All European countries use an international set of road signs for primary indicators. None of the signs should be much of a surprise to you since the US has been quietly adopting international road signs into our landscape for years. You'll get the hang of them within a short time.

Below are the standard German road signs. We offer them here because they are more or less the same signage throughout Europe. Each country has their own minor variations, but the basic shapes, triangle, octagon, circle and square symbolize the same things everywhere.

German Signs

The French have seemed to turn road signs into a national art form. At this writing, there are over 300 different approved road signs. Luckily, they fall into only a few categories and their shape is an immediate indicator of their importance:

French Signs

National language signs, however, are another matter. Each country tends to abbreviate longer town names and that takes some getting used to. However, the fact remains that you probably could leave Paris and find your way to Rome armed with only a general map of Europe. Major roadways are exceptionally well signed.