{"id":5769,"date":"2025-01-09T15:29:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T14:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/?p=5769"},"modified":"2025-10-15T15:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:56:11","slug":"driving-on-the-french-riviera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver’s Licence"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have made the move to the C\u00f4te d’Azur, you will definitely want to get a car to explore this stunning region. Here is our quick guide for expats to driving on the French Riviera<\/a>. If you\u2019ve just arrived from the UK or Australia, remember the French drive on the right-hand side of the road. Usually, it should take you no more than 3 months to get comfortable driving. And those hair-raising moments exiting roundabouts on the wrong side of the road will soon be a distant memory! (We find it helps to chant right is right<\/em> in the beginning.)<\/p>\n

Driving Licence<\/h2>\n

If you have teenagers, they must be at least 18 years old and have a valid driving licence to drive in France. One word of warning, it is common to have random police controls in the South of France.\u00a0 So make sure to carry your licence with you at all times, just in case. And if you plan to stay on the French Riviera indefinitely, it might be a good idea to get a French driving licence.<\/p>\n

How to apply for a French driving licence<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. If you have an EU issued driver’s licence, you can use it in France indefinitely or exchange it for a French one.<\/p>\n

2. If your driver’s licence was issued in a non-EU country, it must be exchanged within one year of official residency in France. You will need to get a certified translation of your valid driver’s licence before you can get a French one.<\/p>\n

3. If you cannot fulfill the conditions listed above, you will have to undergo a full driving test (both theory and practice) in order to obtain a French driving licence. Good luck!<\/p>\n

For more information, please visit:\u00a0https:\/\/www.service-public.fr\/particuliers\/vosdroits\/F1460?lang=en<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Where to buy or lease a car<\/h2>\n

Antibes, Cannes and Nice all have large car showrooms, just google the brands that spark your interest. But if you are looking for a car to match your superyacht, Monaco is the place for you. You will find many supercar showrooms in the Principality and car dealers such as Monaco Luxury and Monaco Occasion who specialises in pre-owned vehicles. And it won’t be long before you drive away in your Lamborghini or Aston Martin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have made the move to the C\u00f4te d’Azur, you will definitely want to get a car to explore this stunning region. Here is our quick guide for expats […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[228,223],"tags":[391,390,389],"class_list":["post-5769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-info-south-france","category-relocation","tag-drivers-licence","tag-drivers-license","tag-french-driving-licence"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDriving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver's Licence - Riviera Edition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here is our quick guide to driving on the French Riviera, from how to exchange your driver's licence to where to buy or lease a car.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver's Licence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here is our quick guide to driving on the French Riviera, from how to exchange your driver's licence to where to buy or lease a car.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Riviera Edition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rivieraedition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-09T14:29:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T13:56:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@travelerriviera\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@travelerriviera\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Staff Writer\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dc67feab96dd4211a236f5a3b1ff99f4\"},\"headline\":\"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver’s Licence\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-09T14:29:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-15T13:56:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":397,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"drivers licence\",\"drivers license\",\"French driving licence\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General Information\",\"Relocation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/\",\"name\":\"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver's Licence - Riviera Edition\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-09T14:29:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-15T13:56:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"Here is our quick guide to driving on the French Riviera, from how to exchange your driver's licence to where to buy or lease a car.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853,\"caption\":\"Photo: Pixabay\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver’s Licence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Riviera Edition\",\"description\":\"The best of the South of France\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Riviera Edition\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/IMG_0866.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/IMG_0866.jpeg\",\"width\":354,\"height\":326,\"caption\":\"Riviera Edition\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/rivieraedition\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/travelerriviera\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/rivieraedition\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dc67feab96dd4211a236f5a3b1ff99f4\",\"name\":\"Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2e79fd5c84f19d9df1873032857b5e44af5ffe947a2f565fa9abe11764310373?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2e79fd5c84f19d9df1873032857b5e44af5ffe947a2f565fa9abe11764310373?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2e79fd5c84f19d9df1873032857b5e44af5ffe947a2f565fa9abe11764310373?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivieraedition.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/staff-writer\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver's Licence - Riviera Edition","description":"Here is our quick guide to driving on the French Riviera, from how to exchange your driver's licence to where to buy or lease a car.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver's Licence","og_description":"Here is our quick guide to driving on the French Riviera, from how to exchange your driver's licence to where to buy or lease a car.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/","og_site_name":"Riviera Edition","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rivieraedition","article_published_time":"2025-01-09T14:29:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-15T13:56:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@travelerriviera","twitter_site":"@travelerriviera","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Staff Writer","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/"},"author":{"name":"Staff Writer","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dc67feab96dd4211a236f5a3b1ff99f4"},"headline":"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver’s Licence","datePublished":"2025-01-09T14:29:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-15T13:56:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/"},"wordCount":397,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg","keywords":["drivers licence","drivers license","French driving licence"],"articleSection":["General Information","Relocation"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/","name":"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver's Licence - Riviera Edition","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-09T14:29:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-15T13:56:11+00:00","description":"Here is our quick guide to driving on the French Riviera, from how to exchange your driver's licence to where to buy or lease a car.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vintage-1950s-887272_1280.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"caption":"Photo: Pixabay"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/driving-on-the-french-riviera\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Driving on the French Riviera & When to Apply for a French Driver’s Licence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/","name":"Riviera Edition","description":"The best of the South of France","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#organization","name":"Riviera Edition","url":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/IMG_0866.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/IMG_0866.jpeg","width":354,"height":326,"caption":"Riviera Edition"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rivieraedition","https:\/\/x.com\/travelerriviera","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rivieraedition"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dc67feab96dd4211a236f5a3b1ff99f4","name":"Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e79fd5c84f19d9df1873032857b5e44af5ffe947a2f565fa9abe11764310373?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e79fd5c84f19d9df1873032857b5e44af5ffe947a2f565fa9abe11764310373?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e79fd5c84f19d9df1873032857b5e44af5ffe947a2f565fa9abe11764310373?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/author\/staff-writer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5769"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11257,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769\/revisions\/11257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivieraedition.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}