If you’re driving via France and wish a spot to stretch your legs, use the amenities, and possibly get one thing to eat or gasoline on your automobile, the place do you go? Particularly if there may be not a decent-sized city for miles?
The reply: an aire.
What’s an Aire?
An aire is what English-speaking nations name a relaxation cease, motorway service space, lay-by, or one thing comparable. Aires are typically clear, handy, and well-maintained (although watch out for the occasional squat rest room.)
Like relaxation stops, there are totally different sorts of aires in France.
Aire de Repos
That is the most typical sort of aire, set alongside the nation’s autoroutes, in addition to on a few of the busier secondary roads.
Aires de repos at all times have bathrooms, contemporary water, and separate parking areas for automobiles and for tractor-trailers, and infrequently embody different providers like picnic tables, merchandising machines, and electrical automobile charging stations.
Aire de Service
These are bigger than the aires de repos. Along with the providers offered by the smaller aires, they’ve a service station and not less than one restaurant or self-service eating choice. Most have charging stations for electrical automobiles, and lots of embody outlets, showers, and dumping stations for tenting automobiles.
Aire d’Accueil
These are aires created particularly for tenting automobiles and motor properties. By legislation they’re established for using gens de voyage (itinerant vacationers), however anybody can use them. A useful supply for locating different locations designed for campers is the app park4night.
Spending the Night time
Vacationers are welcome to sleep of their automobiles, although aires are usually busy and never very quiet. Vacationers also needs to remember that autoroute pay tickets are solely legitimate for twenty-four hours, successfully making a restrict of 1 night time’s keep.
The right way to Discover an Aire?
Aires are marked with particular blue indicators alongside the aspect of the street.
- The highest part reveals the title of the aire
- The center part reveals the gap to the aire
- Under which can be containers exhibiting providers offered past the minimal (bathrooms, parking, and water.) For instance, a gasoline pump signifies a gasoline station, a crossed knife and fork signifies eating, and a teeter-totter signifies a kids’s play space. Electrical automobile charging stations are indicated by a drawing of a automobile with a plug popping out the again. Typically the particular names of the gasoline station and the eating places can be proven.
- For aires de service, beneath the containers is the gap to the following aire de service. That is useful for drivers deciding when to fill their gasoline tank.
Keith Van Sickle splits his time between Provence and California. He’s the creator of An Insider’s Information to Provence, One Sip at a Time, and Are We French But? Learn extra at Life in Provence
