Exchanging money in Paris..car rental to Normandy
 

I really enjoy this forum . Its so helpful..when I fly into Paris (Orly) when and where do I exchange dollars for francs? Do I do it in the states before hand? Also, Ill need a car for 2 days for a drive out of Paris. I need advice as to the best company for convience and cost and info on driving to the WW2 beaches in Normandy...Thanx Patty

Use an ATM in the airport to draw Francs out of your checking account. Sorry, can't help you with the car rental.

Can't tell you who to rent from but can tell you NOT to use the on-line booking at www.france.com. The site lists a phone number, but there's no one there, which was a huge (read: expensive) problem when we got to France and the agency didn't have our reservation.

Can't tell you who to rent from but can tell you NOT to use the on-line booking at www.france.com. The site lists a phone number, but there's no one there, which was a huge (read: expensive) problem when we got to France and the agency didn't have our reservation.

I have about $100 in local currency when I land, so I can get a coffee or a soda before I have to deal with an ATM... or if the train is leaving for the city, I can grab it and worry about the ATM later. <BR>Rent a car before you leave the U.S. Hertz, Avis, etc. all have overseas rentals. At least you'll have a phone number that works (p.s. Martha, thanks for the heads up re www.france; I was looking at that site for renting this fall. I'll ixnay that omay...). <BR>We've had good luck arranging and confirming in $US with Hertz. <BR>There's a good Michelin map of Normandy; there's also a Michelin map of Normandy on D-Day with all the assaults marked, who went where, etc. Worth the money when trying to envision what was going on. There's a museum in Bayeux with all sorts of D-Day stuff - guns, mortars, canteens, etc. - plus an exhibit about the whole thing. They even have one of Monty's red beret's. <BR>At Omaha Beach there's a restaurant between the road and the cliffs. Pretty touristy, but you can't beat the location.

try www.carwiz.com for a quote for your car. depending of the type of car you want depends the company that will offer the cheapest price. <BR>i am going to paris, and i am using hertz (the best price for my type of car), and will alos get frwuant flyer mileage.

Patty, <BR>I've rented autos in Europe many, many times. Invariably either Kemwel or AutoEurope or Europcar have considerably cheaper rates that Hertz or Avis. They all have websites; do a search for them and compare.