The cost of toll roads (péages) in France

About Autoroutes

France’s motorways are called autoroutes and have the prefix ‘A’. Most are toll roads and are marked by blue signs; a green sign means the route is toll free.

The normal process is to take a ticket at a péage station when you enter the toll road, and then pay at a similar station when you exit. This means you need Euros at the ready, or a credit card to hand.

TOP TIP: Get a credit card that doesn’t charge you payment fees for transactions in France. A pre-paid Post Office credit card is good, or Nationwide currently have no charges for their customers. 

If you drive regularly through France a useful alternative is an automated toll payment badge, which means you can whizz through the toll booths and have your payments automatically taken from you bank account.

There is usually a small set up fee associated with these services, but we think that the ease of being able to speed through péages makes the small cost worth it.

About ‘N’ and ‘D’ routes

Routes Nationales or ‘N’ roads are main roads that are often straight and uncrowded, making them a manageable alternative to autoroutes for long journeys.

Minor roads are classed as ‘D’ roads and they are fine for travelling locally, but should be avoided for long journeys.

One of the reasons we love ‘N’ and ‘D’ roads is that you can see so much more of France, and stop off to experience one of the many fascinating towns that lie along such routes.

The cost of toll routes in France

Factoring in the cost of your journey through France is really important when deciding on how best to travel. It’s all very well to grab the cheapest ferry crossing from Dover to Calais, but if you are then driving over to the west coast the extra cost of travel and tolls may eat away at your savings.

Here, we’ve summarised the toll costs of some popular routes through France, and highlighted their Route Nationale alternatives, showing time as well as toll cost to help you decide on suitability.

Alternatively, check out Autoroutes.fr, you can plan out your route and it will work out the complete costs of the toll roads for you.

Calais to Concarneau (Brittany)
Taking the A roads
Toll cost: 25 Euros
Travel time: 7h30 (720km)

Taking the N roads
Toll cost: 0 Euros
Travel time: 9h15 (735km)

Caen to Concarneau (Brittany)
There’s no ‘A’ route ‘N’ route alternative. You take the A84 to Rennes and then take the N24 towards Lorient.
Toll cost: 0 Euros
Travel time: 4h10 (455km)

Calais to La Rochelle (Charente Maritime)
Taking the A roads
Toll cost: 51 Euros
Travel time: 7h30 (700km)

Taking the N roads
Toll cost: 26 Euros
Travel time: 9 hours (750km)

Caen to La Rochelle (Charente Maritime)
Taking the A roads
Toll cost: 35 Euros
Travel time: 6h30 (580km)

Taking the N roads
Toll cost: 0 Euros
Travel time: 6 hours (455km)

Calais to Sarlat (Dordogne)
Taking the A roads
Toll cost: 41 Euros
Travel time: 8 hours (770km)

Taking the N roads
Toll cost: 0 Euros
Travel time: 10h30 (775km)

Caen to Sarlat (Dordogne)
Taking the A roads
Toll cost: 35 Euros
Travel time: 6h30 (580km)

Taking the N roads
Toll cost: 17 Euros
Travel time: 7h15 (560km)

Calais to Nice (Cote d’Azur)
Taking the A roads
Toll cost: 105 Euros
Travel time: 12 hours (1230km)

Taking the N roads
Toll cost: 12 Euros
Travel time: 18 hours (1200km)

Caen to Nice (Cote d’Azur)
Taking the A roads
Toll cost: 95 Euros
Travel time: 11h30 (1160km)

Taking the N roads
Toll cost: 40 Euros
Travel time: 16h45 hours (1150km)

**Note – all costs are for guidance only and they can change. Please check a website, such as viamichelin.com, to check actual route details and prices for your journey.

Want to know more about driving in France? Then head over to our dedicated Driving in France section.

Did you know? We work with carefully selected partners and independent holiday home owners to offer holiday gites, cottages and villas in France.  You can check out our selection of self-catered accommodation in France here.