A grand three-week loop from Paris through France's best-known regions: the Normandy cliffs, Mont-Saint-Michel, the Gulf of Morbihan, the Loire châteaux, the Périgord, the Cité of Carcassonne, Provence, the Verdon Gorge, Lake Annecy and the vineyards of Burgundy. It is designed for your own car, alternating toll motorways, Brittany's free dual carriageways and small village roads.
| Days | Stop | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Paris | Start |
| Days 2 to 3 | Bayeux | 342 km · 4h40 |
| Days 4 to 5 | Saint-Malo | 175 km · 2h20 |
| Days 6 to 7 | Vannes | 150 km · 2h10 |
| Days 8 to 9 | Amboise | 353 km · 3h55 |
| Days 10 to 11 | Sarlat-la-Canéda | 363 km · 4h40 |
| Day 12 | Carcassonne | 306 km · 4h25 |
| Days 13 to 14 | Avignon | 260 km · 3h10 |
| Days 15 to 16 | Moustiers-Sainte-Marie | 168 km · 3h05 |
| Days 17 to 18 | Annecy | 328 km · 4h35 |
| Days 19 to 20 | Beaune | 235 km · 2h50 |
| Day 21 | Back to Paris | 312 km · 3h20 |
Road route calculated from the stops (OpenStreetMap). Driving times assume no stops and no traffic: add time for photo breaks.
May, June and September: fewer people than in July and August, lavender in early summer, and the Verdon's Route des Crêtes open from late March to late November. From November to March, short days, and winter tyres or snow chains are compulsory in the mountain communes of the Alps.
🚗 342 km · 4h40 of driving from Paris
A13 with barrier-free tolls, to be paid online within 3 days. Detour via Étretat, the Pont de Normandie (€6.10) and Honfleur, then the A13 and N13.
🚗 175 km · 2h20 of driving from Bayeux
The free A84 to Pontorson, the Mont-Saint-Michel car park at Beauvoir and the shuttle bus to the rock, then the N176 and D137.
🚗 150 km · 2h10 of driving from Saint-Malo
D766 via Dinan, then free dual carriageways (N24, N166) via Ploërmel. No tolls in Brittany.
🚗 353 km · 3h55 of driving from Vannes
The free N165 to Nantes, the A11 via Angers (Ancenis toll barrier, €10.40), then the A85 towards Tours.
🚗 363 km · 4h40 of driving from Amboise
D943 via Loches, the free A20 from Châteauroux to Brive, then the roads of the Périgord Noir via Montignac.
🚗 306 km · 4h25 of driving from Sarlat-la-Canéda
The Lot valley via Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, the A20 at Caussade, then the A62 and A61 toll motorways around Toulouse.
🚗 260 km · 3h10 of driving from Carcassonne
The A61 then the A9 toll motorways to the Remoulins exit for the Pont du Gard, then the N100 towards Avignon.
🚗 168 km · 3h05 of driving from Avignon
Via Sénanque, Gordes and Roussillon, then the D900 via Apt, Manosque and the Valensole plateau. No motorway.
🚗 328 km · 4h35 of driving from Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
A51 to Sisteron, the Col de la Croix-Haute (D1075), the free Grenoble ring road, then the A41: €12.30 to Annecy.
🚗 235 km · 2h50 of driving from Annecy
D1508 via Frangy, the A40 at Bellegarde, then the A6 via Mâcon: about €21 in tolls to Beaune.
🚗 312 km · 3h20 of driving from Beaune
Skip Vannes and Moustiers: from Saint-Malo, head straight to Amboise on the A81 and A11, and from Avignon to Annecy on the A7 and A49. Nights: Paris 1, Bayeux 2, Saint-Malo 1, Amboise 2, Sarlat 2, Carcassonne 1, Avignon 2, Annecy 1, Beaune 1.
| Car hire only, July | ≈ €55 a day |
|---|---|
| Car hire only, January | ≈ €36 a day |
| Small car, annual average | ≈ €39 a day (Kayak, Sept. 2026) |
| Your own car | The simplest option. Display a Crit'Air sticker; an electronic toll tag pays the barrier-free A13 automatically. |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | A city car or compact for the lanes of hilltop villages and the Verdon roads. |
| Where to pick it up | In Paris or at Orly, then the full loop: no one-way fee. |
| Age | At Europcar, from 18 with 1 year's driving experience; under 26, €40 a day extra. |
⚠️ July costs €55 a day in Paris against €36 in January: over three weeks, the difference approaches €400.
Motorways 130 (110 in the rain), dual carriageways 110, roads 80, or 90 in 52 départements.
From Paris to Caen, gantries read your number plate: without a tag, pay online within 3 days.
Camera cars driven by private operators everywhere except the Île-de-France. Radar detectors are banned: up to €1,500 and 6 penalty points.
0.2 g/l on a probationary licence. Up to 0.8 g/l: €135 and 6 penalty points; above that, a criminal offence.
Compulsory in the low-emission zones of Paris, Annecy, Toulouse and Grenoble. No sticker or a banned vehicle: €68.
Inside the A86, Crit'Air 3, 4 and 5 are banned on weekdays from 08:00 to 20:00.
On the whole ring since October 2024.
Probationary licence: 110 on motorways, 100 on dual carriageways, 80 elsewhere.
From 1 November to 31 March in designated mountain communes. Tyres with the Alpine symbol, otherwise chains on board.
Between the Pas de la Baou and the Chalet de la Maline, traffic runs in one direction only.
≈ €2.15 per litre of unleaded SP95-E10, €2.40 for diesel (23 Sept. 2026)
Price recorded in September 2026: it changes every week, sometimes by 10 to 20 cents in a month. Today's price: prix-carburants.gouv.fr →
⛽ 2,992 km at 7 l per 100 km: about €450 at September 2026 prices, to share between passengers.
National averages based on French ministry data. Prices vary widely between stations: compare on prix-carburants.gouv.fr before filling up.
| A13 and A14 Paris-Caen, barrier-free | €28.80 via the A14 (Ulys); without a tag, pay within 3 days |
|---|---|
| Unpaid free-flow toll | €90 penalty notice on top of the toll, €10 if paid within 15 days |
| Pont de Normandie | €6.10 since 1 May 2026 |
| A84 Caen-Rennes and Brittany dual carriageways | Free |
| A11 Nantes-Angers (Ancenis toll barrier) | €10.40 |
| A20 Vierzon-Brive | Free |
| A20 Brive-Montauban, then the A62 to Toulouse | €15.90 and €3.20 for the full journey (Ulys) |
| A41 Grenoble-Annecy | €6.70 at Crolles, €5.60 from Chambéry to Annecy |
| A40 and A6, Bellegarde-Beaune | €21 to €21.70 depending on the Beaune exit |
| A6 Beaune-Paris (Fleury-en-Bière) | €25.90 to €27.60; €16.50 from Avallon, via Vézelay |
| Pont du Gard car park | €9 per car per day |
| Château de Chambord | €21 (European Economic Area), €31 for others, in 2026 |
| Mont-Saint-Michel | Free parking after 18:30, except in July and August |
| Aiguille du Midi (Chamonix) | €60.20 to €83 return to the summit |
| Verdon's Route des Crêtes (D23) | Fully open from late March to late November |
|---|---|
| Mountain communes of the Alps | Winter tyres or snow chains from 1 November to 31 March |
| Bayeux Tapestry | On loan to the British Museum until 2027, museum under renovation |
| Carnac stones | Some sites open to all from October to March, otherwise guided tours |
Allow three weeks for this loop of 11 stages and 20 nights from Paris: Normandy, Mont-Saint-Michel, southern Brittany, the Loire, the Périgord, Carcassonne, Provence, the Verdon, the Alps and Burgundy. In 14 days, skip Vannes and the Verdon. With 10 days, it is better to choose one half, the west or the south-east, than to rush through everything.
In your own car, about €400 of petrol at September 2026 prices for some 3,000 km at €2.15 a litre (6 litres per 100 km), and over €100 in tolls on the recorded sections alone (A13, A11, A41, A40, A6). Hiring from Paris, add about €1,150 in July (€55 a day) or €750 in January.
Yes, as soon as you enter a low-emission zone: Paris (inside the A86), Grenoble, Toulouse or Annecy on this loop. In Paris, Crit'Air 3, 4 and 5 are banned on weekdays from 08:00 to 20:00. The sticker costs €3.85 on certificat-air.gouv.fr, the fine €68. A move to abolish the zones was struck down on 21 May 2026.
Between Paris and Caen, the A13 and A14 have had no toll barriers since December 2024: gantries read your number plate. With a tag, payment is automatic. Without one, pay online to Sanef within 3 days. Otherwise you receive a €90 penalty notice on top of the toll, reduced to €10 if you pay within 15 days.
May, June and September: fewer people than in July and August at the châteaux, in the Dordogne and in Provence. Lavender blooms in early summer and the Verdon's Route des Crêtes is open from late March to late November. From November to March, winter tyres or snow chains are compulsory in the mountain communes of the Alps.
Driving rules, prices and closures checked in September 2026; hotels checked on OpenStreetMap and then on Booking. Rules change: read the official source before you leave, and check your own government's travel advice for the country. Stop photos: Wikimedia Commons, authors and licences under each image.
Off We Gooo road trip guide · offwegooo.com/en/road-trips/france · by Pierrick, updated 1 October 2026
