brubenow

I'll be driving from Paris (Gare de Montparnasse) on a Monday morning to the Chateau de Chantilly, then returning later the same day to an overnight parking garage in the 7th arr., close to my apartment.

Any recommendations for the best route? (And please don't suggest taking the train, we will be driving). Looking for the least traffic but still a direct route.

And yes, I've looked at viamichelin.com, but it has me driving around the Charles de Gaulle étoile, which doesn't seem like a good idea to me (I've done it many years ago and still have anxiety about that particular roundabout!)

Thanks!

Jeff801

You might consider going south on the Boulevard de Vaugirard to the Peripherique. Then turn right and go around the city to the A1. You could return on a reverse route, exiting the Peripherique at a convenient location for your apartment. Sadly, those northbound arteries are busy about 18 hours a day, and there may be limited advantage to staying in Chantilly for dinner and leaving late. OTOH,there are several excellent restaurants there.

kerouac

Yes, just take the périphérique around the city to the A1 autoroute.

FrenchMystiqueTours

When I checked the route gare montp

FrenchMystiqueTours

Darn. Got cut off.

When I checked the route from Gare Montparnasse to Chantilly on viamichelin it gave me a route south to the périphérique (nowhere near Etoile):

http://tinyurl.com/grsrtb3

If you're going to drive to Chantilly then you should take advantage of having the car and visit Senlis as well.

kerouac

And when you take the périphérique, keep in mind that they mean business about the speed limit of 70 km/h.

brubenow

Ok thank you all for the suggestions! I believe it was on the return leg of the trip that viamichelin had us going around the Charles de Gaille étoile (the parking garage is at 133 Rue Saint Dominique). Any suggestions in the return portion in order to avoid the Arc de Triomphe?


Jeff801, I will take your advice about heading south via Veaugirard on the outbound drive. And we do have the option of returning in the evening if you think it would make a big difference in traffic. We're in no rush to get back, other than to pack up, as we leave Paris the next morning. Restaurant suggestions in Chantilly that are casual and will welcome well-behaved children?

FrenchMystique- where and what do you like in Senlis?


Kerouac, we will definitely watch the speed limit. Thank you.

Christina

YOu can get driving directions on www.mappy.fr, that's what I use. They route you by the A3, also. If you ask for the shortest route, not the quickest, it will show you a route through the center of Paris but it doesn't go through the Etoile, that would be nutty.

brubenow

Thanks Christina! I looked at mappy.fr and the shortest route takes 2 hours which is twice as long. But if I go back to the quickest route, again like viamichelin, it takes me through the étoile on the way back from Chantilly to 133 rue Saint-Dominque!

Instead of exiting at Porte Maillot toward the étoile, could I exit at Porte Dauphine or another exit? I just need a better route to get from the Peripérique to Rue Saint-Dominique without going through the étoile.

StCirq

Agree Senlis is not to be missed. Google it to see why it's so endearing to so many, and it's right out there near Chantilly (and much more interesting, IMO).

brubenow

Ok I'll look at Senlis. Thank you.

parisian

To avoid Etoile, you could continue until just after Porte de Saint Cloud and take the exit "Paris-Centre". You follow the river up to the Eiffel Tower and go across. You will be close to your garage.

FrenchMystiqueTours

To

FrenchMystiqueTours

Cut off again.

If you look at the viamichelin link I provided you'll see that from Gare Montparnasse it leads you down avenue du Maine (not Vaugirard) to get to the périphérique.

Senlis is the most beautiful medieval town in such close proximity to Paris and is only 9km from Chantilly. Get the Michelin map "305 Oise, Paris, Val d'Oise to guide you. You should study the tourist office website for any place you want to visit and here's the one for Senlis:

http://en.senlis-tourisme.fr/


Go to the tourist office once you arrive (right across from the entrance to the cathedral) and you can get a map/brochure outlining the tourist trail through town that also has brief explanations, in French and English. They're closed for lunch from around 12:30 to 2PM. They're quite nice there and will answer any of your questions.

If you want you can look at my photo report about visiting Chantilly, Senlis and environs here:

http://tinyurl.com/ch2odst

There are other places not far from Chantilly and Senlis that are worth a visit, even if just a drive by, that you can see in this next photo report:

http://tinyurl.com/cazwcpx

If driving you should leave very early in the morning, like before 7:30AM, to avoid the worst part of rush hour, or leave after 10AM. I would also suggest having dinner in Senlis/Chantilly or environs to avoid rush hour returning in the afternoon/evening. The périphérique is no fun during rush hour. Senlis has several nice restaurants.

To return to Paris and avoid the Etoile just look at a map of Paris and you'll see several alternative routes.

brubenow

Thanks very much, Parisian and FrenchMystique!

brubenow

Great pictures, by the way, FrenchMystique! How far did you bike that day?

FrenchMystiqueTours

Did about 65km in the Oise Treasures report and about 30km in the other one. Have fun brubenow.