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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

connecting

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to the border with

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Reclassification

The majority of the route runs close to the

A1 autoroute The A1 Autoroutes of France, Autoroute, also autoroutes autoroute du Nord (the Northern Motorway), is the busiest of France's autoroutes and is part of an environmental zones.(See below) With a length of , it connects Paris with the northern c ...

. As a result, north of

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hauts-de-France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

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 ( , ; ; historical ) 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 the Artois region, with a ...

and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Route

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that 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 , also known as Roissy Airport, is the primary international airport serving Paris, the capital city of France. The airport opened in 1974 and is located in Roissy-en-France, northeast of Paris. It is named for ...

, 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 (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

City of

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 ( ; ; ) 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 829,419 in 2019.< ...

Pont-Sainte-Maxence Pont-Sainte-Maxence () is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, 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-Ma ...

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

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

and

Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...

. The road then passes the villages of Estrées-Saint-Denis and

Cuvilly Cuvilly () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. See also *Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 680 Communes of France, communes of the Oise Departments of France, department of France. The commu ...

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), ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

. 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 France, 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 ...

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 heap A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. Spoil tips are not formed of slag, but in some areas, such as England and Wales, ...

s 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. List of exits and junctions {, class="plainrowheaders wikitable" , - !scope=col, Region !scope=col, Department !scope=c ...

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

Carvin Carvin () is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about northeast of Lens, Pas-de-Calais, Lens. History During World War I, from October 1914 to October 1 ...

and leads onto the

E17. The old RN17 is now the RD925 through Seclin into the city of

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

Tourcoing Tourcoing (; ; ; ) 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, Tourcoing is the chef-lieu of two ca ...

and onto

Halluin Halluin (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography It is located at the north of the Métropole Européenne de Lille, on the Belgium, Belgian border ...

where the road crosses into

over the river Lys where the road becomes the RN32.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:017 Routes nationales in France