If you’re driving down from London I would recommend taking the crossings from Dover to Calais and head down the A16 towards Paris. This is a charming motorway (I know it’s a strange concept) crossing several viaducts with spectacular views. Don’t be put off by the road tolls, you’ll make the money back on fuel savings plus it’s a lot easier than the normal roads if you’re not used to driving in France (everyone’s going the same way for one thing so no need to worry which side of the road to drive on). You can use your credit card to pay these but not in the automatic machines that only accept French cards. So stay away from the “CB” (carte banquere) lanes.

Continue on the A16 until you reach JUNCTION 10 then take the N184. It only goes one direction, south west toward ST GERMAIN and VERSAILLES. Then you will arrive at the top right of the enclosed maps which will guide you through the toughest part of the journey; PARIS. (See MAP ONE below) Actually you just stay on the N184 until you reach the junction with the N308 sign posted DIRECTION POISSY. (See MAP TWO) This will take you through to the next motorway the A13 which you take in the south-east direction for one junction where you join the A12 south toward RAMBOUILLET, which you pass by on your way to the A11. Pass UNDER the A11 through ABLIS (actually round it) and join the A10 (direction south toward ORLÉANS) at JUNCTION 11. That's the hard bit taken care of. See the step by step instructions for the rest of the route.