We are spending 2 nights in Paris and then heading for Giverny and then Normandy. We want to go to a car rental office that is situated on the northwest side of Paris so we can take a taxi there, rent the car, and be close to the highway heading out of Paris toward Giverny so we don't have to cross the entire city of Paris. We need to return the car in Rennes and there seem to be quite a few car rentals available. Question--anyone know the area we need to ask for when renting our car? Maps are difficult to read for this.
Thanks ahead of time,
jjashworth

You could take the RER A train to the suburb of St Germain en Laye ... there is a Hertz outlet right in the RER station, and then it's just a couple minutes' drive to the A13 autoroute up to Giverny.

AutoEurope, a consolidator that finds you the best rates from among the agencies with which it has contracts, also has an outlet close to the St-Germain-en-Laye RER A station. Visit www.autoeurope.com.

The fare on the Metro & RER from central Paris to St-Germain-en-Laye is €3.50.

Hi,
Thanks so much for that info. Our hotel is located at Rue Monsieur le Prince (Hotel Saint-Paul Rive-Gauche.) How far would that be from there? If not far we could even taxi it unless there is a train right close by. I am pretty sure Hertz has an office in Rennes where we will return our car. Is there an AutoEurope near there, just to compare prices?
Really appreciate your help.
jjashworth

Adding to my previous note. AutoEurope will certainly be cheaper than Hertz. Book now from home to get the best rate. If you wait until you get to Paris, you will pay more no matter what agency you use and the car you want may not be available.

AutoEurope has several pick up/drop off points in Rennes.

According to viamichelin.com it's 22km from your hotel to the RER station at St-Germain-en-Laye. It's a simple Metro and RER ride. Take Metro Line 4 from Odeon to Chatelet. Walk through the tunnels to the Chatelet-Les Halles RER station and take the RER A to St-Germain-en-Laye. The trip will take around 45 minutes, including the underground walk from Chatelet to Chatelet-Les Halles.

I would rent from the Europcar office on the Avenue d'Italie, a straight shot to the highway.

Hi RonZ,
Thanks for your suggestion. I called Europecar and rented from the Avenue D'Italie which is right near our hotel. I had everything filled out on the internet, saved it for today, and found it to be quite a bit more overnight. I called the office and they gave me a decent rate but not like yesterdays. We also missed a first class seat from Rennes back to Paris
because I waited too long even though it is almost 3 months away. So, people should reserve early!

If you are renting at Avenue d'Italie on a weekday, schedule your departure after rush hour. Have a leisurely breakfast, pick up the car around 9:45 or 10 and off you go ... otherwise you could end up spending a very long time on the Peripherique!

mlafette,
Thanks for the info. We are renting at 10:00 so we should miss the traffic and have time for a nice leisurely breakfast.
Can't wait to get there!

If you are getting driving directions from viamichelin or mappy, use Porte d'Italie as the starting point.