{"id":98902119,"date":"2019-08-21T16:48:48","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T20:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/?p=98902119"},"modified":"2025-04-21T13:10:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T17:10:05","slug":"tips-for-successfully-driving-through-the-south-of-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/tips-for-successfully-driving-through-the-south-of-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonne Route! Tips for Successfully Driving Through the South of France"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are few places in the world more beautiful or captivating than the south of France.\u00a0Driving in France (for at least a week) is a great way to experience the splendor of the French countryside, medieval villages, and coastal cities. Here are four tips to make your southern French\u00a0adventure\u00a0magnifique<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Rent a car in a major city<\/h2>\n

\"CarAfter you’ve disembarked your airline flights<\/a> to France, it’s time to make your way to one of the major cities in the South of France, where most car rental<\/a> spots are located. Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice, or Marseilles are easily accessible by train. If you feel more comfortable renting from an American company, many major\u00a0American rental companies do operate in France.<\/p>\n

Make sure to bring your driver\u2019s license, passport, and insurance information. Speaking of insurance, it\u2019s a good idea to check with your carrier to make sure you are covered internationally. If you\u2019re not, additional insurance will be available to purchase at the rental desk. Drivers in France drive on the right side of the road (like in the U.S.), so you won\u2019t experience too much culture shock there.<\/p>\n

Learn some road trip French<\/h2>\n

\"FrenchThanks to GPS, driving in France, and\u00a0in particular\u00a0navigating through the south of France, is quite easy. However, it\u2019s not a bad idea to have some \u201croad trip French\u201d in your back pocket in case you need to stop for directions in a small town where English is less commonly spoken.<\/p>\n

Conversation starters like bonjour<\/em>\u00a0(hello) and excusez-moi<\/em> (excuse me) are helpful, as is basic direction vocabulary<\/a>. It will also be important to familiarize yourself with French road signs and transportation-specific vocabulary<\/a>. A reminder that road signs and speed limits will all be in kilometers. One kilometer is approximately 0.6 miles, for reference.<\/p>\n

Sketch out an itinerary<\/h2>\n

\"SouthThere’s so much to see when driving\u00a0through the south of France, so sketch out a basic itinerary so you know where you\u2019re headed each day and where you\u2019ll stay each night. Top\u00a0places to visit in the south include the perfumeries of Grasse, the glitz and glamor of the French Riviera, the medieval walled village of Carcassone, and the Ch\u00e2teau d\u2019If fortress on the coast of Marseilles. Read up on these sites and others, and then decide what your priority\u00a0stops will be for your road trip. This will help you plan a route and book accommodations along the way.<\/p>\n

Take time to stop and smell the lavender<\/h2>\n

\"LavenderSouthern France is known for its lavender fields, so taking time to stop and smell the lavender is both literal and figurative. The best part of\u00a0driving through\u00a0the south of France is the opportunity to stumble upon new and interesting sights on your way to your daily destination. Don\u2019t remain too committed to your schedule that you forget to slow down and enjoy the journey. Sip an afternoon cappuccino in a caf\u00e9 in St. Tropez, hike Cap Ferrat, tour a vineyard in Languedoc-Roussillon, or stroll an open-air market in Aix-en-Provence. You\u2019re sure to remember these moments for years to come!<\/p>\n

Have you taken a road trip through the south of France? What other\u00a0road trip tips would you add to this list?<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are few places in the world more beautiful or captivating than the south of France.\u00a0Driving in France (for at least a week) is a great way to experience the splendor of the French countryside, medieval villages, and coastal cities. Here are four tips to make your southern French\u00a0adventure\u00a0magnifique! Rent a car in a major […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":98923995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98902119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-travel-tips-intel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98902119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98902119"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98902119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98924001,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98902119\/revisions\/98924001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98923995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98902119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98902119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98902119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}