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-   -   car drop off in Paris (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/car-drop-off-in-paris-232438/)

ann Jun 19th, 2002 03:29 AM

car drop off in Paris
 
I need to drop off a rental car somewhere in Paris. I first thought I would drop it at Gare d'Lyon so I could just take the metro to my hotel but I'm now having second thoughts about driving into Paris. I drive in NYC and Boston with no trouble but maybe Paris is worse. So now I'm considering Orly airport. Another thread talked about having to take a shuttle type train to the RER and then the RER to Paris. The web site mentioned a fare of 8.65 euro. Does anyone know if that the total fare to Paris or just the first part to the RER station. There are four of us so if it's going to cost 25 euros a person maybe driving won't be so bad after all. Can anyone help me?

willis Jun 19th, 2002 04:46 AM

Ann<BR>another option from Orly is to take the AirFrance bus service which leaves directly from the terminal and concludes at the AirFrance office at the Invalides. Here is what you will have to do. Take the car to the agency's return point and turn it in. Make your way to the Orly terminal from the car rental lot (we used Hertz and it was just a short walk over to the terminal). Buy you bus ticket at the booth in the terminal (clearly marked) and hop on and ride into town.<BR><BR>Now one hint. We found Orly to be less "international" oriented than CDG, as there are fewer signs in any language other than French. However, this is not a big problem. It is easy to figure out. Our biggest problem was finding our way to the airport itself, as we were arriving from the Loire Valley, it was dark by the time we got there, and the direction signs on the highways and streets were not real good. But, we found it, turned in the car, took the bus into Paris, and all was well. <BR><BR>Good luck

ron Jun 19th, 2002 05:15 AM

We (4 of us) dropped our rental at Orly in May and taxied into Paris (7th district). Fare was ?30 plus tip.

Dave Jun 19th, 2002 05:37 AM

When I have to drop a car of in the larger European cities I always drop it off in the last town of my driving part of the trip, and take the train into the city. Paris, London, Rome, and similar cities were not laid out for cars. The train gets you into the heart of the city, no hassle. Last time, after driving around France, we returned the car in Chartres and it worked out perfectly. One thing to look out for. SOme of the smaller towns may not have an office open on Sundays or big holidays, so plan that last day in advance.<BR><BR>

Ron Jun 19th, 2002 06:12 AM

To see if there is a rental franchise in a particulr city or town, go to <BR><BR>wfd.pagesjaunes.fr<BR><BR>and enter the town and the name of the company. Then you can go to the sncf web site for the train times.<BR><BR>

ann Jun 19th, 2002 09:16 AM

Thanks for the replys. I know there is a Europecar drop off at Orly but am not sure exactly where. The Air France shuttle might be a good idea. Does anyone know how much it cost. As for a taxi, I thought they wouldn't take four people and luggage. The last time I was in Paris I tried to take one with three people and one driver wasn't too pleased and another wouldn't take us. Have many of you had success with getting a taxi to take four people with luggage (four 20" bags plus misc. small stuff)? Anyone know more details about the RER? Thanks

ron Jun 19th, 2002 12:52 PM

Ann, as I said earlier, there were 4 of us and we got a taxi at Orly. We just got in the queue and when we got to the front, the dispatcher simply called forward one of the minivan taxis. There is an extra charge of 2.something euro for the 4th passenger.<BR><BR>To find Europcar at Orly West, simply follow the signs to car rental drop off, Hertz, Avis. Budget, Europcar are all in the same place.

Christina Jun 20th, 2002 01:52 PM

The AF bus would be easy if you want to go near Montparnasse Tower or Invalides, just get on the bus and they stow your bags under it. Of course, that depends where you are going in relationship to those stops and how you'll get from there to hotel, but it probably won't be worse than taking the RER in. The AF bus fare is about 8 euro per person.<BR><BR>Now I haven't done it at Orly, but from what I've read, one way is to take the Orlyval shuttle to the Antony stop on RER B line, and from there into the city. That is actually rather expensive, considering -- the cost is now about 9 euro (for the shuttle+RER, it's the Orlyval shuttle that is expensive). <BR><BR>It really depends where you are going, as there are more alternatives. I think a good one is to take the Orlybus straight from the airport to Denfert Rochereau metro/RER station. That is slightly less than 6 euro and you get to the RER B line that way, also. YOu can get the Orlybus from Orly West Exit J or Orly South Exit H. <BR><BR>Yet another way is to get to RER C line, rather than RER B (which goes to Gare Austerlitz, for example), and to do that you take an airport shuttle (ADP shuttle) to the RER C Orly stop, and then go right in. That only costs about 5 euro total (for shuttle and RER).<BR><BR>If you want to go near Gare de Lyon, I guess you have to do one method to get RER B (Orlybus to Denfert Rochereau or the shuttle to Antony), both will probably end up costing close to the same. With 4 people, I think it would be better to just get a taxi if you can.

Gregg Jun 20th, 2002 02:34 PM

Ann,<BR>I just returned from Paris last week and returned my car at the Gare D'Lyon. Although we did make just a few wrong turns, we were able to make it back without too much trouble. People gave directions to us when we needed (make sure you understand right, left and straight ahead in French). We allowed ourselves an extra hour to get the car back (we were driving from Avallon). We saved money by avoiding the drop off fees at the airport as well as having to get back to Paris proper. The Gare D'Lyon has easy access to the metro or RER. Get yourself as detailed a street map of Paris as you can find and you should be OK. I must say that driving in France was much easier than driving in Italy.<BR>Bon voyage,<BR>Gregg

jkd Jun 20th, 2002 04:17 PM

We dropped the car off @ Euro-Disney and took the train to CDG....no problems...


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