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TheRoute nationale 20 (N20) is atrunk road (nationale)[1] between Paris and the frontier with Spain heading south through the heart of France and passing through the Cathedral City of Orléans and Toulouse. The road forks atCol de Puymorens with one branch being theRoute nationale 22 which leads toAndorra. In winter, avalanches sometimes close the road.[2]
This road was originally the main road of the royal domain between Paris and Orléans, built upon a Gaulish road re-worked as a road of the Roman empire.
The N20 is now being upgraded to 2x2 autoroute standard, the majority of which is toll free. The upgrade is to be called theA20 autoroute. The road is also part of theEuropean route E09. Similar work has been undertaken to theN9.
Paris -Étampes -Orléans -Vierzon -Châteauroux -Limoges -Brive-la-Gaillarde -Cahors -Montauban -Toulouse - Pamiers -Foix -Bourg-Madame -Spain (N-152)
The road starts at the south of the city centre of Paris at the Porte d'Orléans. The road heads south as the Avenue Aristide-Briand through the suburb ofBourg-la-Reine. It crosses the A86 autoroute nearOrly Airport. Then past the suburb ofAntony and a junction with theA6 autoroute. The old road is renumbered the D217 through an industrial estate and the town ofLongjumeau.
The N20 merges again as the Route d'Orléans through Montlhéry and over the N104 and into open rolling countryside which becomes increasingly wooded. The road passes theBois de la Butte de Couard. The road then comes to the town ofÉtampes where there is a junction with the N191 (Corbeil-Essonnes to theN10).
The road then heads south west parallel to theA10 autoroute. The road skirts the western edge of the largeforest of Orléans (French: Forêt d'Orléans) before entering the cathedral city ofOrléans. The N20 crosses the riverLoire in the City Centre over thePont du Maréchal Joffre.
Orléans is a key transport hub forming a junction with the A10 autoroute (L'Aquitaine) and A71 autoroute (L'Arverne) as well as the N157 (Rennes–Le Mans-Orléans), N60 (Troyes–Sens-Orléans) and N152 (Orléans-Blois–Angers–Saumur).
The road heads through theForêt deLamotte-Beuvron in heavily wooded countryside and on through theForêt de Vierzon toVierzon which lies on theCher. This town is also a junction with the A71 autoroute which heads to the east and theA20 autoroute (L'Occitane) which is an upgrade of the N20 to autoroute standard. The old road still runs through villages and towns such asMassay andVatan as the D320.
The road passes round the town ofChâteauroux on theIndre. The town is also on the N151 (Auxerre–Bourges–Poitiers) and N143 (Tours-Châteauroux). The road continues south through thick forest coming to the riverCreuse. The countryside becomes more hilly. The old road is numbered the N20 and D220 afterArgenton-sur-Creuse andSaint-Benoît-du-Sault. The road crosses the N145 (Bellac–Montluçon) 11 km west of the town ofLa Souterraine.
The road then heads throughBessines-sur-Gartempe and into theMonts d'Ambazac (701m). The road then reaches the industrial centre ofLimoges which lies on the riverVienne. The town is also connected by the N141 (Saíntes–Clermont-Ferrand), N21 (Limoges-Lourdes) and N147 (Limoges-Poitiers-Angers).
The road heads south through themassif Central through traffic now being taken as the A20 autoroute with the old road now being the D420 and D920 through the village ofMasseret. The old road branches east throughUzerche on the RiverVézère. There is a junction with the N120 toAurillac. It also meets theA89 autoroute.
The old road carries on as the D920 to the regional centre of D920 throughBrive-la-Gaillarde. Here there is a junction with N89 and N80. The road heads south and forks again as the A20 becomes apéage (toll) and the N20 starts again. There is a junction with the N140. AtSouillac the road crosses the riverDordogne. After which the road rises passing theBellevoir de lanzac. The roads are now on the plateau of theCausse de Gramat and onto the medieval town ofCahors on a loop in the riverLot.
The N20 continues south heading out of the massif central and into the valley of the riverAveyron viaCaussade. The road heads south west in the wide flat valley toMontauban. Then it comes to a junction with the N113 (Narbonne–Bordeaux) along the riverGaronne. TheA62 autoroute (Autoroute des Deux Mers) crosses the road. The N20 turns south running along the east bank of the river into the industrial city ofToulouse.
The city of Toulouse is on the junction of the Autoroutes A62, A68 (toAlbi), A64 (toPau andBayonne) and the N88 and N124.
The road leaves the city centre to the south on the west bank of the River Garonne. AtPinsaguel the road crosses the river and follows the riverAriège and its valley to the south east. The countryside is a mix of open countryside and rolling hills. The road meets theA66 autoroute atPamiers.
South of Pamiers the road enters the foothills of thePyrenees such as theMontagnes du Plantaurel. The road heads toFoix, which is now by-passed with theFoix Tunnel[3] on the east side of the valley. The road then passesTarascon-sur-Ariège following the deep river valley. The road passes theParc Pyrénéen de l'Art Préhistorique and south east toAx-les-Thermes. To the south-west, there is a ski resort Les Bazerques.
The road forks at theCol de Puymorens (1920 m). TheN22 leads in a series of hairpins to the south west andAndorra, crossing thePas de la Casa (2,085m) or the alternativeTúnel d'Envalira. The RN320 now crosses the pass de Puymorens, while the RN20 heads through theTunnel du Puymorens rather than taking the pass, and heads down toBourg-Madame.
The road then enters Spain and becomes theN-152 (Carretera) (E09) towardsBarcelona. The N116 heads north east from Bourg Madame toPerpignan along theTech valley.
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