France

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French Road Bollards

French bollards are round white posts featuring a pointed top and a reflector band that wraps entirely around. This band can be either grey or red.

French Round White Bollard

A round white bollard featuring two reflective indented bands is unique to France.

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French Guardrails

France typically uses A-type guardrails, which usually lack reflectors. On rare occasions, the standard guardrail type of Czechia and Slovakia can also be found.

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Wedge-Shaped Bollards

France features unique, less common wedge-shaped bollards. These bollards have wide rectangular white reflectors on both the front and back.

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License Plate Placement

Vehicles in France display license plates on both the front and the back.

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Older French License Plates

Some older French plates lack the right blue strip, and the rear plate is yellow. These are very rare in newer coverage.

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Modern French License Plates

Modern French plates are long and white, featuring blue strips on both sides. The left strip is more visible than the right strip.

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Alsatian Dialect in Alsace

In the Alsace region, which changed countries four times in modern history, the Alsatian German dialect is occasionally found. Most bilingual street signs in this area use some variation of 'gasse' or 'strasse'.

Occitan Language on Street Signs

Occitan is a Romance language closely related to Catalan that is sparsely concentrated in the South of France, most often found on street signs in big cities. Its dialects use slightly different words for street, such as the Languedocian "carrièra" in Toulouse and the Provençal "carriero" in Avignon.

Basque Bilingual Signs

Bilingual signs in the Basque language, which commonly feature the letters K, X, and Z, are concentrated in the western half of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques department. On directional signs, the Basque translation is uniquely written in a thinner font than other minority languages in France.

French Language Connections

French is a Romance language closely related to Catalan, Spanish, and Italian.

French Word for Street

The French word for street is 'rue'.

French Street Suffix

In France, the street suffix "Gass" corresponds to "Avenue".

Language Script Clues

This language is closely related to Spanish and French, with the letter Ç being considerably more common than in French. The word for street is 'carrer'.

The Word for Street

In France, the word for street is "karrika", in contrast to "kalea" in the Spanish Basque country.

French Street Suffix Stade

In France, the street suffix 'Stade' translates to an embankment, quay, or dike.

Breton Language in France

In France's Breton peninsula, bilingual street signs feature Breton, a Celtic language visually similar to Welsh where the word for street is 'straed'. Unlike French, Breton commonly uses the letters d, k, w, and ñ.

Official Language of France

French is legally the only official language and is dominant in all regions of the country.

Street Suffix Giesse in France

In France, the street suffix 'Giesse' translates to alley or aisle.

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Corsican Language Signs

On the island of Corsica, bilingual signs feature Corsican, a Romance language where words almost always end in vowels and commonly feature the endings -u, -iu, and -ju. Placenames on the island also usually have an Italian origin.

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French Town Entrance Signs

Town entrance signs in France feature a red border with a thin white outline.

French River-Based City Names

Many French cities contain the name of the river they lie on, usually in the format "-sur-[river]".

Montpellier Street Signs

Street signs in Montpellier typically feature a blue 'M' on a white background in the top left corner.

Lille Street Signs

Street signs featuring a red slanted fleur-de-lis are unique to Lille.

French Kilometre Markers

Kilometre markers in France most commonly feature a yellow or red semicircle on top of a white rectangle. These markers can be found as waystones or flat signs, and major highways can have markers with a red top.

Catalan Signage in Pyrénées-Orientales

In the far southern department of Pyrénées-Orientales, also known as Catalunya Nord, various signage features the Catalan language.

Paris Area Street Signs

Street signs in the Paris metropolitan area often feature a modern design and display the city's name, which is atypical for France. Many of these city names are river-based, particularly referencing the Seine and Marne.

Marne Town Entry Signs

Most town entry signs in the Marne department of France combine the entry and exit signs into a single, noticeably thicker block.

Pas-de-Calais Road Signs

In the Pas-de-Calais department of France, some road signs feature a dark green post paired with a lighter green signback. These signs occasionally display the department's green and blue triangle logo.

Brown Signposts and Backs

Road signs with both a brown post and back are most commonly found in Seine-et-Marne and rarely in Ille-et-Vilaine. This is more reliable when the post is square, though round signposts are equally common.

French Municipal Arrondissements

Paris, Lyon, and Marseille are the only French cities divided into municipal arrondissements, which are abbreviated as Arrᵗ or Arrt. on street signs and appear on Google Maps.

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Bordeaux Arrondissement Signs

Small tables featuring "Arrᵗ" on a separate small sign can be found in Bordeaux, despite the city not being divided into arrondissements.

Lyon Street Signs

Street signs in Lyon feature four corner bolts and an uninterrupted inner white border. This border cuts a notch for the arrondissement and each bolt.

Passing Zone End Arrows

Arrows on the road signalling the end of a passing zone are found in only a couple of European countries, including France. In France, the middle dashes are very close together in these areas.

Diverse Regional Architecture

France possesses highly diverse regional architecture, which can cause towns across the country to look significantly different from one another.

Short Traffic Signposts

Traffic signs with particularly short signposts are very common in France.

Flat Rectangular Signposts

Many traffic signs in France feature flat, rectangular signposts.

French Road Sign Design

French road signs feature a red border with a thin white outline. White rectangular signs with black text are often positioned below traffic signs.

Italic Font for Small Places

Smaller places and points of interest are frequently written in an italic font.

Yellow Road Number Signs

Small yellow signs displaying a road number, which typically starts with a 'D', are unique to France. They are commonly placed on top of directional or town entry signs.

Bordeaux Claret Signposts

Square traffic signposts in the outskirts of Bordeaux feature a claret shade of red, named after the region's local wine.

Marseille Street Signs

Street signs in Marseille usually feature the city's emblem, which is a variation of the Greek cross. The white border of these signs is typically interrupted at the top, even when the cross is present.

French Riviera Blue Signposts

On the French Riviera, regular traffic signposts are painted azure blue. West of Nice, the infrastructure uniquely features a lighter, powder blue color.

Dark Green Road Signposts

Dark green road signposts and sign backs are most commonly found in Brittany and around Paris, as well as in various southern regions of France.

Haute-Garonne Directional Signs

Directional signs in Haute-Garonne often feature burgundy red attachments and ornaments.

French House Numbers

House numbers in France are most commonly blue and typically feature a serif font with slightly exaggerated shapes. This distinguishes them from Italy, where blue house number signs are almost never used.

French Directional Signs

Directional signs in France are typically white with a black outline slightly offset from the edge. These arrow-shaped signs feature a black border that becomes thicker at the pointed end.

Greyish Green Signbacks

Road signs featuring a greyish green signback supported by a darker green post are found in Brittany, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and rarely near the Alps.

Tinted Burgundy Roads

Roads with a significant red, purple, or burgundy tint are most commonly found in the area between Paris and Dijon, which roughly corresponds to the historical region of Burgundy. Normandy is a notable exception.

Unorthodox Signpost Colors

Signposts and the backs of signs can be dyed with unorthodox colors, some of which are regional.

Eure-et-Loir Signbacks

Signbacks in the department of Eure-et-Loir may feature a green sticker of the department's logo. These are usually placed on a dark green backing without a matching post.

French Pedestrian Crossing Signs

In France, pedestrian crossing signs depict a figure with a disconnected head walking across five stripes. These signs feature a white border.

Pyrénées-Orientales Street Signs

The official flag and department logo of Pyrénées-Orientales features red and yellow stripes based on the Senyera. This pattern is often used in coats of arms on street signs.

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French Road Line Colors

In France, the outside road lines are yellow and the inside road lines are white.

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Offset Dash Road Lines

Middle road lines where each dash consists of two offset blocks are unique to France.

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Belle-Île-en-Mer Architecture

On the Breton island of Belle-Île-en-Mer, houses combine traditional Brittany architecture with colorful façades and outlines. These structures superficially resemble houses found in Portugal.

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Basque Timber-Framed Architecture

White houses with colorful timber framing are a staple of Basque architecture, which extends beyond the Basque-speaking area. The timber frame color is consistent with other wooden elements, such as window shutters and gates.

Suburban Parisian Stone Walls

Towns surrounding Paris feature walls made of uneven cream-colored to orange stones bound with mortar, often incorporating red brick details. This architecture is generally absent within the city of Paris itself.

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Toulouse Orange Brick Architecture

Bright orange brick buildings with Mediterranean-looking architectural features are commonly found in and around Toulouse, particularly in old towns. These bricks are brighter than those on brick houses near Belgium.

French Stone House Architecture

French architecture largely features stone houses that are unpainted or painted in greyish or yellow pastel colors, typically with simple gable roofs of orange tiles or black slates. Townhouses often stand wall to wall along the road.

Flemish-Style Brick Houses

Rows of dark red brick houses resembling Flemish architecture are found near the Belgian border. The individual bricks are sometimes outlined by white mortar.

French Riviera Architecture

The French Riviera, the southern coast, and Bastia in Corsica feature rich areas with planted palms and light-colored, multi-story buildings with wide balconies, mirroring characteristics of Monaco.

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Corsican Cuboid Stone Barriers

Cuboid barriers made of stones and mortar are commonly found on the island of Corsica. These structures can help identify the island within Mediterranean landscapes.

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Terrain of France

The tallest mountains in France are located in the southeast and along the Spanish border. While the northern and western coasts are generally flat or rolling, the southern half of the country is hillier.

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Arrowhead Utility Pole Tops

Certain utility pole variations in France feature insulators positioned on top. These configurations can resemble an arrowhead and are unique to the country.

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Generation 3 Antenna Flags

On rare occasions, a flag may be found attached to the antenna in generation 3 coverage. Although many of these highlighted areas have been overwritten, learning the distribution of these antennas can yield high scores.

French Utility Pole Plates

Plates are found on almost all wooden and metallic poles in France, but they are less common on ladder poles.

French Pole Tops

Diamond-shaped pole tops with three wires, commonly called French poletops, are most frequently found on top of ladder poles.

Blue Utility Pole Plates

Small blue rectangular plates, often referred to as stickers, are found on utility poles uniquely in France.

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Ladder and Waffle Concrete Poles

Concrete poles featuring step-like indents are common across France. These are frequently referred to as ladder or waffle poles.

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Occitanie Regional Flag

The official flag of the Occitanie region features a red and yellow logo with an Occitan cross and vertical stripes.

Department Logos and Flags

Most departments have a unique logo, formally called an official flag, which often contains stylized initials or the entire name. These logos can be found on infrastructure.

Austrian-Colored Roadside Rectangles

Roads may be lined by tall rectangles on a stick in the colors of the Austrian flag, which are not found elsewhere.

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Southwestern Maritime Pine Forests

Forests composed entirely of Maritime pines are located in the flat southwestern departments of Gironde and Landes. This flat terrain is atypical for other regions containing these pines.

Black Shingle Roof Distribution

In France, black shingle roofs are primarily found in the northwest, with the Loire river acting as a rough cutoff. They are also located near the Belgian border, in the south-centre, and in the Pyrenees, serving as a clue to distinguish between the Alps and the Pyrenees.

Alsace Germanic Architecture

The Alsace region of France features a concentration of Germanic architectural elements, including timber framing and half-hip roofs.

The French -ux Suffix

The suffix -ux is unique to the French language.

Brittany's Plou- Prefix

Towns with the 'Plou-' prefix are concentrated in northwestern Brittany.

Coastal City Names

In France, city names containing terms that mean 'on sea' or 'beach' are located exclusively along the coast.

Southern French Roofs

In the south of France, roofs are often made of overlapping rounded tiles that frequently vary in color.

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Atlantic Coast Salt Farms

Salt farms featuring flooded trenches with grass medians are located along the Atlantic coast, particularly around Guérande, Noirmoutier, Île de Ré, and Île d'Oléron.

Administrative Divisions of France

European France is divided into 13 regions and 96 departments, which appear as the primary administrative divisions on Google Maps. Other rarer divisions include former regions, historical provinces, and FFFT regions.

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France located south of Newfoundland in Canada. For country streaks purposes, this territory is counted as France.

Parisian Mansard Roofs

Common in Parisian architecture, mansard roofs consist of steep black shingle roofs with inserted dormer windows. They are often seen in abundance on wide boulevards.

Martinique Territory Status

Martinique is an overseas department, region, and single territorial collectivity of France located in the eastern Caribbean. For country streaks purposes, it is counted as France.

Réunion Overseas Department

Réunion is an overseas department and region of France located east of Madagascar. It is counted as France for country streaks.

Southeastern Lavender Fields

Lavender fields can be found in the southeastern region of France.

Alpine Architecture

Alpine architecture, found in the Alps, is characterized by its light-colored base and extensive wooden elements.

Wine Production in France

France is the second largest wine producer in the world, featuring many famous wine regions.

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Eure-et-Loir Road Designations

In Eure-et-Loir, D-roads with superscript numbers are highly common. On maps, these road numbers are expressed as decimals, such as D134.10 and D121.9.

Northern Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are considerably more common in the northern part of the country.

Sunflowers in Southwest France

Sunflowers in France are mostly found in the southwestern region, particularly around Toulouse.

Brittany Architecture

Architecture in Brittany is characterized by black roofs. The walls of these structures are typically either very light-colored or made of stone.

Generation 4 Smallcam Coverage

France features Generation 4 "smallcam" coverage, which is mounted lower than regular Generation 4. This camera has a relatively big circular blur with a small protrusion at the front, which can also be fully transparent.

Thin B-Type Guardrails

Thin B-type guardrails, which are typical for Czechia and Slovakia, are sometimes found on highways in the northern half of France. They often appear on routes coming from Le Mans, Tours, Paris, Reims, and Metz.

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Department Names and Logos

French departments are often named after physical geographical features, and their logos may appear on various infrastructure.

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Outer Road Dashes

Typical roads in France feature long, spaced-out dashes along the outer edges.

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Blue Chevron Signs

France uses chevron signs featuring white arrows on a blue background. These signs can display between one and five arrows.

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Hedge-Lined Rural Roads

Rural roads bordered by view-blocking hedges are primarily located in northwestern France, particularly Normandy, and resemble those in the British Isles.

Common French Car Brands

The French car brands Peugeot, Renault, and Citroën together make up almost half of all cars in France.

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Long Dashed Middle Lines

France can feature middle lines with dashes that are longer than usual.

French Department Postal Codes

Each department in France is assigned a number. Postal codes consist of five digits, with the first two digits representing the department.

French Telephone Numbers

French telephone numbers are 10 digits long, with the first two pairs of digits being two separate area codes.

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Stone Pines in France

Stone pines are commonly found along the southern coast of France, often planted alongside urban roads. These trees can also be found as far north as Nantes.

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Occitan on southern street signs

Southern signs may show Occitan, a Romance tongue close to Catalan; the word for 'street' resembles 'carrièra'.

Basque bilingual signs, southwest

The western edge of one southwestern département shows Basque signage, heavy in K, X and Z, in a thin font.

Breton signage on the western cape

The northwestern peninsula shows Breton, a Celtic language with letters k, w and ñ; 'straed' means street.

Web domain .fr

Web and advert domains ending in .fr point to this country.

Drives on the right

Traffic keeps to the right-hand side of the road.

Web domain .eu

An .eu top-level domain only narrows location to the European Union.