agahlawa Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hello everyone. Firstly please accept my apologies as I won't be traveling on a motorcycle but I may be able to find some answers here.I will be visiting Grenoble in November for 6 months for my research. I will be landing in Lyon and driving to Grenoble which sounds quite reasonable as it's only about 110 Km. Here's the fun part, I will be taking a route which is 642 Km long along the Swiss and the Italian border . The route is extremely beautiful through the alps and only involves the D roads (strictly no boring autoroutes) which is why I am very excited about it. My only worries are:1) Are there enough petrol pumps on the French D roads?2) Are there restrooms at a comfortable frequency?If anyone has any ideas on driving in France on the D roads please help me.Greatly appreciated. Thanks.Adi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 The D roads will be punctuated by towns, which will usually have super/hypermarkets on their bypasses. These always incorporate a petrol station so you should be OK.Make sure you take a credit card with you for use if you are there outside the opening hours - which can include lunctimes as well as Sundays and public holidays.You would find a restroom inside a supermarket usually. Otherwise any cafe or restaurant will have one - though it will cost you at least the price of a cup of coffee to use it.Angela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agahlawa Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 Thanks a lot Angela. I guess I will be fine then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 The credit card may not always work at unmanned/out-of-hours filling stations.Firstly your card must have a chip to work in the automatic pumps - at least in my expereince.It is a bit hit and miss whether chipped cards willl work. Newer filling stations are OK, but the older pumps only work with French cards - something to do with the level of security built into the chip system. At manned stations there is no problem and all cards will work. Have a good trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agahlawa Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 I see, I will have to carefully plan my fuel stops since I will only be carrying a mastercard issued from US which, as far as I can tell, does not have a chip.Thanks Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 If you are not sure if it has a chip, it doesn't.So it is manned stations only - so think about supermarkets 09:00 - 12:00 and 15:00 - 18:00 Monday to Saturday (most will have longer hours than this but these hours should just about cover all situations).Mastercard will be fine - thank goodness you did not say American Express - or worse still Diners. I think we might have advised visiting another country/continent. [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agahlawa Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 Manned stations it is then. I hope I get those supermarkets along the D roads though, didn't see them on Google maps. I guess I'll have to pop into the nearest town for fuel. Are American express cards really that bad when traveling to France? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 [quote user="agahlawa"]Are American express cards really that bad when traveling to France? [/quote]In small towns and villages yes they can be declined as, in the opinion of the retailer, AE charges to them are way too high. The situation has, IMHO, improved in the last few years, but it is wise to have a choice of card to use - or carry enough euros to be able to pay in cash for essentials such as fuel.Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agahlawa Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Thanks Sue. I think I'll carry enough euros for 2 tanks of fuel at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Perhaps a strange question, but are you going to manage to live in France for 6 months without a bank account? If you open one, perhaps they will issue a card that you could use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 [quote user="idun"] ... are you going to manage to live in France for 6 months without a bank account? If you open one, perhaps they will issue a card that you could use.[/quote]My thoughts also ... but perhaps even with a French account the OP would still need to arrive in his location to prove his existence and address and thus pick up his card and cheque book?Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agahlawa Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Hi Idun, Sue, of course I'll get a bank account once I reach Grenoble, but I will be making this trip the very next day I arrive in France. Hence, no bank accounts. I'll have my bank accounts in US and their cards but as I understand they might not be accepted, and if they are, I will be incurring a transaction fee.Adi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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