Buy what I really love about the french road system is the “D” highway system that goes everywhere the autoroute does not. These roads, usually through beautiful scenery and often windey are really fun to drive. The french “rond-points” make sure that you almost never need to stop and the signage is pretty amazing at getting you from little town to little town without a lot of fussing over maps.
Unlike Paris, it is really helpful to have a car in southern France. The public transport is very good here but it is very time consuming to sightsee by bus and train. We agonized over the right approach to getting a car: buy a used one? overseas delivery of an Audi? lease? In the end, we decided to just do occasional rentals. The price of rentals is very low since we are here in the off-season. We can rent a car for a 3-day weekend for 70 euros. This includes insurance of course. So we just rent a car every other weekend. Its kind of a hassle to learn a new car every other weekend but its also kind of fun to experience so many european cars.
The cars are, of course, quite different here. The size of the average french street makes it completely impractical to drive U.S. size cars here. Even the U.S. manufacturers produce different cars in this market. I’ve rented a Ford and a Chevy here that I have never seen in the U.S. Japanese cars are rarely seen here. It’s kind of amazing. The argument is that you can’t get service for them. Still? I remember a similiar attitude in the U.S....about 25 years ago. Am I in a timewarp? Why haven’t the Japanese been more successful in creating a service infrastructure here? Most of the cars on the road are Renault and Peugeot-Citroen. French chauvinism?
The car itself is not a revered thing in France. Probably a good thing as they are ALL beat-up. When I rent a car it is always necessary to do a little inventory of the scratches and bumps. In the U.S. this is mostly the rental company proving to you that nothing is wrong. In France this is to make sure both parties agree to all of the previous dents. One car I rented had FIVE dents in various places. And no wonder: there simply isn’t enough room in the little villages to drive. It’s like playing bumper cars. I’m really glad I did NOT buy the Audi over here. I can’t imagine how I would have been able to keep it in good shape before bringing it home.
This week we visited Saint-Tropez. The city on the mediterannean is located on the southern edge of le Massif des Maures. Saint-Tropez was just so-so. However on the way there, by absolute luck (I missed a turn), we happened upon the most beautiful mountain road I have ever been on. For a hour+ we went up and down a tiny, forrested, winding path through the Massif des Maures from north to south. It was spectacular (and a little scary). Gratefully we only saw a handful of cars (I discovered the real meaning of “blind corner” on this path).
How to get there:
Start on the A57 at Gonfaron (north-northeast of Hyeres). Head south on D39 toward Collobrières. Take the D14 over to D39 and continue until you hit N98 (St. Tropez) or end on the mediteranean at Bormes-les-Mimosas.
Google maps: http://tinyurl.com/27eqfmp
