Car rental - Pick up for Overnight to Mont St Michel
 

Hello,

I will be with some friends in Paris for work, and we would like to go to Mont St Michel. We plan on renting a car on a Sunday morning, driving to Mont St Michel, and spending the night prior to returning to Paris the next day. Due to a fairly tight schedule with our other obligations, this is the longest stretch of time we have to journey outside of Paris. (We have all been to Paris before, so we are not skipping any Paris sights for MSM)

We are staying in La Defense, and we will be renting through Hertz due to our corporate rate. The Hertz rental office in La Defense is closed on Sundays, so we will have to pick up the car elsewhere. With that said, where is the best place to pick up the car to avoid Parisian traffic? Our options include the following pick-up locations:

1. Aeroport d'Orly - Airport
2. Charles de Gaulle Aeroport
3. Carrousel - Louvre
4. Esplanade des Invalides
5. Gare de Lyon / CC Gamma - Railway Station
6. Gare du Nord - Railway Station


Which of these is the best to travel to in order to head toward Mt. St. Michel with minimal city traffic? (I can drive in traffic, but the less stress the more the driver enjoys the journey...) We will return the car to the Hertz location in La Defense on Monday or Tuesday morning.

Also, what time do you recommend we leave Paris? Should we time it to arrive in the evening after the day trippers, or is that wasting the day? Any suggestions?

As always, thanks in advance,

Chels

Hi C,

I wouldn't expect much traffic in Paris on a Sunday morning and wouldn't bother going out to the airports.

Enter your various addresses at www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com for driving directions out of Paris.

Use www.ratp.fr for directions to the rental offices.

Hope this helps.

((I))

Ira,

Sorry for the delayed response, but thank you for your input. I am relieved that it is not really necessary to go out to the airport to avoid the traffic.

Thanks again,
Chels

I can't speak for Hertz at Defense, but when we rented a car from Avis at St. Sulpice, we went there the night before and made the arrangements, leaving the car in their garage. Before they opened the next morning we went and drove the car out. They also told us we could drop it off there after they closed in the evening and drop the key in a slot. I forget if we did nor if we returned before they closed. I'm pretty sure that Hertz is within one of those huge garages at Defense, so possibly you could do the same thing if you could zip by late on Saturday and sign the papers?

Neopolitan, that seems like a great idea. The only problem is that Hertz is closed on both Saturday and Sunday in La Defense. It would be so much easier if we could pick up the car right there in La Defense.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Chels

Oh, well, it seemed like a good suggestion. LOL