Ask yourself this – when does your holiday really start?

Is it when you’re queuing for the fourth time at the airport; arguing over the weight limit of your suitcase; feeding your shoes, belt, mobile, spare change, laptop and children through security, only to find your flight is delayed by two hours when you reach duty free?

Or maybe it’s when you drive away from your house, all you could possibly need packed in the back, with only a simple ferry crossing between you and the best holiday destination in the world.

For me, there’s no comparison, when you drive to France your holiday starts as soon as you leave your front door.

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Granted, your journey on this side of the Channel might not be as much fun, but in France you’ll find wide open roads, traffic-free motorways, and so much to see and do en route, you may never get to your destination. Little wonder, then, that in a recent survey our readers voted motoring as their No1 favourite activity in France.

But for those unfamiliar with driving on the continent, it can be a daunting experience, as one of our writers David Whitley can attest: “My abiding memory of driving in France is from childhood.

"On the return journey from a day trip to Barcelona, my parents filled up at a petrol station with the wrong sort of petrol and as we crossed the French border the car was jumping around like an epileptic kangaroo.

"We limped back to Perpignan amidst a blazing in-car argument and the odd horn indicating that my dad's erratic driving wasn't appreciated. I've not driven in France since.”

And it isn’t just petrol stations that can cause confusion; there’s the mysterious priorité à droite rule, strange road signs you don’t see in Britain and all the equipment you must now carry in your car by law (have you got your warning triangle and fluorescent gilet yet?).

And so, inspired by the countless questions we are asked by our readers about rules, regulations and the best routes through France, we have published Driving In France.

It brings together all the information you need for a trip, along with 10 regional drives and the most beautiful route from the north to south avoiding all the motorways. It also includes all French phrases you would need should you have a run-in with the law – something it seems, that can happen quite frequently.

Writer, comedian and musician Tony Hawks wasn’t quite so lucky and was fined €90 for going through a red light just as it turned from amber.

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