A driving holiday in France can be absolute bliss – but you might well want to avoid the cities. Like many European cities – particularly in those more Latin, hot-blooded climes – Paris suffers from a severe case of road-rage. One particular hotspot – although there are too many to count – is that vast roundabout designed by a deranged Napoleon that encircles L’Arc du Triomphe. Attempting to negotiate this behemoth of chicanery is like trying to part the red sea: messy, nigh impossible and potentially fatal. Just pity the poor tourists who missed the entrance to the underground crossing, and are attempting to sprint between swerving Twingos in a suicidal mission to the rather underwhelming-up-close L’Arc.

If you are determined to stop off in Paris on your driving holiday – which, to be honest, a site-seeing trip to France would be incomplete without – then make sure your car insurance is fully braced to deal with any eventuality. Your insurer should be able to extend your current car insurance to cover you, but it’s worth having a shop around, just to make sure you’re getting the best deal. If you’ve opted for car hire, please ensure that you’ve read the small print of the contract, and checked the condition of the car before you drive away in to the sunset – any scrapes and scratches from any previous hirers must be noted and not pinned on you at some later date. Co-operative insurance offer some great deals on car insurance, and will be happy to alleviate the pain of jargon-heavy policies with some decent straight talking. Just make sure that when you hit those conniving, battle-hardened roads in Paris you have every wit about you. Along with a sharp tongue!