Unusually I didn't make it to France earlier this year but may be making a short trip in November and certainly a longer stay in 2018.
I have picked up through the Caravan & Camping and the Caravan & Motorhome Clubs that a CritAir sticker is required to enter certain cities/towns, so have obtained one. (£4.80 for the three years to 2020).
My Skoda Octavia has been awarded a number 2 grading which is the best you can get with a diesel and only bettered by all electric or electric hybrid cars. Have any of you got experience of these and how do they affect youi when entering places like, Paris, Lille, Bordeaux or Lyon. How will I know if I'm allowed to enter these places and what if any charge might I expect?
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
If you have the sticker then thats it. You can drive into city centres where sticker is required. It will only be required for city centres not bypasses around those cities. Lille Strasbourg & Bordeaux being added soon.
In certain very polluted conditions, restrictions may apply even if you have a CritAir certificate - and only certain categories may be allowed into a 'zone'. If this happens then restrictions will be shown on overhead signs on entries to the zone.
We got one this yr. Only took a week to arrive. Have it now so if our plans change and we want to visit somewhere, we can!
------------- 2026
Various weekends, weather and time permitting
April - Yorkshire and Yorkshire
June - Wiltshire and Oxfordshire
Autumn - North and Scotland
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
The stickers run green for EVs/hybrids, then 1 for modern petrols, then yellow 2 through blue 5 for the most polluting.
Ours (16 plate Yeti 1.2 DSG) is a purple 1.
Been several threads on the pros and cons.
To my mind, a sticker valid for the lifetime of the car and UK delivered for €4.8 meant it was an easy decision.
There's only 1 way this stuff will go and making day out decisions based around whether we'd got a sub 5 euro disc or not was not for us.
I've not seen anything to say you can "buy" your way in if a city in the scheme declares restrictions. No sticker, or sticker above that permitted, = no entry, AFAIK.
I remember Athens years ago sometimes had a number plate thing. Evens one day, odds the next. The richer Athenians just used the right car for the day
------------- Mike
My advice is worth no more than the price paid for it
Just a thought... and being extremely tight here, I know... but do they actually have to be stuck directly to the screen?
Could they not go in ye olde fashioned tax disc holder? Can you even still get ye olde fashioned tax disc holders?
Serious question, I may add!
Either way,I think I'll be investing in one in the new year. A/ We'll be getting a new car, and B/ we are seriously discussing the possibility of "touring" next year, albeit in the loosest sense, what with us only having a fortnight, and only being in a tent.
There's no knowing where we could end up, and as others have said, it's hardly the biggest expense/gamble in the world should it ultimately prove to be not needed!
Ooh... that reminds me... I'll need a new holder for my toll tag, too!
I can't see a problem with putting it in a tax disc holder. At a campsite nr Paris most of the local reg cars had them but I saw several that were just taped to or wedged against screen. Good bet might be to put it in a tax disc holder, keep in glove box & display it only if required.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
They just say here it must be "affixed" to enable reading by enforcement officers from the outside, but don't define the word. The aide-certificat says and shows it being stuck to a car windscreen or a bike fork.
The disc issued for an actual vehicle shows its reg and a QR code, presumably for scanning by a handheld reader. If that still works presumably there's no problem with the options above.
------------- Mike
My advice is worth no more than the price paid for it
Quote: Originally posted by chinster1957 on 13/10/2017
Actually its only valid for the lifetime of the windscreen. They will not reissue without you paying again.
So true, we had to have our windscreen replaced recently. New sticker obtained, but not stuck on yet!
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: French CritAir stickers
