cherrybomb

Hello-

My husband and I are going to Brussels and Paris x-mas/new year. We arrive in Brussels on the 26th and leave for Paris for 8 days on the 27th and go back to Brussels for 5 days on the 4th of January.

I was planning to rent a car to travel between Paris and Brussels (yes, I know the train is faster, but we like the flexibility of driving and I hate schlepping all our luggage on the train--we will be buying wine to bring back while in France).

I have 3 options:
1. rent the car on the travel days only--though the drop off fee is astronomical.

2. rent the car for the duration--this is cheaper than the 2 one way rentals and park it in Paris for the duration of our stay.

3. Take the train to Paris, then drive to Brussels on the 4th--this option is only slightly cheaper than the 2 one ways, but we at least save some travel time.

Any suggestions as to which to do would be appreciated. Also, any knowledge of the cost to have the car in a parking lot for a week? We are rented a flat in the 3rd.

Viajero2

This whole trip sounds convoluted and strange....first off, you arrive in Brussels only to leave immediately for Paris to then go back to Brussels after a week....!?? Why are you going to Brussels at the beginning of your trip? Also, since you like the flexibility of a car, then rent a car. Ask your rental property management where to park and how much.

jody

Count on at least €1 per hour or €per day! Just how much luggage are you planning on schlepping?

I wouldn't plan on being able to carryon the wine. Rules hange day to day.

jody

Sorry €25 per day..minimum!

Christina

I'm not a big car rental fan and would think the hassles of renting and driving would outweight taking luggage on and off a train, but you know what you want -- the wine does make that easier. However, I have seen public parking garages rates in Paris, and they are generally around 17-22 euro per day.

jody

BTW, if you have a connection in the US on your return flight, the wine will have to be in your checked luggage...even if you bought it at the duty free. We've given up bringing liquids home unless we are flying a direct route.

cherrybomb

Vijero2-- It really isn't that strange. I am flying into Brussels as that is where we could use our freq. flyer miles to get free flights. After booking, I decided to add Paris into our itinerary as it is 1 hr via train or a 3 hour drive. We are leaving for Paris sooner rather than later as we would prefer to be there for New Year's and would also like to take advantage of being able to smoke before the more widespread ban occurs on Jan 1--say what you will, different strokes. We travel often and have stayed a night or 2 in the city where our flight originates then go off to a different city before coming back, no big deal, many people travel this way or don't just stay in one locale. Thanks for your concern though. I don't necessarily need to park by the flat.

Jody--2 suitcases and the wine case-the case gets heavy when filled. I have a wine case for shipping back in cargo. Works great to get around the liquids ban.

Jody and Christina--thank you for the parking price info.

Any other help would be appreciated, i.e. if parking near the airport would be less expensive, etc.

ira

Hi CB,

It's going to cost you about 25E pd for parking and another 30E pd to keep the car in Paris.

It might be less expensive to take the train both ways and have your wine shipped home.

kerouac

The Vinci parking structures at the edges of Paris charge 11€ for 24 hours.

Street parking is free from 7 pm to 9 am. Rates range from 1€ to 4€ an hour depending on the neighborhood. Some streets are free on Saturday. All streets are free on Sunday.

Since the price of a parking ticket is 11€, many Parisians consider that to be a good deal -- better than paying the parking rates. Statistics show that there is only a 15% chance of getting a ticket if you don't pay, but that varies per neighborhood. In the Champs Elysées area, for example, you can get a new ticket every two hours. In my neighborhood, the streets are checked only once every two weeks on the average.

janisj

You want to drive in Belgium and N. France in Dec/Jan? Even w/o the parking hassles in Paris - the possibility of REALLY nasty weather would make driving my last option, not first.

I'd fly or take the train both ways and not rent a car at all.

cherrybomb

thanks Kerouac!

I also found this: http://www.parkingsdeparis.com
though not sure how helpful it is.

Janisj: Good point, I hadn't considered the weather. It did occur to get a cheap intercontinental flight, but seems like more hassle than it is worth with airport security.
Am reconsidering the train option--we could plan on taking the train in and play it by ear as far as renting the car back--if weather is fine, rent a car to drive back to Brussels, if not train back.

I should point out that my train aversion stems from the fact that I have MS. While it is mild to the point of undetectable (I am in 4" heels every day), I can tire easily when
lugging stuff around stairs and such.
+ the train reminds me of the subway and going to work - I like to harbor the illusion that I don't have to work when on vacation.

Christina

They've raised prices a little from the last time I looked when a lot were around 22 euro, now 24 euro per day is kind of the norm. I think Vinci Park charges only 10 euro at Porte d'Italie. The highest is around pl de la Concorde, 30 euro. This is their website, they seem to run most of the lots in Paris I know about. You can click on the map and get prices and locations:

http://www.vincipark.com

The ones in the 3rd are 24-25 euro per day.

cherrybomb

Perfect Christina--It looks like 120-150/week to park. That is cheaper than the drop fee, though considering the cost of having the car all week makes it about the same price either way with drop fees.

Argh--no clue what to do...

doug_stallings

For me, it would be a very obvious answer: train all the way. Of all the routes that you might want to drive, the one between Paris and Brussels isn't the one I'd choose. If you wanted to explore some of Normandy, then I'd heartily advocate the car, but if it's---literally---just to drive between Brussels and Paris for the sake of not having to take luggage on the train, I don't see the advantage. For a week, how much luggage could you have? And the wine has to fit in your checked bags anyway, so again, I don't get why you'd want to drive.

cherrybomb

If we had the car we would have the ability to detour if we wanted to--we would definitely make a stop hif we had a car.

It is 2 weeks total and while we will have a washer/dryer in the flat--we are not the lightest of packers and both clotheshorses--though I have gotten better than him or at least have smaller clothes that can be rolled up to conserve space.

We can get away with a large rolling garment and a large rolling suitcase and the wine case (the wine case is *not* rolling)

The car is easier for the reason stated above: >>I should point out that my train aversion stems from the fact that I have MS. While it is mild to the point of undetectable (I am in 4" heels every day), I can tire easily when
lugging stuff around stairs and such.
+ the train reminds me of the subway and going to work - I like to harbor the illusion that I don't have to work when on vacation.<<

At the same time, I am rethinking the train and having my husband carry it all. That sounds meaner than it is.