europeandream

US Couple Mid 50's - touring 10 days in France; not sure if long-term car rental best or mix of rail/drive

Arrive July Tuesday late afternoon in Basel, Switzerland and go directly to Colmar

3 nights in Colmar (tour Alsace Lorraine)
2 nights Paris (staying in Courbevoie)- heard about high speed rail available in June from Colmar to Paris; could drive instead; metro ok in Paris

Depart Sunday am and adding one passenger; visit Giverney, Versailles so car from this point on preferred
1 nights Honfleur
2 nights Bayeux
1 nights Mont St Michel
1 night ? (maybe near airport; any ideas on locations?) before early am CDG flight

Suggestions/Comments anyone?

kerouac

1. Get a car in Colmar to explore Alsace and return it there, perhaps at the Strasbourg train station.
2. Take the TGV to Paris. No car in Paris.
3. Get a car to leave Paris, in Courbevoie or Puteaux or any of those western suburban towns nearby. Do your tour and return the car to CDG.
4. Get your cars through www.autoeurope.com which will assign you to one of the major companies and cover everything in its discount rate.

europeandream

Thank you kerouac! How would you get from Basel to Colmar--bus or rail? I'm assuming a rental in Basel Airport and a return in Colmar or Strasborg is too expensive. I'm a little confused if point-to-point rail is cheaper or a rail pass makes sense. I need to research that.

Cowboy1968

Renting a car at Basel airport for a trip to/in France is easier than you think.

The airport is actually located in France close to the border of Switzerland, and serves both Mulhouse (France) and Basel (Switzerland). So, that airport has a "French side" and a "Swiss side".

When you check car rental companies, make sure that look for locations in France, then use "Mulhouse" as city, and finally choose the option "Bale-Mulhouse airport (French side or French sector)". Bale is French for Basel.
Alternatively, you can also use the airport code MLH for a search.

You will not have to pay international drop off fees for a one-way rental Basel-Mulhouse airport to Strasbourg or Colmar since both pick up and drop off will be in France.

kerouac

Regarding Basel airport, which is indeed in France, the official name is now EuroAirport because it is also the airport for Freiburg, Germany, and also has a German exit!

Cowboy1968

Correct, I should have used the right name.
Just some major rental car companies still list EuroAirport as Bale-Mulhouse, hence my reference to that somewhat old name.
You usually can bypass these name confusions by using the IATA code for rental car inquiries.

europeandream

Thanks to both of you for your good information!