With a length of 211 km (131 mi), it connects Paris with the northern city of Lille.

The autoroute serves the northern suburbs of Paris, including the Stade de France, Le Bourget, Paris' Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport, and Parc Astérix.

From there it crosses Hauts-de-France, without directly passing through any of the major cities of the région.

Around 120 km (75 mi) from Paris, between the towns of Amiens and Saint-Quentin and near the Aire de service de Cœur des Hauts-de-France (the largest motorway plaza in Europe), the A1 crosses over the A29.

A few dozen kilometers further north it forms the southern terminus of the A2, which branches off towards Brussels.