The Cote d’Azur or the French Riviera as it is often called, is a stretch of coastline from Toulon in the west to the Italian border, east of Menton. Beyond the border it becomes, unsurprisingly, the Italian Riviera. With the beautiful scenery of the hills behind the coast with their cork forests, citrus and olive groves and fields of heavily perfumed lavender, the region is very popular with tourists. The attractions of the region are enhanced by the beautiful beaches of the Riviera and the chic cities which house the second homes of the rich and famous including Hollywood stars who visit every year for the Cannes Film Festival. The gastronomy of the region is a big draw and is one of the healthiest in the world whilst the climate has drawn millions of travellers over the last two centuries.
Getting to Cote D' Azur by car:
From the west along the coast, the A7 and the A54 take you to
Toulon, the start of the Cote d’Azur or French Riviera. From
Lyon, the A7 is the best route and joins the A8 for its journey along the Riviera.
Cote D' Azur Toll Charges:
- Taking the A7 from Montpellier to Aix-en-Provence costs €9.40. Alternatively, use the D roads that follow the autoroute
- The A54 from Aix-en-Provence to Toulon costs €7.60 and there’s no similar alternative.
- Total cost: €17
- The A7 from Lyon to Aix-en-Provence will cost you €23.50 with the D roads that run either side of the autoroute, a good alternative
- The A8 Toulon route to the Italian border costs €11.30 with the adjacent D roads being a suitable compromise route
Toll Roads from Nice Airport
Most travellers to the French Riviera choose to avoid the long journey through France by flying to
Nice Cote d’Azur Airport and hiring a car from there. Toll roads you’ll encounter from the airport to major destinations include:
- Nice to Menton: A8; toll charges €2.20
- Nice to Cannes: A8; toll charges €2.90
- Nice to Aix-en-Provence: A8; toll charge €16.70
- Nice to Frejus: A8; toll charge €5.80
- Nice to Marseille: A8 and A7; €19.60
The autoroutes can be a very quick way of getting around the region and not always at the expense of attractive scenery. Toll charges aren’t horrendous but if you want to save that bit of money many D roads parallel the autoroutes across much of the region. If you have time on your hands during your holiday then the network of minor D routes that criss-cross the region open up beautiful vistas as they snake between the coastal towns and villages.
Toll Roads in France by Region;
Further Reading on Driving in France;
Posted:
August 30, 2012
by
Chloe Demaret
About the Author -
Travel writer, social media guru, Chloe keeps our readers and customers up to speed with all the car rental and travel trends on our blog. Favourite destination: Dubai.