angelaf

We are travelling from Normandy to Paris, where drop our rental car. I am not too eager to drive into Paris, so is it better to drop it in Versailles and travel by public transport into Paris (we are staying in the 5th arrondissement.

The other options of places to drop are Orly, Roissy en France, Le Bourget, Nanterre.

Sorry - my geography is somewhat lacking

StCirq

You can drop it at Versailles. You could drop it at Chartres, visit the cathedral, and take the train. You could drop it in Normandy (Caen) and take the train. There are countless options. I don't know why you'd want to drive it to Orly or CGD (which is what Roissy is) and then have to get back into the city.

Probably best to look at a map of France and figure out what works best for you.

kerouac

I will always insist that it is much better to drive into Paris. You will have been on the road for a number of days and you will know how the French drive (quite normally and better than in quite a few other countries). The roads are well marked, including in Paris. You will be inflicting totally ridiculous punishment on yourself by trying to find a rental station in a suburban town and then dragging all of your stuff on a commuter train into Paris.

It is extremely easy to drop a car at one of the three main train stations in Paris (= Lyon, Nord, Montparnasse), which all use the main station car parks and which are open very long hours 7 days a week.

Gretchen

We did drop at Orly after a visit to Chartres, and then didn't have to negotiate a train and some way to get to a hotel. the taxi ride from Orly is short and less expensive. It is closer to the "normandy" side also, I think.

StuDudley

kerouac
You should tell newbies like angelas that you live in Paris. Of course driving into Paris from your perspective would be different from that of a "country-bumpkin first-timer" (no offense angelas - I don't know anything about your background).

I live in the San Francisco area (almost 40 years) and before that LA. I avoid driving into Paris if I can (we've driven into Paris 3 times).

Stu Dudley

Gretchen

WHAT STU SAID!! All the way.

kerouac

I still maintain that after driving around France, one becomes much more confident about driving into Paris. If that is not the case, I really do not think that a person should be driving ANYWHERE in France.

Gretchen

Oh, c'mon, that is ridiculous.

kerouac

So you really think that the people in Paris drive differently from the people not in Paris?

taconictraveler

Sorry, but Kerouac is correct. We are not exactly "newbies" - we are more "oldies" - but we drove right straight thru Paris last October, coming from Barbizon and ending at Europecar at Invalides.

My husband had driven in Paris a bit 15 years ago, and I was afraid that this Paris bit would finally end the long marriage, but despite a few oddities along the way, it was about the same as driving in any small city on the East Coast.

And we live in the country and are not used to city driving.

Sarastro

I completely agree with kerouac, and I do not live in Paris.

If dropping a car off at one of the train stations in Paris, or other rental offices, is just too difficult, serious consideration should be given to avoiding a rental car completely. If driving into Paris is really that challenging, and it´s not, perhaps driving at all is not a good idea.

seafox

I', with the gang that says drive into Paris. We rent from hertz and drop off at the parking garage at Carousel du Louvre..... finding the Louvre is about the easiest thing one can do.....

Byron1

How long of a taxi ride is it from Orly to the centre of Paris (Marais)? It would be on a Friday morning to noon.

StCirq

I have absolutely no problem driving in Paris, but I know the city really well and am used to driving in France - been doing it for 30+ years. But I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of friends and acquaintances of mine who would do it - there's some sort of mental, if not physical, hurdle there. Signs in a foreign language, for one (not an issue if you speak French of course). Years of indoctrination about "European drivers" and how "scary" they are. I get it. You'd think these days with GPS systems all the rage (I have no use for them), people would be more intrepid, but they're not, and that's just the way it is.

A cab from Orly should take about a half-hour and cost 25-30 euros.

ggreen

If you will have luggage with you, I would drop off the car where it's easiest to hop right on a train for the remainder of the journey. I love Chartres cathedral, but I found out the hard way that there's no left luggage area at the train station (unless it's undergone a renovation recently). You could, of course, return the rental car after touring the cathedral (so that the luggage can remain in the trunk), but that means finding parking in town...

As for the larger issue of whether or not to drive into Paris, I have to agree that if you're not comfortable with, as StCirq says, <i>Signs in a foreign language, for one (not an issue if you speak French of course). Years of indoctrination about "European drivers" and how "scary" they are</i>, you will have had to get over that during your drive around Normandy! Whether or not that translates into deciding to drive into Paris is a matter of your personal comfort level - but really, the issues of understanding signage, navigating <i>rond-points</i>, and maneuvering in French traffic will have already been addressed prior to entering the city.

ParisAmsterdam

I first drove in Paris when I was 18 and most recently in 2008 in my mid fifties. I agree with Kerouac et al... there is no particular mystery or difficulty to driving in Paris.Especially after being acclimated to French driving for several days beforehand.

I find driving to our hotel, dropping off my wife and then going to the nearest agency office or train station to leave the car works best. These days with Google Maps and Google Streetview, pre-planning your route and knowing exactly where to go is very easy. Be sure to use Streetview if dropping at Gare Montparnasse! ;^) And having GPS makes this dead easy.

Simply plan your route, avoid rush hour and you'll have no problem.

If you are still that worried about this then don't even drive to Paris at all... drop the car in Caen or Rouen and train all the way to paris

kerouac

I was terrified the very first time that I drove in Paris all by myself. Let's see... I was something like 24 years old at the time and had just started driving stick shift. And I was driving my boss's rather expensive car on a work mission. I think I remained terrified about 10 minutes and then I realized that it was not really all that difficult.

Meanwhile, I have never owned a car in my entire life and don't expect to ever buy one, so it's not as though I drive every day. I drive 2-4 days a month in rental cars. It is so easy.

If people who own cars at home are afraid to drive in other places, I maintain that probably they should not be driving at all if their skills and confidence are so low.

Byron1

Thanks everyone. Thanks St Cirq - 30 minutes and around 30 euros. That's what we needed to know. We will have a car and touring Normandy before that and will drop off the car either after seeing the cathedral at Chartres or driving to Orly and dropping the car off.

Gretchen

It is also dead easy at Orly. You leave the car in the "deck" and walk across the street (literally) to the taxi queue.