Would you recommend taking a car to France?

I'm in Cadiz,  Spain for my year abroad and I drove from Brighton...I had just got my car after my old banger had to be scrapped, so wasn't practical to sell it or leave it behind. I travelled with my friend who is also studying here, which made it a lot easier because we shared the driving. We caught the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander, which cut out the drive through France.  If you are a confident and experienced driver the drive itself won't be a problem. The real issues arise when you reach your destination: can you park for free, is the parking safe, will you have to walk miles to your car from your new home? Additionally, I don't know about France but in Spain you can only take a foreign plated car to Spain for 6 months in one calendar year before your car is deemed unroadworthy and technically your insurance becomes void. It is a grey area, not just because most insurance policies will have a clause dictating that you are only covered in the eu as long as your trip does not exceed 30 days. Again, this is a technicality, but worth careful consideration.  On the plus side, you will experience a whole other side of the country with more freedom and flexibility to travel around. If you live far from campus and there is a carpark at uni, it may be a godsend to be able to drive. If you do decide to drive to France,  remember to keep every travel related receipt for your travel grant. Fuel, ferry tickets, etc. Oh and don't forget breakdown cover! I got European comprehensive cover from greenflag - using top cashback.com I got a further £15 reduction. Lastly: you will need headlamp adaptors for driving on the continent, warning triangle (s), hi vis vests and a satnav which covers Europe. Hope this helps!

A car is certainly useful for getting around France, as even though the trains are good they take a long time and are quite expensive, and if you're going from one side of the country to the other you end up having to go via Paris quite often which is a pain!