Hi just some advice if I may. I am renting a car after a week in Paris - I pick it up at Charles De Gaulle Airport and as this will be the first time driving in Europe [ I am used to driving on the other side of the road!] I am keen to head straight for somewhere on the way to Provence - that will be an easy [ish] drive on the first day so that i can get used to things...I will have GPS!

Cheers

I have to ask: why not train to Provence and pick the car up there? Sure would be easier (and perhaps safer!)

Have you considered just taking the TGV right from Paris to Avignon and renting your car there? It'll save you the trip to the airport to pick up the car, at least 3 hours of travel, the hassle of driving out of Roissy, and a long boring ride. If you can snag a good PREM fare, it might well save you money, too. Those tolls aren't cheap and neither is fuel.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you, but why are you renting the car at CDG if you've already been in Paris for a week? In addition to the inconvenience, I believe there's an extra fee for picking up the car at the airport.

When I drove from CDG to Provence (and that will be the last time I do it) I drove to Beaune and stayed the night there. But that was after an overnight flight. I still remember the hour it took us to go half way around the peripherique.

Take the train to Avignon as StCirq recommends.

If you want to drive from Paris, do not rent the car at De Gaulle. Rent it at Orly Airport, which is south of Paris, thus avoiding having to navigate around Paris. From Orly, I would take the A6 to Lyon.

Really helpful replies to the op! Perhaps the op is leasing a car in which case, if it is a Peugeot, it may be more convenient for her to pick it up from CDG rather than Courbeovie.
I suggest you look up the Michelin site and plan your journey using their interactive map. This will give you detailed directions.

Good advice here about not driving out from Paris.
We took the TGV on a number of occassions to destinations such as Chartres. Hired a car from there and drove to St.Malo leaving it there when done - no problem.
A nice trip is TGV to Tours, then rent a car and see some of the beautiful Chateau's like the one at Azay-le-Rideau.

I understand your dilemma, after having tried to drive for the first time on the "correct" side of the road in Ireland a few weeks ago. Although I think the TGV is good advice, I also remember picking up a car at the train station in Nimes two years ago and having to get used to it, and the nearly impassable (to me) narrow roads in the middle of the city there. I think it was helpful getting used to driving "backwards" to do it on an expressway out of Dublin airport where the decisions (where to turn, what lane?) are fewer than in the middle of traffic in European city. So- I think picking up from CDG may not be a bad idea. There's not a lot of traffic near there, from what I remember. It is probably safer to rent from there than from anywhere else, unless you can fly into an airport in Provence.

Rick

AND one more to say, you are making your trip long, and perhaps not as interesting as it could be. Take the TGV to Avignon, rent your car there (at the station--no problem of city streets) and tour Provence, which I assume is your idea. You will spend as much in tolls driving as you would on the fare on the train. It is 3 hours ride vs. 8 (?more) of driving. Very easy to rent outside of Paris.

<<So- I think picking up from CDG may not be a bad idea. There's not a lot of traffic near there, from what I remember. It is probably safer to rent from there than from anywhere else, unless you can fly into an airport in Provence.>>

Utter, utter nonsense. Obviously your memory is faulty. Picking up a car and heading out on the périphérique is absolutely wild compared to tootling out of the Avignon train station. This is just bad advice, sorry.

Not a lot of traffic near CDG? Seriously?

Rick, you must live in an alternate universe or visited one when you went to Paris.

We avoided the worst of the peripherique when driving out of CDG but there were no small amount of vehicles sharing the road with us, that's certain. And there are more than a fair number of immediate driving decisions you'll have to make picking the various roads that lead out from the airport.

And I really think flipping the side on which you drive is not that big of a deal because once you start driving on the proper side (RIGHT) of the road, the traffic flow will orient you. My biggest problem when first driving on the wrong side of the road, in Australia, was that the lane change signal and windshield wiper levers were switched around.

BigRuss/StCirq

I must confess that I did not drive near CDG- that was only my observation from the few times I got there by bus. Didn't seem like much traffic way out there, but I don't know the route the OP would have to deal with. If you have to negotiate the peripherique, that's another story. My memory of the ordeal in Nimes is quite good- not a pleasant experience trying to get familiar with a strange car in narrow streets, and that was with a car that was normal to me.

However, those who have never had to try to drive with a gearshift in the other hand than what you are used to won't appreciate the additional burden on the brain of such a change. I found I was doing well enough when I had a few seconds to plan my next move, but when forced to turn, look the proper direction and downshift with the odd hand, it was stressful. My point being that one usually has far more notice and fewer surprises on a divided highway. That said, if the highway in question is bumper to bumper , then that's not the way to go. I simply don't know if that is the case near CDG.

BUT we are not talking about driving with the gear shift in the other hand, so don't confuse the issue.
There is LOT of traffic around CDG, and the person saying there are many split second decisions to be made to be in the correct lane (on the "correct" side of the road) can lead to a lot of profanity and finding an alternate route on the map. Ask me how I know. Have driven in Avignon--piece o' cake. Distance between Paris and Avignon--a LOT of driving for not a lot of reward, meaning no disrespect to that part of France.

Yes, we ARE talking about driving with the gear selector on the opposite side- the OP is a Brit and this is his/her first exposure to Continental rules.

I can only provide my opinion, a minority one albeit, but that's my story and I am sticking to it. When I drove in Dublin for the first time, I was very glad that I was getting my first few minutes exposure on the highway near the airport rather than in some gritty traffic downtown. Now- Avignon isn't Dublin. There's traffic at CDG I am sure, but we don't know time of the day the OP is travelling and there are other ways south that avoid the obvious congestion.

Rick

Rick: Some people can't cope w/ switching to the other side of the road/car/gear shift - but most can w/o any problems. And to take your experience in Dublin and apply it to CDG simply doesn't make much sense IMO.

Plus there is always the option to pay the extra and get an automatic . . . . .

I doubt the OP will give any serious consideration to driving an automatic at an exorbitant rate when he/she has likely been driving a stick all his/her life ( as I have). Nor would I advise it. And yes, I was able to do just fine in Ireland, but it took a lot more concentration that I was used to.

Rick

Wow, talk about heaping bad advice on top of bad advice!

Better to try out a different gear box on the highway near CDG than on a small road leading out from the TGV station in Avignon?? I think NOT! Fer chrissake, you can practice in the rental car parking lot - try THAT at CDG.

I'd give up while you're ahead, Rick.

StCirq

I don't recall heaping bad advice on top of bad advice. Just one measure of bad advice. It's an opinion. And I will happily admit that your opinion and the consensus of taking the TGV is most likely better overall, and in fact, was what I did when I went to Nimes.

Rick

Thanks all - *phew* - and also thanks! To clear up any confusion - the poster is a man [me] and from australia - hence the "wrong side of the road" and it is a renault lease - so some constraints on where I can collect and god knows why but an automatic is quite a bit more - and I have driven manuals - or stick shifts before

So I gladly take the advice and will now see if I can change the booking from CDG to Avignon. Appreciate all the input,

Cheers
David