The Route nationale 3 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 frontier of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Reclassification

For the majority of its route, the RN 3 runs parallel to the A4 autoroute. As a result, sections have been or are proposed to be de-classified. The road is now numbered the RD 3 through the Department of Marne.

Route

Paris to Châlons-en-Champagne (0 km to 162 km)

The road begins in

at the Porte de Pantin becoming the Avenue Jean Lolive. It heads through the Eastern Paris suburbs including Bobigny where it crosses the A3 autoroute and then the A104 autoroute after which it passes through Clare-Souilly and into the Marne valley. After 15 km the RN 3 enters

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

after which it crosses the Marne and heads through the ''Forêt de Montceaux''. The A4 autoroute crosses the road which turns north 7 km further at la Ferté sous Jouarre and crosses to the Marne again. The road crosses the Marne again at Château-Thierry and heads east through the ''Bois de Condé''. The road comes to

Épernay Épernay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department of northern France, 130 km north-east of Paris on the mainline railway to Strasbourg. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne ...

, to the North is the ''Parc Naturel Régional de la Montagne de Reims'', the heart of the

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

region. The road is then called the RD 3 to

Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons ...

where it leaves the Marne valley. The

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 ...

passes north–south between

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

and

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

Châlons-en-Champagne to Metz (162 km to 298 km)

The road crosses the plain and the RD994 an ancient

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

and then the TGV Est (high-speed line). The road passes through Sainte-Menehould before passing over the ''Forêt D'Argonne'' which rises to over 250 m. The road heads through undulating countryside before joining the Voie Sacrée and the

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

passing several war memorials and ''Fort de Regret''. The road heads northeast out of Verdun and through the ''Forêt de Verdun'' and the ruins of the ''Fort de Tavannes''. At Etain, the road passes southeast and then through Jarny and then over a ridge of hills and the ''Bois de Vaux'' into

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and the River

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

Metz to German Frontier (298 km to 374 km)

After Metz, the road crosses the A31 autoroute parallel to the A4 autoroute. The road continues over the hills now over 300 m high before a steep incline down into

Saint-Avold Saint-Avold (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Sänt Avuur'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated east of Metz, France and southwest of Saarbrücken, Germany. History The Saint-Avold area ha ...

now only 4 km south of the frontier with Germany. The RN3 passes through the ''Foret de Steinberg'' and then northeast passing through

Forbach Forbach ( , , ; ) is a commune in the French department of Moselle, northeastern French region of Grand Est. It is located on the German border approximately 15 minutes from the center of Saarbrücken, Germany, with which it constitutes a ...

and Stirling Wendel before reaching the German border. Thereafter it becomes the B 41 to

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

8 km to the northwest.

References

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