The minimum age of a car driver / motorcyclist in France is 18 years, motorcycle riders and passengers must wear crash helmets.

A Full UK driving licence is required, third party motor insurance is compulsory, a green card is not always required, but your insurer should be advised of your trip.

Always carry documentation such as your driving licence, vehicle registration document (V5), and certificate of motor insurance. 

If your licence does not incorporate a photograph ensure you carry your passport to validate the licence. 

If the vehicle is not registered in your name or hired, carry a letter from the registered owner giving you permission to drive it.

First-Aid Kit is advised, but not compulsory.

Carrying a warning triangle is compulsory, (should your flashing hazard lights fail or become damaged).

Visibility vests are now compulsory and must be carried in the glove box (!!)

 

If you wear glasses, you are required to carry a spare pair in the car.

The use of Seat Belts front and rear are obligatory everywhere. 

GB Sticker: UK registered vehicles displaying Euro-plates no longer need a GB sticker.

Headlamp converters are compulsory (your insurance may be void without them).

Dipped headlights must be used in poor daytime visibility. 

Motorcycles over 125cc must use dipped headlights during the day at all times.

Drinking and Driving: Don't do it. Over 0.05 per cent and you could face anything up to imprisonment. France has strict drink driving laws, blood alcohol level limit being lower than in the UK. Rather than present you with meaningless figures relating to blood/breath alcohol levels, our advice is if you're driving, don't drink. 

Speed Limits, shown below, are implemented rigorously. Radar traps are frequent, anyone caught travelling at more than 25 km/h above the speed limit in France can have their licence confiscated on the spot.

Remember, speeding and other traffic offences are subject to on-the-spot fines. Ensure an official receipt is issued by the officer collecting the fine.
In Town .. 50 km/h (31 mph).
Other Roads .. 90 km/h or 80 km/h when wet (56 and 50 mph).
Dual Carriageways .. 110 km/h or 100 km/h when wet (69 and 62 mph).
Motorways .. 130 km/h or 110 km/h when wet (81 and 68 mph).
N.B. When visibility is below 50m, speed limit is 50km/h everywhere.

Children must be at least 10 years of age to sit in the front seat.

Children under 10 years of age must be seated in the rear and seat-belted in an approved child seat (booster for non-babies). However, a very young child in an approved rear-facing safety seat can be in front. 

Carrying a replacement bulb set is required by law.

Take care in built-up areas where the old rule giving priority to traffic coming from the right (Priorité à droite) still applies unless a yellow diamond indicates you have priority.

On roundabouts you generally give priority to traffic already on the roundabout, in other words, coming from your left as you enter the roundabout.

Fuel: All grades of unleaded petrol, diesel and LPG are available as well as lead substitute additive. 

Credit and Debit Cards are widely accepted, although they probably won't work at automatic petrol pumps, which are often the only pumps in rural areas open out-of-hours, which also means lunch-time (noon to 3pm). 

It's a good idea to let your card issuer know you will be travelling abroad. This ensures they don't suspend your card if they spot it being used in unfamiliar places, which they sometimes do as an anti-fraud measure.

Breakdown and assistance, parking and resting zones are situated every 10 to 20km, with 24-hour petrol stations found approximately every 40km. If you do breakdown, pull up on the right hand lay-by. Make sure you illuminate your hazard warning lights and place a red warning triangle 30m behind your vehicle. 

Free orange emergency telephones are situated every 2km on all motorways. 

If you do break down and don't want to leave your vehicle, await a road patrol which operate on all sections of the motorway.

Flashing headlights on a motorway means I'm coming through; it's best just to quietly move over and don't let your ego get the better of you.

Lights flashing on a country road may mean there's a police check ahead .. it's illegal to give these warnings!

Still on the subject of driving.... The French word Gendarme means literally 'armed men', they're tough, they're rough and they're generally disliked. In France, 3 times as many deaths occur on the roads than Britain for the same population, so it's no-wonder French police have an appalling attitude to towards motorists!

If you break the rules you can expect to be fined around €30 to over €3,000 for serious speeding offences or more for drunken or reckless driving. 

Non-residents must pay in cash on the spot - it has been known for the gendarme to escort you to the nearest cash machine if you do not have enough cash on you & residents have 30 days to pay up.

NB The above guidelines are pointers and are by no means exhaustive.

Mobile Phones / Pay Phone:

Mobile phones set-up for roaming, usually receive a French network signal from the house - Orange seems to work best.

Telephoning Britain from France
Telephoning Britain 0044 + std code less the first zero + number
so 0207 123 4567 becomes 00 44 207 123 4567

Emergency Telephone Numbers in France

15 Ambulance (SAMU = Service D'Aide Medicale Urgent)
17 Police (Gendarmes)
18 Fire service (Pompiers)
112 Universal Switchboard .. All three services (like 999 in U.K.)

Doctor, Chemist & Dentist

In case of emergency the hospital is in Villedieu Les Poeles, Rue Jean Gast,

Chemist / Pharmacist / Dentist / Doctor; Gavray and Villedieu Les Poeles

Food Shopping & Basic Provisions

 

NB! Shops charge for bags, reccomend that you bring some with you.
The local towns of Villedieu and Gavray provide all the shopping you require, you'll find Supermarkets, Banks, Chemists, Bars & Restaurants.
There are no amenities other than the Mairie and a Bar / Tabac and General Store (Epicerie) in Le Mesnil Garnier.

 

Nearest supermarket is in Villedieu an Intermarche - adequate but small, the largest nearby is in the direction of Avranches via the A84 a Carrefour.  Drive past the Avranches turn - keep going until you see a sign for a museum then you will pick up the signs for Carrefour.  Also a great Decathlon store here for very reasonably priced sports equiptment.

 
Local Markets

Monday: Torigni-sur-Vire
Tuesday: Vire (Small), Sourdeval & Villedieu-les-Poeles
Wednesday: St Hilaire-du-Harcouêt
Thursday: Le Bény-Bocage
Friday: Vire
Saturday: Saint-Lo, Gavray, Avranches
Sunday: Caen (St-Pierre)

Opening times in France

Banks and most shops are closed on Mondays.
Banks and most shops are closed between 12 and 2

There is mostly always a boulangerie open in Villedieu on a sunday from about 6:30am and generally one of them is open at lunchtimes.

Public Indoor Heated Swimming Pools

 

Granville (basic)

Villedieu Les Poeles (with one large slide)

Parc De L'Europe - Vire (With Indoor Flume & Outdoor Waterslide) Tel : 02 31 66 30 60

Normandy Cuisine:  The region is renowned for its apples and dairy produce.

Meats:

The lamb and mutton from the Cherbourg peninsular are rated very highly, as are the Andouilles de Vire, smoked and cooked pork and tripe sausage, usually served cold as a starter. Traditional dishes invariably feature creamy sauces laced with apples, cider or calvados, such as Filet Mignon de Porc Normande, pork tenderloin cooked with apples and onions in cider and served with caramelised apple rings.

Seafood:

The proximity of the sea means that fish and seafood feature commonly on menus, look out for Moules à la Normande, mussels in a cream and white wine sauce or Sole Normande, Dover sole poached in cider and cream with shrimps.

Cheeses:

The brown and white Normandy cows produce the world-famous Camembert and Pont l'Evêque cheeses, as well as many others.

Wines:

No wines are produced in Normandy - instead there is cider, Calvados, the 'brandy' distilled from cider and Bénédictine a sweet liqueur first produced by monks in Fécamp. Normandy Wine Warehouse is 500 meters from the Caen ferry terminal, and opposite the supermarket in Cherbourg.