Micheline

I have done a lot of searches but most postings go from CDG to Givernay. I don't want to go to Givervay so can you please help with the most direct route to Normandy (Basly)? We will be staying in Paris for 4 days and from there will pick up the car from EuropeCar (Gemut). Should we pick it up at CDG or I read that there is a pick up at one of the train stations. We are staying on rue des Ecoles. Thanks

ira

Hi M,

>the most direct route to Normandy (Basly)?

See www.viamichelin.com

> Should we pick it up at CDG ...

There will be an airport pickup fee.

Why not ask Andy at Gemut?

CarolA

I picked mine up at CDG simply because I have NO desire to drive in Paris.

If it wasn't for that I probably would have just picked it up in Paris.

Your other option might be to train to your first desitnation and pick up there which is what I normally do. (ANd plan to do this coming Spring in Provence)

jrjcolllins

We'll be going to Paris in September and then on to Normandy before driving to other parts of France. We didn't want to deal with Paris traffic so we're taking the train to Trouville, picking up our rental car there, then taking the short drive to Honfleur for our first night in Normandy.

Micheline

Thanks CarolA and Ira. I did not want to call Andy until I knew exactly what I was doing. I called him twice before and changed dates from 14 then 13 then 12 days rental (the price did not change from 14 to 12 days). So I was hoping to tell him exactly where I wanted to pick up the car since I originally told him cdg.

Micheline

jrccollins - We are also going in September. After Normandy we are driving to Provence.

Momof3sons

June of 2007 we rented a car through AutoEurope. The rental agency was EuropeCar and the office we used was the 8 Ave Foch address (just a block or so off of the Arc de Triomphe.) It was a very easy straight shot from there out to the Periphique (ring road) expressway that loops around Paris. It was extremely easy on a weekday late morning and would only be a short taxi ride from rue des Ecoles.

Using this agency location will also put you on the side of Paris closest to Normandy. You have only a few minutes of driving within the Periphique after you get off the straight expressway from Normandy. It was an incredibly easy process and drive. The whole trip took us about 2 hours from Paris to Caen.

One thing to note, at first we didn't see the agency when our cab dropped us off. There is a EuropCar sign in addition to a sign for a gas station - both are in an underground parking garage on this street that seemed mostly residential. We just didn't notice the signs at first.

Michael

You may have to pay a fee (about $32&euro for an airport pick-up--I had to in Nice and Basel. Add to that the cost of transportation to CDG, and it really is better to pick up the car in Paris. Montparnasse or the Porte Maillot would be fine as pick up locations.

cat111719

Micheline, I hope you don't mind me piggybacking on your thread. I have a similar dilemma. We are driving to Normandy also, but we had planned on taking the train from CDG to Chartres and getting our car there. But if CDG is not hard to drive from, maybe we would be better off just getting the car there and not worrying about the train. If anyone has any input, I would sure appreciate it.

Thanks!

TommieG

From CDG it is not extremely difficult to drive in the direction of Normandy. It is all 2/3/4 lane (in both directions) highway and outside the rush-hour, traffic is pretty do-able. Plus it is very easy to avoid the dreaded Peripherique.

Roughly you follow the A1 from CDG in the direction of Paris. Then the A3 direction of Bordeaux-Nantes. From then on Bordeaux-Nantes will remain on the route-directions above the highway. You follow the A86/A6a/A10 and finally the A11 in the direction of Chartres.

It looks more difficult then it is. Directions are pretty clear and well marked in advance.

IMO this will be easier then first taking the train.

TommieG

One small addition;
When you don't take the A86 but keep following the A3, you will end up on the Peripherique. This is the shorter route (so maybe a GPS-system will give you this option).
After a few kilometres you will be able to leave the Peripherique to follow the direction of Bordeaux-Nantes.

This route is also well marked and do-able but probably a lot busier. Especially during rush-hour.

kerouac

One of the best things about driving a car is that you are not carrying your luggage. I certainly would not want to drag all of my luggage to an airport just to pick up a car!

cpmac

If you're in Paris I don't see why you would go out to CDG to pick up a car and pay more for the privelige. But if you arrive at CDG it would be easier to pick it up there.
From CDG to Normandy take the direction Paris then the A86 which takes you round the top of Paris avoiding the peripherique.
Have you allready visited Giverny? It would be a shame to miss it if you haven't seen it. It's on the way to "Normandy" any way. It is in fact in normandy. It's on the route to the other sites of Normandy. I hope you have a week in Normandy to have time to see the main sites.
Rouen, Honfleur, Caen, Bayeux (tapestry), Mont St Michel and of course the d day landing beaches. Many places have guides in place such as the tapestry or Mont St Michel but to visit the landing zone which covers 50 miles of coast line you need a guide, human or audio guide, or you wil not appreciate what you are looking at. And you will probably not even get to the most interesting sites.
http://normandy-tour-guide.cpmac.com/audio-guide.php3
You destination , Basly, is just behind Juno beach. When you get to Caen follow Courseulles and you will see the signs to Basly befor you get to Courseulles

cat111719

Thanks for this info. I will post my itinerary on a new thread so as not to hijack this one. I am truly open to all suggestions