The Route nationale 17, or RN17, is a trunk road ( nationale) in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

connecting

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

to the border with

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Reclassification

The majority of the route runs close to the

A1 autoroute The A1 Autoroute, also known as l'autoroute du Nord (the Northern Motorway), is the busiest of France's autoroutes. With a length of , it connects Paris with the northern city of Lille. It is managed by the Société des Autoroutes du Nord et ...

. As a result, north of Senlis the road has been downgraded and re-classified as the RD1017 and RD917. There is a small section of the RN17 remaining between

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of ...

and

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

Route

- Senlis-

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

-''

Paris to Senlis (0 km – 31 km)

The road starts north of Paris as a branch of the RN2, opposite the Airport Paris-Le Bourget, and heads north east as the Av du Mai 1985 and then Route de Flandre. The road skirts the western edge of the

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest inter ...

, crosses the RD104 and then through open countryside. After the village of Survillers the road enters the ''Parc Naturel Régional de Oise Pays de France''. The road now passes through the ''Forêt du Chantilly'' before reaching the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

City of Senlis.

Senlis to Arras (31 km to 162 km)

At Senlis there are junctions with the RN330, RN324 and A1. The road heads north through the ''Forêt d'Halatte'' crossing the river

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,41 ...

Pont-Sainte-Maxence Pont-Sainte-Maxence () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France, in the region of Hauts-de-France. It is named after Saint Maxentia of Beauvais, whose relics were taken here. Pont-Sainte-Maxence station has rail connections to Sai ...

crosses marsh and woodland before open countryside. There is a junction with the RN31 (E46) between

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most popul ...

and

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with ...

. The road then passes the villages of

Estrées-Saint-Denis Estrées-Saint-Denis () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Estrées-Saint-Denis station has rail connections to Amiens and Compiègne. It is one of many villages in the north of France bearing the name ''Estrées''. The et ...

and Cuvilly passing the grounds of the Chateau de Tilloloy. The road crosses the autoroute and heads round the village of Roye. The bypass runs next to war-graves on the bank of the river Avre. The RN17 then crosses the A29 (E44) and then the RN29 before entering the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

valley. The road crosses the river at Péronne and continues north over

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

battlefields passing French, British and German cemeteries. The road crosses the A2 and the A1 again before reaching the town of

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Bapalmois'' or ''Bapalmoises''. Geography Bapaume is a far ...

. The road then continues north to

Arras to Border with Belgium (162 km to 227 km)

At Arras the road has junctions with the RN25, RN39 and

A26 autoroute The A26 is a long French motorway connecting Calais and Troyes. It is also known as the Autoroute des Anglais (''Motorway of the English'') as its length forms the first part of the main route from the Dover-Calais ferries and the Channel Tunnel ...

E15 to Calais. The road crosses the river Scarpe and heads north over the

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

past the war memorial to Canadian troops. The road then reaches the industrial town of

, the landscape is dotted with slag heaps from the coal mines nearby. In Lens through traffic takes the A211 autoroute and then the

A21 autoroute The A21 autoroute is a toll free highway in north western France it is also known as the ''Rocade Minière''. It is long. Junctions Completed In construction Upgrade of N455 between Flers-en-Escrebieux and Pecquencourt which is the northe ...

. The town is also served by the RN43 and RN47. Thereafter the RN17 heads northeast to

Carvin Carvin () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography An ex-coalmining commune, now a light industrial and farming town, situated some northeast of Lens, completely encircled by the N17 and ...

and leads onto the

E17. The old RN17 is now the RD925 through

Seclin Seclin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Notable residents * Andre Ayew, Ghana national football team footballer *Victor Mollet, architect *Jonathan Rouss ...

into the city of

. After Lille the road heads north from the City Centre passing west of

Tourcoing Tourcoing (; nl, Toerkonje ; vls, Terkoeje; pcd, Tourco) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a commune within the department of Nord. Located to the north-northeast of Lille, adjacent to Roubaix, ...

and onto Halluin where the road crosses into

over the river Lys where the road becomes the RN32.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:017 Routes nationales in France