Route nationale 10
Encyclopedia
Route nationale 10, or RN 10, is a trunk road (nationale
Route nationale (France)
A route nationale, or simply nationale, is a trunk road in France. Trunk roads are in France are important roads which cross broad portions of the French territory, as opposed to secondary or communal roads who only serve local areas....

) in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 between Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and frontier with Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

Reclassification

Unlike many other Route nationales the road retains its status along the majority of its route. However several sections have been down graded to the RD 810, RD 910 and RD 911.

Paris to Chartres (0 km to 83 km)

The road begins at the Porte de Saint Cloud, south west of central Paris, as the Avenue du Général Leclerc. It passes the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. The road crosses the river Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...

. Through traffic then takes the RN 118 dual carriageway. The old RN 10 is now renamed the RD 910 and called Grande Rue through the suburb of Sèvres
Sèvres
Sèvres is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.The town is known for its porcelain manufacture, the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, making the famous Sèvres porcelain, as well as being the location of the International Bureau of Weights...

.

The road then passes Chaville
Chaville
Chaville is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Nearest communes:*Meudon*Sèvres*Vélizy-Villacoublay*Viroflay*Ville-d'Avray....

 between the Forêt de Fausses Reposses and Forêt de Meudon. It continues west as the Avenue de Paris to the town of Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

 and it's Palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...

 as the RD 10. The road then turns south in the Square past the railway station before turning west again as the Avenue de la Division Leclerc skirting the estate of the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....

.

The road crosses the RN 12 before becoming the RN 10 southbound with a junction onto the A 12
A12 autoroute
Autoroute A12, formerly known as the Autoroute de Bretagne , is a French autoroute located in Yvelines, near Paris. It branches off from A13 at an exchange known as the Triangle de Roquencourt located in the town of Bailly and merges with RN12 and RN10 at Bois-d'Arcy. Its total length is 8.5 km...

. The road plunges into the Forêt de Rambouillet and then reaches the town of Rambouilet. At Ablis the road crosses the A 11
A11 autoroute
The A11 autoroute is a motorway which connects Paris with Nantes via Le Mans and Angers. It is called L'Océane .- Regions crossed :The following list indexes the sites worth visiting within 14 km of the road.* Paris* Chartres* Le Mans...

and turns West through flat countryside to the Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 city of Chartres
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...

.

Chartres to Poitiers (83 km to 320 km)

To the South of Chartres the road turns south west over gently rolling countryside now bypassing the old villages crossing the River Loir
Loir
The Loir is a river in western France. It is a left tributary of the Sarthe River. Its source is in the Eure-et-Loir département, north of Illiers-Combray...

 at Bonneval
Bonneval, Eure-et-Loir
Bonneval is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-Population:-References:*...

. The road next comes to Châteaudun
Châteaudun
Châteaudun is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of Eure-et-Loir.-Geography:Châteaudun is located about 45 km northwest of Orléans, and about 50 km south-southwest of Chartres, on the river Loir, a tributary of the...

. The road follows the Loir valley skirting the Forêt de Fréteval before entering Vendôme
Vendôme
Vendôme is a commune in the Centre region of France.-Administration:Vendôme is the capital of the arrondissement of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It has a tribunal of first instance.-Geography:...

 where the road leaves the valley and crosses the TGV Atlantique
LGV Atlantique
The LGV Atlantique is a high-speed railway line running from Paris to Western France. It opened in 1989-1990. It divides into two parts at Courtalain, one going westward to Le Mans , the second one going southwestward to Tours .-Route:The line leaves Gare Montparnasse to cross Paris's southern...

 line before reaching Château Renault.

The countryside becomes more wooded as the road heads to Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...

 where it crosses the River Loire and Cher. The town is also on the Autoroutes A10 autoroute and A85 autoroute
A85 autoroute
The A85 autoroute is a motorway in France. It connects the A11 at Angers to the A71 at Vierzon. It is 270 km long.-History:The motorway was opened in 1997...

. The RN 10 heads south over a wooded ridge and then into the Indre
Indre
Indre is a department in the center of France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are called Indriens.-History:Indre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

 river valley through rolling countryside.

The river crosses the River Creuse
Creuse
Creuse is a department in central France named after the Creuse River.-History:Creuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of La Marche....

 and then follows the valley of the Vienne
Vienne
Vienne is the northernmost département of the Poitou-Charentes region of France, named after the river Vienne.- Viennese history :Vienne is one of the original 83 departments, established on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou,...

 to the town of Châtellerault
Châtellerault
Châtellerault is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in France.It is located to the north of Poitou, and the residents are called Châtelleraudais.-Geography:...

. The road then follows the River Clair
Clair
Clair or Claire may refer to:*Claire , a list of people with the name Claire- Canada :* Clair, New Brunswick* Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada, municipality located on the Island of Montreal* Clair, Saskatchewan...

 to the city of Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...

. Here the RN 11
Route nationale 11
The Route nationale 11, or RN11, is a trunk road in Southwest France between Poitiers and La Rochelle. It is part of European route E611.-Reclassification:...

 branches off West to La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...

 and the Atlantic Coast.

Poitiers to Bordeaux (320 km to 546 km)

The RN 10 continues south following the River Clair as the countryside becomes increasingly hilly. The road then follows the River Charente
Charente
Charente is a department in southwestern France, in the Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.-History:Charente is one of the original...

, the old course of the road is now numbered the RD 911. The road passes through the Foret de Ruffec before crossing the Charente at Mansle. On the south bank the road crosses the Foret de Boixe before following the Charente again at the hill top town of Angoulême
Angoulême
-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...

. After the town the road heads south west as the old RD 910 passing over the hills reaching a height of 142 m.

The road by-passes little towns such as Barbezieux St Helaire then through the Bois de Creusat into Wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 country passing the village of Pouillac
Pouillac
Pouillac is a commune in the Charente-Maritime in the department in the Poitou-Charentes region in southwestern France.-Population:-External links:* *...

. The road meets the A 10 again at St André de Cubzac and crosses the river Dordogne. The old road passes through Ambarès et lagrave as Avenue de l'Aquitaine (as the RD 911). It becomes the Avenue Carnet and Avenue Thiers in Bordeaux City Centre. It then crosses the Garonne
Garonne
The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of .-Source:The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret , the Ratera-Saboredo...

 at the Pont de Pierre.

Bordeaux to Frontier with Spain (546 km to 749 km)

The road leaves Bordeaux to the south as the Corse Gambetta and crosses the A 630/E 70 at Réjouit and then into heavily wooded countryside of the Landes de Gascogne. There is a nuclear
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...

 research station 4 km north of the village of Le Barb while the road continues to Belin-Beliet before converging with the A 63 (E 5, E 70). The road runs south with the old course now numbered the D 10e as the new road by-passes the town of Laboilege.

At the Adour
Adour
The Adour is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre , at the Col du Tourmalet, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost as the Adour du Tourmalet. At its final stretch, i.e...

 river the A 63 starts again branching to the west. The RN 10 has a junction with the RN 124 going through Saint Vincent de Tyrosse then heads towards the coast entering Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...

 where it crosses to the south side of the River Ardour on the Pont H Gernet. The road continues south west past the airport and Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....

.

The road reaches the coast here called the Côte Basque alongside Bidart Guéthary alongside the Plage de Parlementia before entering the town of Saint Jean de Luz and crossing the river on the Pont Charles De Gaulle into the village of Le Nivelle. The road then passes round Urrugne
Urrugne
Urrugne is a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-External links:*...

 heading past the Parc Florónia at 133m and then falling spectacularly down into the valley below crossing the Bidasoa River and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 where the road becomes the N-I
N-I
The N-I was the former main road from Madrid to France in Spain.The majority has now been replaced by the Autovía A-1 and Autopista AP-1. The road starts at Irun then goes via Donostia , Tolosa, Beasain, Altsasu to Vitoria. It then runs parallel to the AP-1 to Miranda de Ebro and Burgos where it...

.
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