Route nationale 10, or RN 10, is a trunk (

route nationale A ''route nationale'', or simply ''nationale'', is a class of trunk road in France. They are important roads of national significance which cross broad portions of the French territory, in contrast to departmental or communal roads which serve m ...

) in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

between

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and the border with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

via

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

Reclassification

Unlike many other ''routes nationales'', the road retains its status along the majority of its route. However, several sections have been downgraded to RD, ''route départementale'' (departmental road): the RD 810, RD 910 and RD 911.

Route

Paris- Chartres- Poitiers-

-''

Paris to Chartres (0 km to 83 km)

The road begins at the ''Porte de Saint Cloud'', southwest of central Paris, as the ''Avenue du Général Leclerc''. It passes the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. The road crosses the river Seine. Through traffic then takes the RN 118 dual carriageway. The old RN 10 is now renamed the RD 910 and called ''Grande Rue'' through the suburb of

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

. The road then passes

Chaville Chaville () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some 12 km from the centre of Paris in the south-western suburbs of the French capital. Geography Chaville is bordered by ...

between the ''Forêt de Fausses Reposses'' and ''Forêt de Meudon''. It continues west as the ''Avenue de Paris'' to the town of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

and its palace as the RD 10 (''route départementale''). The road then turns south in the square past the railway station before turning west again as the ''Avenue de la Division Leclerc'', skirting the domain of the ''Château de Versailles''. The road crosses the RN 12 before becoming the RN 10 southbound with a junction onto the A 12. The road plunges into the ''Forêt de Rambouillet'' and then reaches the town of Rambouilet. At

Ablis Ablis () is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and ter ...

, it crosses the A 11 and turns west through flat countryside to Chartres.

Chartres to Poitiers (83 km to 320 km)

To the south of Chartres the road turns south west over gently rolling countryside now bypassing the old villages, crossing the river Loir at Bonneval. It next comes to Châteaudun, and follows the Loir valley skirting the ''Forêt de Fréteval'' before entering

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a subprefecture of the department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the main towns along the river Loir. The river divides itself at the ...

where it leaves the valley and crosses the TGV Atlantique line before reaching

Château-Renault Château-Renault is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Geography Château-Renault is located on the Far-West of the Gâtine Tourangelle plateau, next to the Loir-et-Cher department and at the confluence of two river ...

. The countryside becomes more wooded as the road heads to

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

where it crosses the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

and the Cher. The town is also on the ''autoroutes'' A10 and A85. RN 10 heads south over a wooded ridge and then into the Indre river valley through rolling countryside. The road crosses the river

Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the ea ...

and then follows the valley of the

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.Châtellerault. It then follows the river

Clain The Clain (; oc, Clen, link=yes) is a long river in western France, a left tributary of the river Vienne. Its source is near Hiesse, Charente. The Clain flows generally north, through the following departments and towns: *Charente * Vienne: ...

to the city of Poitiers. Here the RN 11 branches off west to

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

and the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast.

Poitiers to Bordeaux (320 km to 546 km)

RN 10 continues south following the river Clain as the countryside becomes increasingly hilly. It then follows the river Charente, the old course of the road is now numbered the RD 911. It passes through the ''Forêt de Ruffec'' before crossing the Charente at Mansle. On the south bank it crosses the ''Forêt de Boixe'' before following the ''Charente'' again at the hill top town of Angoulême, then heads south west as the old RD 910 passing over the hills reaching a height of 142 m. The road by-passes little towns such as Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire then through the ''Bois de Creusat'' into

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

country passing the village of Pouillac. It meets the A 10 again at Saint-André-de-Cubzac and crosses the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is name ...

. The old road passes through Ambarès-et-Lagrave as ''avenue de l'Aquitaine'' (as the RD 911). It becomes the ''avenue Carnet'' and ''avenue Thiers'' in the centre of Bordeaux. It then crosses the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...

at the '' Pont de pierre''.

Bordeaux to France's border with Spain (546 km to 749 km)

The road leaves Bordeaux to the south as the ''cours Gambetta'' and crosses the A 630/E 70 at Réjouit and then into heavily wooded countryside of the ''

Landes de Gascogne The Landes de Gascogne (in Gascon, classic spelling ''las Lanas de Gasconha'', Fébusienne spelling ''leus Lanes de Gascougne''), or Gascony Moors, is a natural region of France of nearly . It extends over three departments: Gironde, Landes and ...

''. The ''Centre d'études scientifiques et techniques d'Aquitaine'', a

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

research center, is located 4 km north of the village of

Le Barp Le Barp (; oc-gsc, Lo Barp) is a municipality in the Southwest of France that has 5410 inhabitants (April 2018). It is located in the Department of Gironde in the Region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is also located in the Landes Forest, on the terri ...

. The road continues to Belin-Béliet before converging with the A 63 (E 5, E 70). It then runs south with the old course now numbered the D 10e as the new road bypasses the town of

Labouheyre Labouheyre (; oc, La Bohèira) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Landes department *Parc naturel régional des Landes de Gascogne Landes de Gascogne Regional Natu ...

. At the river Adour the A 63 starts again branching to the west. RN 10 has a junction with RN 124 going through

Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse (; Gascon: ''Sent Vincenç de Tiròssa'') is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 3 ...

, then heads towards the Atlantic coast entering Bayonne where it crosses to the south side of the river Adour on the ''Pont H. Grenet'', and continues southwest past the airport and Biarritz. RN 10 reaches the ''Côte basque'' by

Bidart Bidart (; eu, Bidarte)BIDARTE

Guéthary Guéthary (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It is located in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, the town traditionally standing on the northernmost coastal linguistic boundary of the B ...

, alongside the ''Plage de Parlementia'' before entering the town of

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle (, literally ''Saint-Pée on Nivelle''; eu, Senpere)SENPERE

Urrugne Urrugne (; eu, Urruña)URRUÑA
Bidasoa __NOTOC__ The Bidasoa (, ; french: Bidassoa, ) is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the p ...

and entering

where the road becomes the N-I.

External

{{DEFAULTSORT:Route Nationale 10

010 010 may refer to: * 10 (number) * 8 (number) in octal numeral notation * Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982 * 010, the telephone area code of Beijing * 010, the Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the R ...