Autoroutes in France - Naming and Numbering

Naming and Numbering

Unlike other highway systems, there is no systematic numbering system, but there is a clustering of Autoroute numbers based on region. A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, A10, A13, A14, A15, A16 radiate from Paris with A2, A11, and A12 branching from A1, A10, and A13, respectively. A7 begins in Lyon, where A6 ends. A8 and A9 begin respectively near Aix-en-Provence and Avignon. The 20s are found in northern France. The 30s are found in Eastern France. The 40s are found near the Alps. The 50s are near the French Riviera. The 60s are found in southern France. The 70s are found in the centre of the country. The 80s are found west of Paris.

Some of the autoroutes have their own name in addition to a number: for instance, A6 and A7 are autoroute du Soleil (sun motorway), for they lead from northern to southern France and its sunny beach resorts. The A13 is named the autoroute de Normandie as it traverses Normandy. The A29 is part of the route des Estuaires, a chain of motorways crossing the estuaries of the English Channel. Additionally, the A40 is named the autoroute blanche (white motorway) because it is the road that goes to Chamonix and other French winter resort towns, and the N104, one of Paris's beltways, is also known as La Francilienne because it circles the region of Ile-de-France.