Getting Along in France

 

If you’re traveling in France, you can go by train, plane, automobile or ox cart. Trains to major cities are in the network of their high-speed TGV and will get you a comfortable ride quickly to the center of town.  Buy your tickets ahead of time (even from the US) and take advantage of discounted hours and senior discounts.

 

Plane fares can be cheap with a variety of discount carriers and national companies. You’ll want to book direct flights as the connections can take an entire day of travel, especially for the discount airlines. Carry-on luggage requires smaller bags than the US; checking your bags can add to your costs – with the discounters making their profits on bag charges and seat assignments.

 

Driving is the most practical if you want to go many out of the way places, but drop off your rental before going to Paris or other big cities.  You do not want to drive and park a car in metropolitan France. If you visit mid and smaller cities, many require a disc for parking. For street parking you’ll see a rectangular sign with a P and a disc underneath.  You’ll need to go to a “Tabac” and buy a cardboard parking disc that shows hours, which you rotate to show the time you arrived and you leave it on your dashboard. They don’t care if you’re a tourist and don’t know – your rental car company will charge you the cost of the parking ticket plus a service charge for non-compliance.

 

As mentioned, autoroutes or “peages” (tollways) are a network mostly between major cities. Everywhere else you have Routes Nationals, with 2 lanes and an occasional 3^rd lane for passing. Beyond that are country roads with the luxury of a middle line, and rural roads which have no lines because they are 1 3/5 car widths wide. Speed limit on rural roads is 50 mph with many blind curves.  Locals know the roads and like to drive 60 mph+; they will flash lights and honk to get you to pull over if you go less than 50 as I mostly do; you have to run your right-side wheels off the road when another car approaches. In bad weather or fog (even on clear days) it is white knuckle driving while playing chicken with every car which comes at you.

 

Be wary of posted speed limits.  The signs show a change of speed limit all the time for no apparent reason other than to catch you on the speed check cameras Once again, your rental car company will forward your speeding ticket along with a service charge linked to your credit card.  Smile as the cameras flash while Uncle Macron picks your pocket.

 

Of course, everyone comes to France to pig out, which is easy to do. Even in modest cafes and bistros you will find tasty food at good value, but surely the top restaurants will spoil you at reasonable prices. Wine is plentiful and wonderful, even at restaurants you won’t break the budget.  Look for the “menu” as they have several choices for each of three or four courses.

 

There are plenty of choices for accommodations at all price ranges from Airbnb to BnB’s, gites and hotels. I skip the hotel breakfasts and sit outside in the cafes with a cappuccino and sweet something picked up at a boulangerie. Stay as long as you want on one cup of coffee, eat your croissant and watch the world go by.

 

I had to go to the Doctor when I got an awful flu in Cambo-les-Bains.  My friends helped me to get a same day appointment at the office down the street.  You go in and sit in the lobby – no receptionist – and wait for the doctor to come out to call you.  There is an app called “Doctolib” which you can toggle to English to help you get an appointment and they can point you to a doctor who speaks English – but you’ll have little choice.  My consultation with the doctor (who also collects the money in cash or credit card) cost 26.50 Euros. Everywhere in France the fee is 26.50 Euros (reimbursable through insurance); they recently raised the price from 25 Euros and everyone went ballistic.  My total uninsured cost for the doctor and three prescriptions was under $50.