Street Signs (for the North American Driver) by firechick
This is just a tip for those of you who are used to driving in North America and who rent a car to get around in Chamonix (or other parts of France). It drove me crazy when I first came here that I could rarely see a street sign to tell me what I was driving on. This is true in large and small towns. The motorways are labelled quite well, but other streets were not. I would go mad trying to find out where I was.
Later I realized, all you need to know is where you are GOING and the name of the town you are IN and then some town names you will pass THROUGH on the way. The theory around here is, tell people how to get where they are wanting to go -- not the name of a random street they will never need to see again. So, keep your eyes on the signs at intersections!
If you see a sign saying "Toute Directions" - that is a sign for leaving the town you are in. It will eventually lead to other signs that point to the motorway or to another large city.
To get to the downtown area of any town, just follow the signs for "Centre Ville".
At every intersection (often a roundabout) there will be signs indicating how to get to the next nearby city or cities.
It ends up being easy to find your way around as long as you know the name of where you are going, and the names of some of the towns in between.
This is very different from driving in North American cities, where the only times you see town names are on the exits of Freeways!