FR France: how to get around

Roads range from the narrow single-carriageway lanes found in the countryside to major highways. Most towns and cities were built before the general availability of the automobile and thus city centres tend to be unwieldy for cars. Keep this in mind when renting: large cars can be very unwieldy. It often makes sense to just park and then use public transportation.

A French driver flashing headlights is asserting right of way and warning you of intentions and presence. Do not use it to mean thanks. Flashing headlights can also mean, "Watch out as there's a police speed-check ahead of you!" Horns should be used only in legitimate emergencies; use of the horn in urban areas outside such circumstances might win you a traffic ticket. Parisian drivers were notorious for honking their horns at anything and everything, though increased enforcement has greatly reduced this practice.

Several weekends throughout the year in France are known as 'Black Saturday' (Samedi noir) because of the start or end of school holidays and the coinciding traffic jams on French roads caused by thousands of tourists travelling to and from their holiday destinations. When possible it is wise to avoid these days. For traffic reports, see here.

Once you arrive in France you may need to use car hire services. Most of the leading companies operate from French airports and it is advisable to book car hire in advance. It is a common experience at smaller French airports to not get the type of car you booked online but an alternative model. Sometimes the alternative model is quite different so check carefully before accepting the vehicle and stand your ground if it does not match your booking request and is not suitable to your needs.

Most cars in France are equipped with standard transmissions (voiture à boîte manuelle/mécanique), a fact that derives equally from the preferences of the driving public and the peculiarities of French licensing laws. Automatic transmissions (voiture à boîte automatique) are generally only used by the elderly or those with physical disabilities. This extends to vehicle categories that in other countries (read: the US) are virtually never equipped with a manual transmission, such as vans and large sedans. Accordingly, virtually all of the vehicles available for rent at the average car hire will be equipped with a manual gearbox. If you do not know how to drive a car with a manual transmission and don't have the time to learn before your trip, be certain to reserve your rental car well in advance and confirm your reservation. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a car that is much larger than you can afford (or with no car at all).

It is a good tip when travelling in numbers to get one member of the party with hand luggage to go straight through to the car hire desk ahead of everybody else. This will avoid the crush once the main luggage is picked up from the conveyor.

It is illegal to use sat-nav devices (GPS) or apps that detect speed cameras. You must disable this function or face a fine.

France is a good country for hitchhiking. Be patient, prepare yourself for a long wait or walk and in the meantime enjoy the landscape. A ride will come along. People who stop are usually friendly and not dangerous. They will like you more if you speak a little French. They never expect any money for the ride.

Getting out of Paris by thumb is almost impossible. You can try your luck at the portes (city gates), but heavy traffic and limited areas for stopping will try your patience. It's a good idea to take the local train to a nearby suburb as your chance of being picked up will increase dramatically.

Outside Paris, it's advisable to try your luck by roundabouts. As it's illegal to hitchhike on the motorways (autoroutes) and they are well observed by the police, you may try at a motorway junction.

If you've been waiting for a while with an indication of where to go, drop it and try with your thumb only. If you don't have luck where you are, you can also try to get a ride to the next good spot in the wrong direction.

Toll plazas (gares de péage), some of which require all cars to stop, are commonly used to get a ride, but the practice is illegal. French police or highway security, who are normally very tolerant of hitchhikers, may stop those trying and force them to leave.

Between two points of rural France not on the same railway line, hitching 500 km can be as quick as taking four different (and not cheap) trains.

Blablacar has a quasi-monopoly in France, but it is still a convenient, economical and efficient way to see the country. Prices for distances are below the ones of the train and buses, about €8-10 per 100 km. Pay at is handled through the service. The app optimises the location of the passenger at the meeting point and the driver's route. Between the largest cities you will find many options, some starting in the centre, others just going by the highway – check the exact meeting point before committing to a booking. BlaBlaCar has a rating system and the rides are very reliable. BlaBlaCar offers insurance to cover the rest of the journey in case of interruption.

Rezo Pouce is an organised carpooling and hitchhiking service. Riders can mark their routes on a smartphone app, which allows them to arrange rides. Alternatively, they can wait for a ride at a stop marked with the service logo, with a sign with the service logo and the destination of their choice. Drivers registered with the service will have a Rezo Pouce sign on their windscreen and carry an ID card, making the service safer. Passengers also show their membership card or their profile in the app to show that they have registered for the service. Minors can join the service with parental consent. For Rezo Pouce passengers, rides are free, as with hitchhiking, but for longer journeys it is recommended to contribute to the cost.

Trains are a great way to get around in France. You can get from pretty much anywhere to anywhere else by train. For long distances, use the TGV (Trains à Grande Vitesse: High-speed trains) on which reservations are obligatory – but if you have time, take the slow train and enjoy the scenery. The landscape is part of what makes France one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Like many things in France, the TGV network is focused on Paris to an almost ridiculous degree, and you may be out of luck when searching for a fast connection between secondary cities. Quite often a considerable detour via the Paris region can be faster than the direct train would be. Usually, if you need to change trains, you can usually do so at one of three out-of-town TGV stations: Massy, Marne-la-Vallée or Charles de Gaulle Airport, which are on a connection line linking the northern, eastern, south-eastern and south-western high-speed lines. It is still sometimes necessary to change in Paris, and the capital has several terminus stations, which are not linked by mainline rail, so you'll likely have to use the RER or metro to transfer from one train to another. It can be a lot more expensive to travel via Paris, as you pay per kilometre for your detour.

The French national railway network is managed by SNCF Réseaux, a branch of the SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français). The SNCF is the butt of jokes about delays and industrial action, but it actually offers a reliable, punctual service when there are no strikes.

For regional trains, schedules can be found at ter.sncf.com (choose your region, then "Carte and horaires" for maps and timetables). Booking is available in two classes: première classe (first class) is less crowded and more comfortable but can also be about 50% more expensive than deuxième classe (second class).

The SNCF website Gares & Connexions provides live train schedules, keeping you informed about platform numbers and delays. This information is also available on smartphones via the free application SNCF.

There are a number of different kinds of high-speed and normal trains:

• TER (Train Express Régional): Regional trains form the backbone of the SNCF system. TER are sometimes slower but do serve most stations. Available on Interrail passes.
• Intercités
• TGV (Trains à Grande Vitesse): The world-famous French high-speed trains run several times a day from Paris to the south-east Nice (5-6 hr), Marseille (3 hr) and Avignon (2 hr 30 min), the east Geneva (3 hr) or Lausanne, Switzerland and Dijon (1 hr 15 min), the south-west Bordeaux (3 hr), the west Rennes (2 hr), Nantes (2 hr), Brest (4 hr) and the north Lille (1 hr). Reservations are compulsory.
• Night train services (Intercités de Nuit) include couchettes second class (6 bunk beds in a compartment), first class (4 bunks) and reclining seats. You can ask for a "private room" (in first class). These mainly run between Paris and southern France cities (i.e. Nice, Toulouse, Lourdes, Biarritz, Perpignan)

Booking tickets online can be quite a confusing process: SNCF only sells tickets online for its low-cost Ouigo services via the website and app, which thankfully include high speed trains (TGV). Other options include:

• SNCF Connect French language booking website by the SNCF. It can sometimes get confusing, and is known to hardly work when you try to buy a ticket from abroad or with a non-French credit card. Be careful: you will need the credit card that has been used for payment to retrieve your tickets from the ticket machines. If you don't have it, your tickets will be lost, and you will need to buy new tickets.
• Trainline French, English, German, Spanish and Italian language booking website. It aims to be as easy to use as possible. Unlike "Voyages SNCF", you don't need your credit card to retrieve the tickets, only the reservation number and the last name entered for reservation. You can pay with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Paypal. Tickets can be printed or downloaded on your mobile phone or Apple watch or Android watch.
• RailEurope are booking agencies owned by the SNCF. Fares will often be more expensive on these sites than on the "official" sites, but they are generally easier to use than the SNCF sites.

Beware: To avoid any form of fraud, your ticket must be punched by an automatic machine (composteur) before entering the platform area to be valid. The machines are situated at the entrance of all platforms. However, e-Billet electronic tickets do not have to be punched: in doubt, punch it anyway.

If you start your journey at an unstaffed station with no ticket machine, you can buy a ticket from the inspector on the train, but you must go and find them first. If you wait for the inspector to find you, you are liable to be fined. Pretending not to understand French won't help.

French information booths, especially in larger train stations, can be quite unhelpful, especially if you do not understand much French. If something does not seem to make sense, just say "excusez-moi" and they should repeat it.

It is cheaper to book and purchase train tickets, especially those with reservations, in advance.

In railway stations with a ticket vending machine and a ticket office, the price can differ.

France does not have a national bus service. Coach traffic was liberalised in 2015, allowing the emergence of a few long-distance companies. Two well-known ones are BlaBlaCar Bus (previously Ouibus) and FlixBus, which quickly expanded in France after the liberalisation.

The coach companies compete with rail on price, which means they are usually somewhat cheaper than trains, sometimes much cheaper, especially if booked in advance. Trains are more comfortable and sometimes much faster. Tourist information centres may recommend the train over the bus; if so, politely insist that you would still like information about buses as well as trains.

Local and regional bus services are available throughout France; you can find more details in region and city articles. When using local buses, it is essential to validate your ticket if necessary, especially if using card-like tickets with magnet bands.

France is not a particularly cyclist-friendly country (unlike, say, the Netherlands), but the situation is improving: more cycle paths are being built and about 40 cities have a bike-sharing system.

Beware of bike thieves. If you have to park your bike in the street, make sure to lock it properly, particularly in larger cities and at night. Avoid using the cable-locks that can be cut within seconds, instead use U-shaped locks, chains or folding locks. Lock your bike to a solid fixed support like a U-Rack. Lock the frame (not only the wheels) and make sure that your wheels cannot be removed without tools.

G7 app works in 180 cities and towns. Uber and Bolt work in major cities.