Autoroute du Soleil in August

[johnpsanderson]

Will be driving down to just south of Lyon and back in the second half of August, via Reims / Troyes/ Dijon, having not been to that area of France before. Wiki tells me that in the summer “the traffic jams can stretch for hundreds of kilometres ”!!!

Is this hyperbole, or is it particularly bad? French motorway experience up until now has been that they’re a dream compared to the UK!

[paddy1970]

Stuff of nightmares...

As a rule of thumb: Avoid travelling on Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday.

Below is a detailed forecast (in French!) for the full year...

[johnpsanderson]

Merci beaucoup, I will peruse with Google Translate in hand… it does not look great for our trip out on 17th Aug!

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

A SatNav with traffic enabled is a major boon. We've taken some interesting routes to avoid some traffic.

[omniflow]

I would strongly suggest that you take all warnings of doom and gloom extremely seriously. If you try to travel on the wrong day it will be hell on earth. The bison fute posted previously is a good starting point, but it's very well known, so you won't be the only person using the alternative routes (mild understatement here). You're best off avoiding peak dates completely.

[AndrewCrown]

John

I'm a part time French resident... The nuance here is that the French divide themsleves into Juilletiste or Aoûtien. July or August holiday makers... August tends to be a bit busier on weekends as most factories have an August shut down.
The Bison Fute website has excellent data due to the toll gates on French autoroutes, so it it is very predictable.
If you can, travel at night. Don't go anywhere near service stations at lunch times...
15th August is a public holiday... that might be a good day to travel...
And yes... get a Tag.

Bon Voyage

[chriscoates]

If you're heading to just south of Lyon you might not hit the worst of the jams which are on the A7 from Lyon down to Orange, but you still have the issue of navigating Lyon itself - people will suggest using the A46 bypass rather than going straight through the middle but that can get just as jammed up depending on the time of day.

I drove to Nice in August 2022 and was aware of the legendary summer traffic jams so made the decision to travel south on a Sunday when HGVs are banned and most of France is closed (albeit via Grenoble and the Route Napoleon) and then back north up the A8/A7/A6 on a Thursday. I had a clear run there and back so if you can avoid weekends if at all possible you might have an easier journey.

Edited by chriscoates on Thursday 2nd May 14:17

[johnpsanderson]

Thanks all for the pointers. We have decided to travel earlier in the week, mainly travel through the night, and to break it up with a couple of nights stopover in Dijon (or nearby). Hopefully it’ll go smoothly!

[omniflow]

johnpsanderson said:

Thanks all for the pointers. We have decided to travel earlier in the week, mainly travel through the night, and to break it up with a couple of nights stopover in Dijon (or nearby). Hopefully it’ll go smoothly!

Hmmm.....

Be careful - 15th August is a Bank Holiday, and unlike in the UK it happens on that day rather than the closest Monday. What tends to happen is that people join it up to the closest weekend to make a long weekend out of the bank holiday (making the bridge).

[johnpsanderson]

And the trip is nearly upon us - after some final info if anyone can help from recent experience...

We're driving from Calais to Dijon (via Reims / Troyes): using the A26 / A4 / A26 / A5 / A31

Will i run into any 'Freeflow' peage? I think the part of the A4 that has this is further East at Metz, but don't want to get caught out...

Are there any especially good Aires, particularly with any 24hr facilities? We're travelling through the night but we might want a 2am coffee or something...

Edited by johnpsanderson on Tuesday 6th August 12:29

[paddy1970]

The route you have planned from Calais to Dijon predominantly uses traditional toll booths where you can pay with cash, credit card, or via the Telepeage system (for those with a tag).

One of the best aires to consider, especially if you are traveling through the night and need good facilities, is Aire de Reims-Champagne Sud.

[johnpsanderson]

Thanks for the info and the tip, that aire is handily about half way too so will work well!

[Boxster5]

johnpsanderson said:

And the trip is nearly upon us - after some final info if anyone can help from recent experience...

We're driving from Calais to Dijon (via Reims / Troyes): using the A26 / A4 / A26 / A5 / A31

Will i run into any 'Freeflow' peage? I think the part of the A4 that has this is further East at Metz, but don't want to get caught out...

Are there any especially good Aires, particularly with any 24hr facilities? We're travelling through the night but we might want a 2am coffee or something...

Edited by johnpsanderson on Tuesday 6th August 12:29

We were staying in Metz in July and there were horrendous roadworks on the A31 near Thionville - we’d travelled through Luxembourg hence how we ended up on that road. Traffic was nose to tail and added around an hour to our journey.
You may be OK travelling through the night.