Driving through a country is often the best way to discover hidden gems such as fabulous landscapes and stunning countryside. However, travelling by car comes with a series of expenses including fuel and toll road charges.
This is particularly true in France, a nation dotted with tiny villages including historic Locronan in Brittany and Gordes in Provence also home to the most expensive motorway route in Europe.
An analysis by vehicle hire company Northgate showed travelling from Paris to Marseille along the A6 and A7 motorways will cost motorists a whopping £52.59 in tolls.
This cost covers only a one-way trip, which means tourists planning a return journey would need to set aside more than £100 for tolls alone.
Paris distances approximately 410 miles from Marseille, France’s second-largest city.
To drive from Paris to the southern city, motorists need to hop on the A6 and then the A7 taking people through Lyon, another major French city providing a perfect halfway break for visitors.
Besides this seven-and-a-half-hour trip by car, there are other ways to reach Marseille from the French capital.
The cities are connected by internal flights going from Orly Airport to Marseille Provence Airport.
While the journey aboard the plane itself is only one hour and 20 minutes, travellers need to take into account also how long it takes to get from Paris to Orly and how to close the 15-mile distance between the airport in Marseille and the city’s centre.
Finally, the two cities are linked by direct high-speed TGV trains. The trip lasts around 3.5 hours, and has the perk of taking tourists very close to both city centres.
The A6/A7 link between Paris and Marseille is also the most expensive for HGV drivers, Northgate found, with the toll costing an eye-watering £305.24.
When it comes to tolls paid by family cars, Italy holds the second position for most expensive, as a trip on the motorways connecting Milan and Naples will cost £50.73. The same route costs lorry drivers £69.03 in tolls.
In third position is Norway, where regular cars heading from Bodø to Oslo pay a £45.16 toll.
