The A8 autoroute, also known as La Provençale, is a -long highway in France that runs between

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

and the A7 to the

Côte d'Azur The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

Route

The A8 is an extension of the A7 starting to the west of Aix-en-Provence at La Fare-les-Oliviers. The road passes through the Departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

. It serves the towns of Aix-en-Provence,

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of ...

, Saint-Raphaël, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Cannes,

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of ...

, Nice, Monaco and Menton before crossing the border where it becomes the A10 in Italy. It crosses the mountain ranges of Sainte-Baume and of Maures between Aix-en-Provence and Fréjus and the Massif de l'Esterel between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes. Following the

Grande Corniche A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising on one side and falling away on the other. The word has been absorbed into English from the French term ' or "road on a ledge", originally derived from the Italia ...

the road offers panoramas of the sea between Nice and Menton.

Capacity

* 2x3 lanes from Coudoux (the junction with the A7 to

La Barque LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

(junction with the A52). * 2x2 lanes from

to Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (being expanded to 2x3 lanes) increases to 2x3 lanes at

Cagnes-sur-Mer Cagnes-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cagnes on Sea''; oc, Canha de Mar) is a French Riviera town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Cagnes-sur-Mer is a town in south-eastern ...

. * 2x4 lanes from

to Saint-Laurent-du-Var (the road enters the Nice

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

). * 2x2 lanes in the section through the southern Alps from Nice Saint-Augustin to the frontier with Italy, this section has 15 tunnels. There is a speed limit of 90 km/h in the tunnels (70 km/h for large vehicles).

Traffic

The road has heavy traffic all year round and is especially congested in July and August (in particular around

and Nice. As a result, traffic-management schemes have been adopted between Var to Nice-West similar to those on the Péripherique in Paris. The autoroute is regularly closed on the Nice-Menton section as a result of rock falls onto the carriageways. The sections crossing the Maures and L'Esterel mountains are at risk from forest fires in summer.

Interchanges

28 : A7 autoroute, Coudoux * Aire de pique-nique

Aires de repos: Ventabren * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

29 18 km:

(ouest) *

28 : A51 autoroute * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

30 19 km: Aix-en-Provence (pont de l'Arc) * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

31 21 km: Aix-en-Provence (est) * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

32 27 km: N7 Châteauneuf-le-Rouge * Péage

Péage de La Barque * Sinnbild Autobahnkreuz

: A52 autoroute * Aire d'autoroute - station essence

Aires de service: Rousset (eastbound) L'Arc (westbound) * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

33 47 km: Pourrières * Aire de pique-nique

Aires de repos: Saint-Hilaire (eastbound) Barcelone (westbound) * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

34 58 km: Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume * Aire d'autoroute - station essence

Aires de service: Cambarette * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

35 74 km: Brignoles * Aire de pique-nique

Aires de repos: Roudai/Candumy * Sinnbild Autobahnkreuz

: A57 autoroute * Aire d'autoroute - station essence

Aires de service: Vidauban * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

36 118 km: Draguignan / Le Muy, Gulf of

Saint-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Al ...

Aires de repos: Jas Pellicot * Aire d'autoroute - station essence

Aires de service: Canaver * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

37 129 km:

/ Puget-sur-Argens * Péage

Péage de Le Capitou/Fréjus Ouest * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

38 134 km: Fréjus / Saint-Raphaël * Aire d'autoroute - station essence

Aires de service: L'Esterel * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

39 145 km: les Adrets-de-l'Esterel * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

40 157 km: Mandelieu-la-Napoule * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

41 159 km: Cannes / Les Tourrades * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

42 165 km: Cannes / Mougins * Aire de pique-nique

Aires de repos: Piccolaret * Aire d'autoroute - station essence

Aires de service: Breguieres * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

44 171 km:

Ouest, Sophia Antipolis * Péage

Péage d' Antibes Ouest * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

46 178 km: Villeneuve-Loubet / Bouches du Loup * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

47 179 km: Villeneuve-Loubet Centre * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

48 181 km:

49 185 km: Saint-Laurent-du-Var * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

50 186 km: Nice (promenade des Anglais) * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

51 187 km: Nice (Saint-Augustin) * Péage

Péage de Nice Saint-Isidore * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

52 190 km: Nice (Saint-Isidore) * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

54 197 km: Nice (nord) * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

55 199.5 km: Nice (l'Ariane) * Sinnbild Autobahnkreuz

56 :

Monaco (A500 Spur) * Péage

Péage de La Turbie * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

57 208 km: La Turbie * Aire d'autoroute - station essence

Aires de service: La Scoperta (eastbound) Beausoleil (westbound) * Sinnbild Autobahnausfahrt

58 214 km:

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (; oc, Ròcabruna Caup Martin or ; it, Roccabruna-Capo Martino, ; Mentonasc: ''Rocabrüna''; Roquebrune until 1921) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern Fr ...

59 220 km: Menton * ''State border'' * 224 km Flag of Italy

Autostrada A10 ( Italy)

Opening dates of the A8

*1956: Creation of

Escota Vinci (corporately styled VINCI) is a French concessions and construction company founded in 1899 as Société Générale d'Enterprises. Its head office is in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris. Vinci is listed on Euronext's Paris stock ...

, a company to be in charge of all the sections from

to the Italian Frontier. *1961: Opening of the toll sections of

through Mandelieu-la-Napoule to

(exit 46). *1969: Opening of the toll section from Roquebrune to the Italian frontier (initially only one carriageway and for lightweight vehicles. Then, in 1970, both carriageways were opened). *1971–1974: Staged opening of the sections between

and

. *1976: Opening of the section between

and Roquebrune (partly one carriageway only—the doubling of some tunnels was completed as late as 1988).

External links

Autoroute A8 on Saratlas
{{Autoroutes A08