Everything you need to know about driving to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Considering road-tripping to cheer on Team GB in the Olympic and Paralympic Games? Or, as they’re known in France, les JO (short for jeux olympiques).
A scenic way to get to France, make sure you’re ahead of all the potential obstacles on the road to Paris.
🛑 Don’t say: “We’ll just drive straight there, how hard can it be?!”
🟢 Do say: “Allons-y aux JO!”
Here are Motorway’s nine top tips, plus a key roadtrip phrasebook you won’t find elsewhere, for a smooth ride to watch world-class sport.
- 1. Check your emissions compliance!
- 2. Order your Crit’Air vignette, or emissions sticker
- 3. Get your car serviced, stat
- 4. Kit out your car à la française
- 5. Cop on to the VROPs
- 6. Plan a handy northern stop-off
- 7. Change tack and soak up the sun in the south
- 8. Pack for traffic
- 9. Check your insurance limits
- 10. 🇬🇧 The Motorway phrasebook! 🇫🇷
1. Check your emissions compliance!
Taking the greenest path to Paris isn’t just good for your eco-credentials and conscience, it’s good for your wallet too.
Greater Paris, along with about a dozen other cities, has strict emissions regulations and you could end up with a large fine if your car isn’t compliant.
With Toyota sponsoring this year’s games under a banner of EV innovation, it’s also in the spirit of the games to drive a newer, cleaner vehicle if you can.
Do your research before your road trip to ensure that your route is safe for your vehicle:
- Check your car engine’s Euro rating for free by entering your reg into Motorway’s free ULEZ Checker.
- Scroll down below your ULEZ compliance check (based on Euro 4 for petrol and Euro 6 for diesel), and you’ll see which Euro rating your car’s engine is assigned.
- Order your Crit’Air sticker at least two weeks in advance (you can change the page’s language to EN and follow the ‘Vehicle registered abroad’ tab). It costs €4.76 per vehicle.
- Check a French low emission zone map, such as this one on a government website.
2. Order your Crit’Air vignette, or emissions sticker
All foreign (i.e. UK) cars driving in France must display their vehicle’s emissions rating using the official sticker system, known as the Crit’Air vignettes. Failure to do so can result in a fine worth up to €180.
Depending on which sticker you have on your car, you may be refused entry to certain areas that are highly restricted.
These stickers are based on your engine’s Euro rating, as follows:
It’s imperative to know which Crit’Air vignette you need on your car before driving to France. Driving in most large cities without the sticker can land you a fine. Depending on your route, you could be affected by different restrictions across the country.
In broad terms, there are heavy restrictions on Crit’Air 4 and 5 vehicles in Paris, Marseille, Rouen, Toulouse, Grenoble, and Reims. There are heavy restrictions on Crit’Air 5 vehicles in Lyon and Strasbourg.
3. Get your car serviced, stat
Do you know when your MOT is up? Find out right now, for free, by entering your reg into Motorway’s MOT Checker.
Even if your MOT is valid through to the end of your road trip, now’s the time to make sure any small issues with your car are nipped in the bud. You don’t want to find yourself looking up how to say, “Is that the best quote you can offer” in French while your family watch grainy livestreams of the events you have tickets to.
Your tyres, windscreen, engine, brakes, gearbox, and clutch are your VIPs here – make sure they’re as happy as you are to hit the road to Paris.
4. Kit out your car à la française
It’s easy to underestimate the difficulty of driving on the other side, so being accident-aware is the smart and safe way to go.
And don’t forget French safety standards are much more rigorous than the UK. Make sure you have all of the following as soon as you’ve crossed the border:
- Breathalyser kit
- Accident kit: reflective jackets for every passenger, warning triangle
- Spare bulbs for headlights and brake lights
- Your glasses if you have any vision problems
If anything happens and you’re missing these items, you could be fined.
5. Cop on to the VROPs
The VROP lanes are new this year and stand for “voies réservées olympiques et paralympiques”, or, olympic and paralympic-only lanes.
185km of roads in Greater Paris are now marked with the Paris24 logo, in a bid to allow all athletes to reach any competition venue within a 30-minute drive from the Olympic village in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis.
There’s a maximum of one VROP lane per road, and they are for the exclusive use of: athletes, journalists, delegation transport, emergency and security, official taxis (not Ubers or other ride-sharing apps), and public transport vehicles for those with reduced mobility.
In other words, VROPs are not for private cars, ride-sharing taxis, motorbikes, bikes, or scooters.
6. Plan a handy northern stop-off
It may be the city of love and/or the city of lights, but Paris isn’t everything.
Did you know that you could see some Olympic and Paralympic games before you even arrive in Paris? Lille, a charming city in the north of France, is hosting the handball and basketball events.
Lille is just over an hour beyond Calais, and breaks up the journey nicely. Come to watch handball and basketball between July 27 and August 11. Even if you don’t have tickets, you can soak up culture in plenty of pop-ups in the city.
7. Change tack and soak up the sun in the south
Overshoot Paris by eight hours, and you’ll find yourself in the iconic Mediterranean port city of Marseille!
While not exactly en-route to the main Games, visit Marseille between the 28th July and 8th August to be sure of fabulous weather, and to watch windsurfing and sailing events in their marina.
For an even more ambitious roadtrip, you can continue to Monaco and Italy for the roadtrip of your dreams!
8. Pack for traffic
No matter how well you’ve planned your trip, there’s no hiding the fact that hundreds and thousands of drivers will be on the same great migration along England and France’s motorways.
There’s not much you can do to avoid traffic, unless you’re an ultra routemaster who enjoys coming up with scenic village tours. In the spirit of safety-minded France, make sure you have all the supplies you need to stay hydrated, energised, and comfortable.
If you’re navigating on your phone, be sure to bring a portable charger or two in case your car’s charging system fails or you need multiple chargers.
9. Check your insurance limits
Before you panic – don’t worry, Brexit hasn’t cancelled your road trip. All UK car insurance still includes third-party insurance when you’re driving in the EU.
Just check for extra areas on your policy, like theft and damage incurred abroad. It normally doesn’t take very long to update your insurance with extra coverage when needed. You may also want to add extra drivers for your trip – you can kill two birds with one phone call.
10. 🇬🇧 The Motorway phrasebook! 🇫🇷
Keep calm on your Olympic roadtrip with these handy phrases:
- Can I park here?
- Puis-je me garer ici ?
- Do you have diesel/petrol/an EV charger here?
- Avez-vous du diesel ? Avez-vous de l’essence ? Avez-vous des bornes de recharge ?
- Where’s the nearest EV charging point?
- Où puis-je trouver une borne de recharge ?
- Is there an accessible entrance/exit here?
- Est-ce qu’il y a une entrée accessible aux personnes à mobilité reduite ? Est-ce qu’il y a une sortie accessible aux personnes à mobilité reduite ?
- Which events are you watching?
- Vous allez regarder quelles épreuves des JO?
- You know, I did this to county level when I was younger.
- Tu sais que je pratiquais ce sport plus jeune.