The A7 Autoroute, also known as l'autoroute du Soleil (English: the Motorway of the Sun) is a French motorway. It continues the A6 and links
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
to
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. The autoroute du Soleil is long and forms part of
European route
The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Centr ...
Vénissieux
Vénissieux (; Arpitan language, Arpitan: or in the Lyonnais dialect) is a Communes of France, commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in eastern France.
Geography
Vénissieux is located on the sou ...
Vienne
Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Valence par N7,
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
par RN (de Lyon)
* 10 32 km: Vienne, L'Isle d'Abeau (de Marseille)
* Péage de Vienne
* Aires de repos : Auberives (northbound) Grande Borne (Southbound)
* Aire de SRoussilon (northbound Petrol only)
* 12 33 km: Chanas Annonay / N82
* Aire de St Rambert d'Albon
* Aires de repos : Blacheronde (northbound) Combe Tourmente (southbound)
* Aires de repos : Bornaron/La Galaure
* Aires de repos : Bouterne (southbound)
* 13 : Tain l'Hermittage
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
* Aire de Pont de l'Isere/Latitude 45'
* 14: Valence nord
* 15: Gap Valence vers A49 / N532
* Aire de Portes les Valence
* Aires de repos : Bellevue/Livron
* 16:
Loriol-sur-Drôme
Loriol-sur-Drôme (, literally ''Loriol on Drôme''; Vivaro-Alpine: ''L’Auriòu de Droma'') is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.
Loriol is situated in the Rhône valley, between Valence and Montélimar.
The neighb ...
Crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
Montélimar
Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018 ...
Le Teil
Le Teil () is a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality ...
Dieulefit
Dieulefit (; ''Dieulofé'', from Old Occitan ''Dieu lo fe'' "God made it") is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Drôme department
The following is a list of the 363 communes of ...
* Aire de Montélimar
* Aires de repos : Coucourde/Le logis neuf
* Aires de repos : Savasse/Roubion
* 18: Montélimar
Aubenas
Aubenas (; oc, Aubenàs) is a commune in the southern part of the Ardèche department in Southern France. It is the seat of several government offices. The mountainous and rugged countryside is popular for vacation homes. The river Ardèche fl ...
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France.
Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its ca ...
* Aires de repos : Donzere (southbound) Pierrelate (northbound)
* Aires de repos : Tricastin (southbound)
* 19:
Bollène
Bollène (; Provençal: ''Bouleno'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
Geography
Bollène is a commune located in the north of the Vaucluse department next to the juncti ...
Alès
Alès (; oc, Alès) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie regions of France, region in southern France. It is one of the Subprefectures in France, su ...
* Aire de Mornas les Adrets (southbound) Mornas village (northbound)
* A7- A9 Junction
* 21 167 km:
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
* Aires de repos : Orange le Gres/Orange le Coudoulet
* Aires de repos : Le Fournalet (northbound)
* 22 172 km: Orange sud
Carpentras
Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
...
* Aire de Sorgues (southbound)
* Aire de Repos: Le Fournalet (northbound)
* 23 188 km:
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
nord
Carpentras
Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
...
* Aire de Morieres (northbound)
* 24 198 km:
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
sud,
Apt
Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment.
Apt may also refer to:
Places
* Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence
* Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France
* A ...
* Aires de repos : Noves (southbound) Cabannes (northbound)
* Aires de repos : Cavaillon
* * 25 211 km:
Cavaillon
Cavaillon (; Provençal: ''Cavalhon'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France.Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
Tarascon
Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Taras ...
* Aires de repos : Sénas
* 26 221 km: Sénas
* Aires de repos : Lamanon (southbound)
* 27 229 km: Rognac, Avignon et Lyon par RN
* A7- A54 Junction
* Péage de Lançon Provence
* Aires de repos :
* A7- A8 Junction
* 29 254 km: Rognac Berre
* Aire de Vitrolles
* 30 : Vitrolles
* 29: Aéroport Marignane
* 30: Les Pennes-Mirabeau (de Marseille)
* A7- A55 Junction
* 31: Les Pennes-Mirabeau (de Lyon)
* A7- A51 Junction
* 32: St Antoine (N8)
* 33: Les Aygalades
* 34: Les Arnavaux
* A7- A507 Junction
* 35: La Rose,
Aubagne
Aubagne (, ''Aubanha'' in Occitan according to the classic norm or ''Aubagno'' according to the Mistralian norm) is a commune in the southern French department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2018, it had a population of 47,208. Its inhabitants are k ...
,
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
par RN
* 36:A557 liaison vers A55, Bd.-Plombière (depuis Lyon)
* 37: Saint Charles
* Terminus at
Porte d'Aix
Porte d'Aix (also known as the Porte Royale) is a triumphal arch in Marseille, in the south of France, marking the old entry point to the city on the road from Aix-en-Provence. The classical design by Michel-Robert Penchaud was inspired by the tr ...
Péages (Tolls)
*Péage de Vienne
*Péage de Lançon de Provence
Traffic
This autoroute is fairly heavy throughout the year. Much of the transit of heavy goods between northern France and the
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
countries and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and the Mediterranean passes through the Rhône valley, and thus along the A7. Traffic is also generated by local transit around the larger cities of the region (Lyon, Vienne, Valence, Orange, Avignon). During holiday periods, traffic is particularly congested, southbound at the beginning of holidays, northbound at the end. The last week-end of July and the first week-end of August are particularly crowded in both directions; jams can occasionally stretch for hundreds of kilometers.
Future
The section of the motorway going through Lyon between La Mulatière and Perrache train station are in the process of being declassified, with the intent of turning this section into an urban boulevard. To compensate, a new motorway, the A44 will be built bypassing Lyon and connecting to the A7.