How to Get the Most from Car Hire in France

To see Continental Europe properly these days, it is almost essential to ensure you have a decent car hire. France is no exception.

The sunny French Riviera, the urban sprawl of Paris or the many beautiful mountain villages or towns of the Alpine region are best explored with a set of wheels. Guidebooks are full of exhortations to visit the hidden treasures of the country, and the country is large and diverse enough to make this a must. When looking for a decent company for car hire, France is very well-served, with vehicles of all kinds available from most towns, cities or airports.

The country itself boasts an excellent, well-maintained road system, with very little congestion to be found outside the major cities. With around 12,000 kilometres of excellent autoroutes – the French equivalent of the motorway – France also has a strong network of toll roads linking all of the main cities and towns in its many provinces.

When considering car hire, France has a number of basic regulations for the would-be driver. Most car hire companies will not accept drivers under the age of 21, and a driver must have a valid driving licence that has been held for at least 12 months and is written in the Latin alphabet.

While it is possible to take the vehicle into France’s neighbouring countries or to drop off your car at a different site to the one it was picked up at, there may be an additional charge levied. The best bet is to use one of the many excellent sites on the internet that calculate charges and give you a proper estimate. Many sites offer better deals than you would find via other methods and it really should be anyone’s first port of call when looking for car hire. France’s car hire companies also have a variety of different rates and regulations concerning additional drivers or young drivers – again, a good website will contain the relevant information.

Once on the road, a driver new to France will be impressed by the quality of the roads and their facilities. There are rest areas every 10 kilometres and cafés and service stations every 30 or 40 kilometres. Motels are to be found at 100 kilometre intervals or so.

Most bookshops and all service stations carry road maps, with such trusted brands as Michelin readily available. However, if you have chosen car hire,  France has many sites where sat nav can be obtained for a small charge.