Traffic is really heavy mostly during rush hours in these roads.

The Road to Travelling Paris by Car

Driving through Paris is not a good idea because of the very impenetrable traffic during mornings and afternoons. Traffic is really heavy mostly during rush hours. You will also find a hard time parking your car especially in the areas surrounding points of touristic attention. Majority of Parisians do not own cars and the roads were designed long before cars were invented. The design of the city’s street system makes people confused and even worsens the situation. If you persevere to drive around the city, be sure you brought a guide along.

It is not recommended to drive in the Paris Metro Area. It is rather convenient driving to a suburban train station and park your car then use the train to go on with your trip all over Paris. Driving may be advisable during evenings but parking difficulties never change. Driving may be a fine alternative when visiting some sights in the suburbs such as Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau castle.

Paris has numerous beltway systems. The boulevards were named after Napoleon’s era and jointly referred to as boulevard des maréchaux. These boulevards are standard wide avenues with traffic lights and road signs. There is also freeway-style beltways located outside the boulevard; it is referred to as the boulevard périphérique. The inner lane, which is in clockwise direction, is called périphérique intérieur. The outer lane, which is on a counter-clockwise direction, is called périphérique extérieur. Remember that the périphérique is not an auto route, there is an 80 speed limit and sometimes incoming traffic has the right of way.

There are quite a few auto routes that links Paris with the rest of France. These are A1 and A3 to the north, A5 and A6 to the south, A4 to the east and A13 and A10 to the west. As usual, traffic jams are radically worse during French school break. As mentioned earlier, the multi-lane highway (Périphérique) around Paris is the most preferred route to drive through the centre. Another beltway called L’A86, still in the process of completion, circles around Paris at about 10 kilometers further out from the Périphérique. Another incomplete beltway, called N104 (La Francilienne), is much further out.

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