Where to Park in Aix-en-Provence
down-town :
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Kerb-side
parking in and around town is regulated by meter...
and uniformed "officers", contractuels > kohntrakty-el < armed
with pencils and parking tickets, p.v’s > pehveh < ,
an abbreviation of procès
verbaux > prosseh
vairhboh < Parking is payant > peh-iaahn < (untranslatable!),
between 8 am and noon, and 2 pm. and 7 pm, and free on holidays
and Sundays. Prices and restrictions are posted on the horodateurs, > orrodahtuhr < rectangular
dispensers located in each parking zone. Coins, ususally 10,
20, 50 cents and 1 and 2 € pieces purchase small white
tickets bearing the date and time limits authorised by your
payment.
The "dateur" is
usually reliable though the "horo" part can
be sadly out of joint. The ticket must be displayed behind
the windscreen
and legible to a peeking, vertical official.
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A
number of parking garages whose existence is signaled on
the boulevards by a large sign: "P" with arrow, are
usually your best bet. "Places
disponibles" > plass
deesponeeebluh < or complet > conpleh < flash
the glad, or sad, tidings on luminous screens asyou approach.
Press button and take ticket as you enter (right-hand drive
cars require
a long arm, or a left seated passenger), and pay at the automatic
caisse before retrieving your vehicle. Have 10, 20, 50 cents
and 1 and 2 € coins at the ready. The first half hour is
free,
except during night hours. Rates are posted at the entrance.
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Parking
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-30 min
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First hour
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nite from 7 pm to 3 am
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Méjanes
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Free
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1 euros
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2 euros
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Rotonde
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Free
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1 euros
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Mignet
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Free
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1 euros
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Carnot
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Free
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1 euros
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Bellegarde
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Free
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1 euros
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Signoret
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-
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1 euros
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Pasteur
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Free
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1 euros
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Cardeurs
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-
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1 euros
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Note : Never leave stealables
visible in your car. If possible, leave nothing, not even a pitbull.
Hotel Parking : Many hotels
have their own, enclosed parking space. Those that do not will
indicate the
nearest public parking area located within five minutes of your
hotel. See "Section 2, Where to stay" for hotels with
private parking areas : "P".
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Road manners
and customs.
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…generally part of the "bad news". While
most French drivers are skillful and courteous, the lunatic "fringe"
is impatient, antisocial and dangerous. Beware of high-speed motor
cycles weaving through traffic, tail-enders with flashing headlights,
and drivers whose aggressive gestures suggest a frustrated manliness
expressed by unmannerliness. On three-lane autoroutes the right
lane normally moves at a stately 80 - 100 kms per hour ; the middle
lane, at 120 - 130 kms, and the left "fast lane" ...
anything up to 200 kms per hour, defying death, danger,
common sense, good manners, and the law..
Traffic circles, “roundabouts,” now
common on French roads, have done much to reduce traffic mortality.
Vehicles already on their way around, arriving from the left, have
priority. In town as in the country, two roads of equal importance
still reserve priority for traffic arriving from the right. When
in doubt, give way.
The greatest hazard next to driver
desperadoes is the “pile up,” carambolage > karhahnbohlaszch < usually
the result of tail-gating at high speed, sudden patches of fog,
heavy rain, or disabled vehicles which can set off a chain reaction
of braking, successive drivers having less and less time in which
to bring their vehicle to a halt.
British drivers will be wary when
crossing busy traffic lanes, or confronting on coming vehicles
on narrow country lanes, particularly in the early hours. American
drivers, on the other hand, may have their fun with stick shifts
and gear grinding, at least until they master clutch-gearshift-accelerator
synchrony. A few “dry runs” are recommended for all drivers
weened on automatic shifts. |
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Driving
: mph / kmh
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mph
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30
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40
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50
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60
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70
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80
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90
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100
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kmh
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48
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64
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80
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96
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112
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128
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144
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160
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Speed limits : (kmh)
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50
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70
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90
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110
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130
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in town andon wet country road
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country road & wet highway
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divided highway
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wet autoroute
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dry autoroute
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| free
advice : stay legal and alive... and... buckle up, front
and rear! c’est la loi. |
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Infractions :
If you receive a ticket un p.v. > peh veh < you may
be invited to pay up on the spot.
A shameless display of linguistic incompetence can help. |
Breakdown
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... on the autoroutes and
some routes
nationales telephones are stationed on the roadside at
2 kilometer intervals. Be sure to switch on emergency blinkers,
and pull off the road. Do not cross the highway if you can help
it, or attempt to push your car without infinite precaution.
Give the identity number of your telephone "post" and
await a tow truck which will cost 54 € for a lift to a nearby
garage. In all events try not to obstruct traffic ! Raise the
hood / bonnet capot > kapoh <,
and, if you are on a minor road, be prepared to walk, or hitch
a ride, having first removed valuables from your car. Local French
mechanics work miracles, but rarely on weekends !
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Traffic
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See map ! Traffic
conditions and lack of parking space tend to discourage, but
not prevent, the use of cars in mid-town. Market day mornings
and rush hours are vehicular nightmares. Do not park on, or near,
the market places on the eve of market days (Mondays… for
Tuesday, Wednesdays… for Thursday, and Fridays… for
Saturday). "Foreigners" (you) may expect amnesty for
a first parking offence. This does not prevent their cars from
being towed ! Contact the police at tel. : +33 442 939 700,
or the pound, fourrière > foorhee-ehrh < at
+33 442 642 293. Markets run from 7 am. to 1:30 pm. During
the school year the "boulevards extérieurs" tend
to clog, though at such times they are still the quickest (and
most exciting) distance between two points, unless, of course,
you walk.
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Petrol
/ gasoline (essence) > essahns < ... is expensive.
It is advisable to "ill her up" at a supermarket which
can cost anything up to 10 cents less per liter than at the roadside
pump. In either case you will likely find "self service" with
payment at the counter or exit. Prices, as of January 2002 are
about 1 € per liter for lead-free at Carrefour. Diesel gazoil > gazwal < costs
about 81 cents per liter and rising. Petrol prices on the autoroutes
are abusif. |
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quarts/gallon s.
U.K
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1 qt.
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1 gal.
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10 gals.
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quarts / gallons
U.S
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1.201 qts.
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1.201 gals.
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12.01 gals.
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litres
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1.136 l.
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4.546 l.
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45.46 l.
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