chuck

Is is really that bad to drive in Paris? I'm from a big northeast US city, and am wondering about renting a car there to get out to the countryside, etc. For a quick dash to the Paris perimeter and beyond, is it a bad idea to pick up a car at one of the train stations in Paris?

Vincent

I would say the main problem is not driving (in spite of a common opinion in this forum, Paris is not Cairo ! ) but parking : this will cost you a lot of money and trouble. One exception though : if you are in Paris in August, the city is almost empty and most parking meters are free. Why not rent a scooter or a 125 cc motorbike (you are allowed to drive them in France with a car driver's license) ? I swear it'll give you a totally different perspective on the city, and you'll be able to go easily 100 km from Paris.

Lee

Chuck: I strongly suggest that you avoid having a car in Paris. There is a serious shortage of parking, driving would be a trying experience and navigating the city streets would be difficult due to many one way streets, traffic volume and so on. <BR> <BR>The Metro is an easy-to-use and economical method of fast transportation within the city and connects to train stations allowing travel to just about anywhere. A much more enjoyable and relaxing experience. If you feel strongly about a car, travel to just outside the city and rent your vehicle, returning it the same way and revert back to the train/Metro at that point. <BR> <BR>Have a good trip!

Jeff

Don't Do it!!! (Unless you enjoy self inflected torture) There is absolutely no reason to drive in Paris. Between the Metro and the RER you can get anywhere, even outside of Paris. <BR> <BR>FYI every tour bus driver I have asked the question "Which city is the worst to drive in in Europe" the answer is ALWAYS Paris. <BR> <BR> <BR>

topper

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cheryl

We are from Boston, and when we were in Paris, my husband really wanted to rent a car and drive out of the city. We only had the car for a one day rental, and we picked it up right in the city. My husband loved the challenge of driving out of Paris, and it was fun to just drive where we wanted. The only downside that we found (for people who like city driving) was the cost. The car rental and gas was prohibitively expensive, I'm sure we could have taken the train to the same places for less than we paid for the car, but my husband really enjoyed the day. I would say that if you just want to get out of the city, take the train, but if you really want the experience of driving in France, it's not impossible.

Vic

Driving in the countryside outside of Paris is great. The distances between points of interest are short and you have flexibility that you don't with a train. <BR>Driving in Paris is quite another matter. They have these enormous round-a-abouts. The one around the Arc de Triomph has a dozen exits with aggressive taxi drivers switching lanes seemingly without regard to other cars. I have had nightmares about getting into a traffic circle and never emerging. There seems to be no way to avoid them. <BR>Another problem is the fact that Parisiannes put street signs on the side of corner buildings. They are often difficult to read. <BR>As mentioned by others parking is scarce and expensive. The spaces in parking lots seem designed for smashed fenders. <BR>What we did in Florence recently was stay outside of town around a major autostrada and drove into the Toscan countryside. We would take the hotel's shuttle bus into town each night to enjoy Florence. After a few days, we returned the car and moved to a hotel in the middle of town.

Vic

I forgot to mention the fact that staying outside of a major city is much cheaper than staying in the middle of town. We stayed at the Sheraton Firenze at a rate of about $125/night. The hotel in the middle of Florence which was physically at much better than the Sheraton cost us $350/night.