We will be in Luxonbourg onto Leige then into France toward Alsace and Champagne. Having a hard time finding a rental car that is reasonable. Does anybody have any suggestions? Also how easy is it to travel around northeast france by train? Which would be easier?
This is my first time to France so I need all the help I can get.
Thanks

Try europebycar.com

AutoEurope has always come through for us. They're actually a booking service and can find the best rate, which in my experience has often been Europcar.

We did a not too different trip a couple of years ago (picked up car in Brussels and toured Belgium, Lux, N France and ended up in Frankfort) and found that Hertz had the best deal for type of car we wanted (with the usual corporate discount and class upgrade) because there was no drop off charge.

I find its always best to figure out all the details before going to the car sites - since what look less expensive can turn out to be more when you take fees, taxes etc into account (sometimes its much cheaper to do a trip in reverse, based on tax rates and differential drop off fees.)

Depending on the length of your trip, you might check out Kemwell. They have good prices for longer rentals.

We got a surprisingly good deal on Hertz last time we were there. A car will give you a lot more freedom obviously but you need to be prepared to spend a fair bit of time worrying about routes and definitely need a second person to navigate. Note that there is a big difference between the price of an automatic and manual. By far the majority of rentals in Europe are for manual and therefore they charge a premium for automatic. It is also usually cheaper if you don't hire from the airport itself and sometimes from smaller towns. Last time we took the train into Paris, had our few days there, caught the train to Chartes (a town we wanted to visit an hour away) and picked up the car there. It was cheaper and we saved ourselves all the trouble of having to drive out of such a large city.

We rented from Hertz in France and it was a nightmare! Recommend Autoeurope or Europcar or Avis.

We toured Provence last September with an auto from Europcar. They were a breeze to work with, had a great price....and the quoted price included full insurance coverage. The peace of mind was wonderful.

what do you consider "not reasonable"? for a week rental you should expect to pay around 400 bucks for a compact car. depending on luggage, I'd go with the car but that's me. I hate being bound to train schedules and I like the ease of just throwing your luggage in the trunk and taking off.

if you cross borders you'll likely pay a lot more. why don't you take the train in Luxembourg, and pick a city near the border in France to pick up your car and go? I think you'll find the price will drop significantly.

Hi

Try http://www.novarentacar.com/

Try these guys. we have used them many times. i would call though because the rates are usually lower on the phone. I would not travel by train because you miss too much. If you are staying in Strasbourg we stayed at the comfort inn downtown next to the river and the rooms were nice and big, wood floors etc. Email me with any questions.
http://www.autoeurope.com/