Driving from Le Havre to Paris and around Paris
 

Our group cosists of two adults and two kids. We are taking a transalantic cruise in May that will stop at Le Havre. I am thinking of renting a car at Le Havre, drive to Paris and tour there (maybe park the car in a garage somewhere in City). How is driving in Paris? Can it be worst than Driving in Rio de Janeiro? We would save a lot if we rent the car instead of the cruise shore excurtions and I don't like the idea of such a long drive in a bus without the ability to stop when and where we want to. Has anyone done this? or Know of anyone who has?

The driving time is a little under three hours. Have you thought of taking a train? Quicker and less stressful.

I imagine driving in Paris would be less of a challenge than driving in Rio de Janeiro, but that still doesn't mean it's a good idea to drive in Paris if you can avoid it. Assuming the traffic doesn't bother you, parking is still an issue.

Why not take the train? It will be cheaper than renting a car and quite relaxing for everyone. The trip takes two hours and you end up in the heart of the city. Single (one-way) PREM (discount) tickets can be as little as E15.00 and regular adult tickets are E27.50. Tickets can be bought at sncf.com up to 60 days in advance. PREMs sell fast so it's best to order them as soon as the 60-day window opens. You print your own PREM tickets. You can pick up regular tickets at the station by preenting the credit card used when ordering them.

Correction to my previous post: Tickets can now be ordered at sncf.com up to 90 days in advance. (It's still best to order them as soon as the window opens to have a chance at getting PREMs.)

About three hours of highway driving to Paris. You don't want to use the car in Paris, though—not because there's anything particularly dangerous or stressful about driving there (especially compared to Rio), but simply because traffic is extremely heavy and there's no place to park. You'll spend most of your time trying to get from place to place in traffic jams and trying to find parking places if you take the car into the city.

We rented a car in Le Havre about 4-5 years ago. Since that time, I have read posts that some people say there is a 3-day minimum for a rental car, so you might want to check that out first. ((b))

Discard driving in Paris, if this is a day trip from Le Havre for you guys. Not a great idea. Get info on rail/bus itineraries and use them instead. Otherwise, stay around Le Havre and head out Mt. St. Michel/Normandy Beaches. I think the kids will enjoy that area tremendously.

Driving to Paris is fine, driving to a garage just inside the peripherique is also fine. But you do not need a car once you are in Paris.

How long do you plan to stay in Paris? You should reckon on around 20-30 euros a day for parking. (Try a search here on driving in Paris and parking in Paris as this sort of question has been asked before, as recently as last week.)

It seems to me the train could well be your best option.

another vote for the train.

((I))