A8 autoroute


The A8 autoroute, also known simply as the A8 or by its nickname La Provençale, is an autoroute in Southern France. It runs from the A7 ahead of Aix-en-Provence to the Italian border at Menton through the French Riviera, serving Cannes, Antibes, Nice, as well as Monaco. It is 224 kilometres long; after the Italian border, it connects with the Autostrada A10 towards Genoa.
𝕏 A8Trafic

Route

The A8 is an extension of the A7 starting to the west of Aix-en-Provence at La Fare-les-Oliviers. The road passes through the Departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Alpes-Maritimes. It serves the towns of Aix-en-Provence, Fréjus, Saint-Raphaël, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Monaco and Menton before crossing the border where it becomes the A10 in Italy. It crosses the mountain ranges of Sainte-Baume and of Maures between Aix-en-Provence and Fréjus and the Massif de l'Esterel between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes. Following the Grande Corniche the road offers panoramas of the sea between Nice and Menton.
Whilst the route now starts to the west of Aix-en-Provence, according to the 3rd edition of the Michelin Atlas des autoroutes de France, the A8 used to start just west of Coudoux. Indeed, the toll fees were listed as being 2FF from Coudoux to Aix-en-Provence in 1973.

Capacity

Traffic

The road has heavy traffic all year round and is especially congested in July and August, in particular around Antibes and Nice. As a result, traffic-management schemes have been adopted between Var to Nice-West similar to those on the Péripherique in Paris. The autoroute is regularly closed on the Nice-Menton section as a result of rock falls onto the carriageways. The sections crossing the Maures and L'Esterel mountains are at risk from forest fires in summer.

Opening dates of the A8