I have arranged to rent a car at the Budget <BR>in Paris (Gare du Nord). I'm not familar with Paris - can someone give me directions for driving out of Paris, and finding a pleasant route (non-highway) to Tours? <BR>thanks <BR>Kim

Try www.iti.fr <BR> <BR>It gives you things to see along the way, driving times between place, fuel usage, etc. <BR> <BR>Never driven out of Paris (we dumped the car in Versailles) but you want to get to the Peripherique (beltway).

Kim, <BR>Elvira's advice is right on, however, a word of caution: there are two "Tours" in France, one not too far from the Dover coast just southwest of Abbeville and the other, which I presume is the one you're interested in, about half way between Nantes and Orleans. Make sure you've "touring" to the desired "Tours" when routing from www.iti.fr. <BR> <BR>I don't think the website will get you out of Paris. If you have trouble finding your way from Gare du Nord to the Peripherique, Email me directly; I can give you simple directions.

We just came back from a trip to Europe last week. We picked up a car in Paris (at Place d'Italie) and when we were there, the rental agency gave us a map of Paris and directions how to get out of Paris from their location. We used Auto Europe but I have to believe every rental company has those pads of local maps just like they do in the US. <BR>We drove towards Montargis and took the autoroute part of the way to put some distance between paris and the countryside. <BR>I used CW lease routeplanner to plan a general route before we left but we ended taking less travelled roads by having a map and knowing what towns were along the way. <BR>Have a great trip.

You should make sure that you get good directions from Budget-and you might even check into picking up the car at another Budget office if you have that option because the Gard du Nord is in the north and east of Paris and and Tours is southwest of Paris. Better alternatives would be Gare Montparnasse, Etoile, or even Orly Airport (not CDG)and take the Orly bus out. All of these get you much further south and west. <BR> <BR>But if that isn't an option, then you need to get out of that section of Paris. How you go depends on a couple of things: <BR> <BR>1) How confident you are in city traffic versus freeway <BR> <BR>2) the day and time of day <BR> <BR>Paris has a highway that surrounds it called the peripherique. The fastest way to get to it from gare du nord is by going north which would put you basically at 12:00 on a clock and you will need to the equivalent of 7:00 to catch the freeway to Tours. If you try to do that anytime during rush hours (morning or evening) that is a non-trivial trip around Paris. <BR> <BR>If you are more confident in town then the quickest way is a bit south and straight West to Etoile and Champs Elysees, but of course the round-about has its own challenges. <BR> <BR>Anyway, this isn't meant to discourage you-just make sure you get detailed directions from Budget-also, if you have a choice sunday would be a good day to leave-everyone else will be coming back to Paris and you will be against traffic that way and Sunday makes a good travel day anyway. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps-if you want more info-e-mail me directly. <BR> <BR>Jeanne

Saturday is the worst day of traffic arround Paris, it's better to drive through the city instead of going arround. The highways are very save and easy to drive, don't be scare. Just remember that the one on the right always has the prefference.

We just returned from France. Rented a car in Paris, Gare Montparnasse. It is the easiest location to get out of to go towards Tours. You'll just follow Ave Maine until you get to the perifique(?)And from there you will go in the direction of Tours. It is very easy. If you are a member of AAA get there map of France, it is excellent and is free. We used it for our entire trip from Paris to just north of Toulouse and back for 7 days. Many excellent roads. Toll roads are fast, clean and easy to navigate. You can get off on secondary roads easily to see more of the country side. The drives in the Loire area are very pretty. Have a great time. We did!

Perhaps you are smarter than we were, but we found that the drive to the Loire Valley took FAR longer than I had anticipated. Foolishly, I took the guidebooks at their word, which talk about 1 1/2-2 hours, which is probably true if you take the autoroute directly to Tours. However, if you get off on other roads, be prepared for a longer trip (3+ hours). This is fine and enjoyable, so long as you are expecting it! But do drive-- it's great!

A few years ago, we rented a car while still in the US and picked it up in Paris. I think it was AutoEurope, but I'd have to pull my records to verify the company. We were quite relieved to find our name on a neat little packet waiting for us at the office in Paris. We rented a Renault Safrane, roughly slightly smaller than my Audi100CS. It was new, didn't guzzle gas and had an alarm, I recall. We departed Paris after navigating the Arc d'Triomphe at rush hour, getting up on the Periphique(a peripheral beltway which runs a radius around Paris). I don't recall anymore the exact exit (they're numbered on your map), however, I recall my spouse reviewing the map for the exit going towards CHARTES and ORLEANS. We headed due southwest all the way through Vendome, where we had to pass delivery trucks by going on the sidewalk, all the while watching not to scratch the lovely gunmetal silver paint! We soon discovered that the easiest way to gauge(sic?) your width is to follow a Range Rover, arguably the widest thing on the French roads, save for trucks. We eventually came to Chissay en Tourraine, just outside Tours. We even encountered the Tour d' Tours, an antique car road rallye. The French roads are well-maintained, clean and the only guidance you will need is to get used to kilometers rather than miles per hour. The Police ride BMW motorcycles. In a bit of rain, you will see lots of small French cars ON THIER ROOFS. ( They sometimes forget to slow down for the conditions.) Anything coming at you from the right has right-of-way. There are turn circles for many exits. The highway signs are easy to read and are color coded ....I think the chateau signs were brown. The littlest lines on your map are backroads; we took every kind; large road and small....you might want to stick to the municipal roads, but we grew up "Sunday Driving" (dad was a Teamster)! It is quite easy and the drivers in the country are less aggressive than those in the city. Once you clear Paris, its a breeze.

I've driven to the Loire Valley out of Paris (from Les Invalides) and most recently from Orly Airport. Trust me, the cost of a cab ride to Orly to pick up your car is well worth it. Getting to the Peripherique and then looping around to your Autoroute can be hair raising as opposed to easier access from Orly. <BR>Al