The N13 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 Cherbourg.

Paris to Évreux, km 0 to km 91

The road begins at Porte Maillot, one of former gates in West 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...

', in direct alignment with the Champs-Élysées

Champs-Élysées

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...

. Continuing on this alignment, the road reaches La Défense

La Défense

La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...

 after crossing 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...

. Then, as the Boulevard Circulaire, orbits around La Défense. To the West of La Défense, the A14 autoroute

A14 autoroute

The autoroute A14 is an autoroute in the western suburbs of Paris, France.The motorway starts at La Défense in Hauts-de-Seine and ends at Orgeval in Yvelines. The A14 was built to relieve the congested A13 between Paris and Normandy. The A14, opened in 1996, is operated by the Société des...

 leaves Paris towards Orgeval and the A13 autoroute

A13 autoroute

Autoroute 13, or L'Autoroute de Normandie links Paris to Caen, Calvados.The motorway starts in Paris at the Porte d'Auteuil, a former gate of the Paris walls, and ends at Mondeville's Mondeville 2 exchange junction on Caen's ring road...

.

Breaking from its previous straight course, the N13 follows the curves of the River Seine to reach Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...

, passing Nanterre

Nanterre

Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located west of the center of Paris.Nanterre is the capital of the Hauts-de-Seine department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Nanterre....

, Le Port-Marly

Le Port-Marly

Le Port-Marly is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.-External links:*...

 on the way. Exiting Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...

 and Chambourcy

Chambourcy

Chambourcy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located west of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and about west of Paris....

, the N13 resumes a linear course towards Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

, crossing the A13 autoroute

A13 autoroute

Autoroute 13, or L'Autoroute de Normandie links Paris to Caen, Calvados.The motorway starts in Paris at the Porte d'Auteuil, a former gate of the Paris walls, and ends at Mondeville's Mondeville 2 exchange junction on Caen's ring road...

 at Orgeval.

The road heads West through Aubergenville

Aubergenville

Aubergenville is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France. It is located between Mantes-la-Jolie and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the valley of the Seine...

 and Mantes-la-Jolie

Mantes-la-Jolie

Mantes-la-Jolie is a commune based in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center. Mantes-la-Jolie is a sub-prefecture department.-History:...

. At Bonnières-sur-Seine

Bonnières-sur-Seine

Bonnières-sur-Seine is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France.-References:*...

 the N 15

Route nationale 15

The N 15 was a trunk road in France.-Route:The RN 15 links the A13 to Le Havre via Rouen and Yvetot.The RN 15 originates at junction 14 on the A13 autoroute in the Yvelines département near Bonnières-sur-Seine...

 to Le Havre

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

 branches off North-West while the N 13 heads West. The road crosses the A13 again through rolling countryside to Pacy-sur-Eure

Pacy-sur-Eure

Pacy-sur-Eure is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in north-western France.-Population:-External links:*...

 and then to Évreux

Évreux

Évreux is a commune in the Eure department, of which it is the capital, in Haute Normandie in northern France.-History:In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area...

. There, a junction here with the RN154

Route nationale 154

The RN154 is a trunk road in France linking Val-de-Reuil and Artenay . The road has been upgraded to dual carriageway on much of its course.-Upgraded sections:* Val-de-Reuil-La Madeleine-de-Nonancourt...

 was built in the 1990s following the upgrading of the N154 to motorway status from Louviers

Louviers

Louviers is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen.-Population:-Sights:Its church, Notre Dame, has parts which date from the thirteenth century...

 to La Madeleine-de-Nonancourt

La Madeleine-de-Nonancourt

La Madeleine-de-Nonancourt is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in north-western France.-Population:-References:*...

.

Évreux to Caen, km 91 to km 210

The road between Évreux

Évreux

Évreux is a commune in the Eure department, of which it is the capital, in Haute Normandie in northern France.-History:In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area...

 and Caen

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

 follows a straight course of a former Roman road linking Paris to Normandy. The road crosses the River Risle

Risle

The Risle is a long river in Normandy, left tributary of the Seine.The river begins in Orne west of L'Aigle, crosses the western part of the department of Eure flowing from south to north and out into the estuary of the Seine on the left bank near Berville-sur-Mer...

 and the A28 autoroute

A28 autoroute

Autoroute 28 is an motorway linking Abbeville in Somme to Tours in Indre-et-Loire.The motorway starts at Abbeville splitting from the A16 and, after merging with the A13 near Rouen, ends at Tours, merging with the A10. The motorway between Rouen and Tours was added to the Schéma Directeur Routier...

 at La Rivière-Thibouville

Fontaine-la-Soret

Fontaine-la-Soret is a commune in the Eure department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Population:-References:*...

. The road bypasses the town of Lisieux

Lisieux

Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Lisieux is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland...

 before dropping into the Plaine de Caen, where it crosses the River Dives

Dives River

The Dives is a 105 km long river in the Pays d'Auge, Normandie, France. It flows into the English Channel in Cabourg.The source of the Dives is near Exmes, in the Orne department...

. The road then heads Northwest into Caen

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

 in which the N13 is now de-classified.

Caen to Cherbourg km 210 to km 331

After Caen

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

, the road continues Northwest past the Abbaye d'Ardenne

Ardenne Abbey

Ardenne Abbey, "l'Abbaye d'Ardenne," or Abbaye Ardenne is the site of a Premonstratensian monastery in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe, near Caen, France, containing a chapel built in 1121 and other medieval buildings....

 and around the historic town of Bayeux

Bayeux

Bayeux is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England.-Administration:Bayeux is a sub-prefecture of Calvados...

. The road's old course out of Bayeux has been numbered RD 513 while the new road, a dual carriageway

Dual carriageway

A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...

 follows a non-linear course towards Carentan

Carentan

Carentan is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France near the port city of Cherbourg-Octeville. Carentan has a population somewhat over 6,000 and is now administratively organized as a commune in the Manche department...

. The road passes the small town of Carentan

Carentan

Carentan is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France near the port city of Cherbourg-Octeville. Carentan has a population somewhat over 6,000 and is now administratively organized as a commune in the Manche department...

 and turns North towards Valognes

Valognes

Valognes is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.It lies on the Merderet river, southeast of Cherbourg.-History:...

 and then the port of Cherbourg.
Carentan bypass, built between 1994 and 1996, goes underneath the Canal de Carentan where signals control access to the tunnel across the waterway.

Declassification

The course of the RN 13 has changed little since its creation but has been largerly renumbered and its maintenance is mainly in the hands of local authorities; DDE. The N13 has been completely de-classified 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 Chauffour-lès-Bonnières (except in Neuilly-sur-Seine

Neuilly-sur-Seine

Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...

 and in Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...

) and between Parville

Parville

Parville is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Population:...

 and Caen

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

.

Although the road remains heavily used, traffic has diminished since the opening of the A13 autoroute

A13 autoroute

Autoroute 13, or L'Autoroute de Normandie links Paris to Caen, Calvados.The motorway starts in Paris at the Porte d'Auteuil, a former gate of the Paris walls, and ends at Mondeville's Mondeville 2 exchange junction on Caen's ring road...

.