Deborah

arbegold

WE LIVED IN FRANCE FOR 5 YEARS....HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A 10 HOUR TRAFFIC JAM?
EVERY FRENCH FAMILY WHO CAN GO ON VACATION DOES. EVEN MANY RESTAURANTS IN PARIS CLOSE DESPITE THE TOURISTS.
THE 15TH OF AUGUST THE ITALIANS JOIN THE TRAFFIC. HALF OF ITALY IS ON VACATION 1-15 AUG. THE OTHER HALF 15-31 AUG. EVERYONE'S ON THE ROAD 15 AUG.

CotswoldScouser

Do you understand why the RG specifies Aug 15?

It's not actually the busiest period in any direction: the end of July is worse in the 'depart' direction and the end of August worse in the 'retour' direction. Aug 15 is when it's bad but not utterly awful in both directions.

We still use our hard copy Bison Fute map to avoid the worst jams. I strongly recommend you plan now to take the very long, non-motorway, detours round Paris and Lyons anyway: they can take forever, but the driving's blissful. Go through everything on the bison fute site (www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr), including the calendrier, which gives risks by region. Familarise yourself with how the RDS system works on your car radio (including how to disable the damn thing). The biggest problem is the unpredictability of everything, and the RDS thingy helps a lot.

These days, the mass carnage on the N6 that used to be an annual ritual is no more. But the main autoroutes (especially the Britain/Benelux/Germany - Rhone Valley - Midi route) can seize up for hours without warning. Or not.

The service areas, BTW, are at their worst those weekends, with endless queues of dispirited Dutch children being fleeced for dreadful chips. Try to stock up on food and drink before setting off, and get a powered Eski if you can. I've known the service areas run out of chilled drinks, and I'd imagine that what can be a mild nuisance for sane adults can drive a carful of dehydrated, overheated children close to berserk.

Huitres

August 15 is a holiday in both France and Italy. In France, it is Napoleon's birthday and also a feast day (same as in Italy). It's more of a big celebration and banks, etc are closed. It's also the month for travel and vacation for both the French and Italians so they are all getting out of town on vacation.

Overall, it is not as unbearable as 'The Rough Guide' is portraying it. I've been in both France and Italy during that time (actually in Corsica - Napoleon's birthplace - on Aug 15 and it was just one big fete with fireworks, etc) and other than things being closed, I have not found it to be a big inconvenience. If you are unsure of that specific day, don't drive but take public transport if need be!

CotswoldScouser

PS: Reading your summary of RG. If you've repeated it accurately, RG's wrong.

Yes, a lot's closed in Paris, but no-one starves and you're not there anyway. Most sea and mountain resorts are full every weekend from the end of July to the end of August: there's no room for anyone else, so all 4 or 5 weekends are about as bad. Several tens of millions of Frenchpeople survive it all perfectly happily. If the RG really does go on about life, limb and sanity, it's been taken over by a bunch of drama queens and you should dump it for a guide that hasn't gone mad.

Some resorts are awful, and road access to them even worse: getting into St Tropez by land is impossible, and it's tough to find a mooring if you try sailing in. But most people on this board would avoid such trashy dumps anyway. Just keep away from places the crowds are likely to swamp: there's an awful lot of France for the rest of us.

DeborahAnn

cotswold yes it does use those very words, I didn't even try to paraphrase to avoid plagiarism. And I must say Arbegold shouting at me scared me as much as what I read in the RG

I shall gather up all the words of wisdom and plan our best way through the throngs. Unfortunately because of the wedding we don't have as much flexibility. We will take the train for the long distances but will take your suggestions to meander from the Camargue to the Alps.

This is the trip I have/had planned to visit Annecy, Briancon, Lyon, Nimes and always Paris. Just trying to figure out how to make the most of it. Thanks for any suggestions. Deborah

cigalechanta

Don't fret, We have been to all the places you mention in August. Going again later part of August and never had problems.

DeborahAnn

thank you cigalechanta, that is exactly what I was hoping to hear. You can't find that kind of information in a guide book. Deborah

hopscotch

August 15 is actualy a Tuesday. But because it is a holiday in France many people will have taken Monday off as a bridge day. Since it will be one of the hottest weeks of the year the French will descend on le Mer like locusts on the fields. I would get a comfortable hotel in Dijon and ride it out.

DeborahAnn

hopscotch, my plan right now is to be in Annecy from the 12th departing on the 15th for Lyon. Hopefully this still makes sense in light of the heavy travel weekend. I am also hoping Annecy is an ok place to "ride out" the holiday weekend. I suspect we are going to part of a rolling mass of tourists, however. I was wondering why many of the car rental places at train stations were closed on Tuesday, August 15th. Now I know why thanks for the suggestion, Deborah

kerouac

Napoleon's birthday? I'm sure that most of the French don't know that, because nothing about Napoleon is celebrated outside of Corsica.
In any case, travel habits have changed dramatically in recent years (due to lots of extra compensatory time that most people get from not actually respecting the 35-hour work week law -- I get 11 extra days off because I work 37 hours a week). The traffic experts get it wrong more and more often, because people take shorter vacations, leave on a whim, come back early and do something else, and make vacation plans the night before by watching the weather report. The old France of August deserts and/or havoc is gone forever.
Nevertheless, there are more people on vacation from 15 July to 15 August than any other time of the year. Oh, and then there are the other Europeans, more anchored in their ways.

Michael

You are adding those who have to work in August to those who have August off. That's why you should stay off the roads on that weekend. It is jokingly said that you could picnic in the middle of the Boule Mich' that Sunday without being run over by a car. The last weekend in August is <i>la rentr&eacute;e</i>, with everyone going home. I got a taste of it a couple of years ago going from Annecy to Paris on the last weekend of July but staying on the more eastern <i>autoroute</i> passing by Langres. The road was bumper-to-bumper Dutch trailers going home, at least on the right lane. So if you travel that weekend, go away from Paris.

DeborahAnn

Thanks all, during the July-August vacation weekends it sounds like it can be a mess. Is it like driving the peak travel hours of Memorial and Labor Day weekends in the US? That is something we always try to avoid.

I've had the idea of visiting the Alps and Savoie region in my head since Julien announced his engagement last year, knowing we would be in the thick of things in Stes. Maries de la Mer the first weekend in August but I never thought we might be moving with constant congestion.

We have already visiting the departments in central and southern France so I'm trying to take us someplace new to us. We always try to travel in the off or shoulder season so this will be a different &quot;trip of a lifetime&quot; Thans for your help. Forewarned is forearmed, I hope Deborah

kerouac

The local TV news will tell you where congestion is expected on Friday evenings/Saturday mornings/Sunday evenings -- usually in just one but sometimes both directions, and if you take the autoroutes, the autoroute radio station 107.7 gives traffic reports constantly, including in English.

DeborahAnn

kerouac, thank you, I would not have thought to look for that on the radio. Deborah

alanRow

Isn't the period around the 15th &quot;le big changeover&quot; as folk who started holidaying at the start of August return home &amp; the folk who are about to start holidaying set off - ie 2 lots of people using the French road system

TPaxe

The 15th August is Assumption Day so it's a religious holiday in both France and Italy. Falling on a Tuesday, people make it a long weekend or they start the summer holidays.

You can still holiday in these countries, but it may be a different feeling to other times of the year.

Alec

Worst congestion around August 15 will be on North-South autoroutes. Travelling West-East, you avoid the worst of jams, though you'll have to use a fair bit of non-autorotes N or D roads (usually pretty free of traffic). On Sundays the French ban non-local trucks from autoroutes.
One think you must do is to book your accommodation well in advance. Many roadside motels that dot around France will be fully booked if you turn up on spec - you can book most of them online with a credit card. A few years ago I turned up at August 15 weekend without booking, and it took me 5 hours to find a room, and this after waiting for a cancellation.