hdm

Hello all my Paris and environs experts,
We're getting down to the short strokes now for our upcoming trip to France. I'm about to rent a car and based on reviews here will go with Auto Europe. Before I rent, and for timing generally, I hope you'll be able to answer some questions for me:

1) We'll be picking up our car on a Saturday morning and driving to Auxerre. Our hotel (Henri IV Rive Gauche) is at 9-11 Rue Saint Jacque, near Notre Dame. Below are all the pick up places available to us at that time. Can you tell me which one is the most convenient for driving out of the city and towards Auxerre:

Paris City - Porte Maillot
145 Ave Malakoff

Paris Downtown
27 Place St Ferdinand

Paris Downtown
Carrousel Du Louvre

Paris Downtown Office
82 Avenue De La Grande Armee

Paris Downtown
Paris Des Princes, 2 Avenue De

Paris Downtown
Parc Des Princes,16th District

Paris Downtown
24 Blvd De La Mission Marchand

Paris City Office - Etoile
Face 8 Avenue Foch

Paris City Office - Bastille
88 Rue De La Roquette


Paris Downtown
213 Blvd Vincent Auriol

Paris - Porte D'orleans Office
17-21 Boulevard Romain Rolland

Paris City Office - Italie
5 Avenue D' Italie

Paris Downtown Office
Parc Des Princes

Paris City Office - Nanterre
225 - 231 Rue De La Garenne

Paris City Office - Invalides
Esplanade Des Invalides

2) About how long is the drive from Paris to Auxerre on a Saturday?

3) Our first night in Auxerre, we'll be driving to Villeneuve Sur Yonne for dinner at Leslie Caron's Auberge. How long a drive is it between those two towns?

4) At the end of our trip, we'll be dropping our car off in Avignon and taking the train back to Paris. Do you know how long that train trip is -- regular and high speed? Is it better for us to reserve our train tickets from home or can we just buy them at the station? It will be a Friday.

Thank you so much in advance for your help!

DeborahAnn

hdm,

1. do you really want to pick up your rental inside the peripherique of Paris? We usually pick up at the train station of our first stop outside of Paris or at either airport. I realize there may be some additional airport fees but I can't imagine dealing with Paris traffic any day of the week

2.Go to www.viamichelin.com put in the departing town and arriving town will give you km and time, plus cost for the drive and several options, like shortest, quickest, economical etc.

3. again use viamichelin

4. go to http://tinyurl.com/2nuuz5 and put in towns traveling between and it will show how long each train will take

Deborah

kwren

the Carrousel Du Louvre should be close to your hotel (I'm not familiar with all the locations). I'd go for that so you don't have to lug the luggage far, or so it would be easy to pick up the car and go back to the hotel to pick it up on the way out of Paris. There won't be much traffic on a Saturday morning so getting out of Paris should be easy.

you could go to viamichelin.com or Mappy.com to get some answers to your other questions. These have been recommended in other posts.

StCirq

I wouldn't worry about driving out of Paris. A helluva lot easier than driving out of NYC, IMO.

And I'd have to consult a map (as should you), but I think the Carousel du Louvre is indeed the cloests.

TimS

Avignon-Paris on the TGV is just under three hours. The regular 2nd class fare is over 80 EUR. PREM'S (discount) fares, when available, are as low as 25 EUR. You can book tickets online at sncf.com up to 90 days in advance. To have the best chance of getting a PREM'S, book as soon as the 90-day window opens. Leave France as the default country and print your own ticket. If you book a regular ticket online, choose the option of picking up the ticket at the station. You'll need to present the confirmation number you'll be given and the credit card you used when booking.

ira

Hi hd,

1. Call AutoEurope and ask them.

2 and 3.
See www.viamichelin.com

4. See www.voyages-sncf.com

Can you take the train to Auxerre and pick up the car there?

hdm

Thank you all very much.

Ira and DeborahAnn, yes we can take the train to Auxerre and pick up a car there. Do you really think there's an advantage to this? I'm a pretty confident driver but I don't know Paris at all. I wouldn't have driven in Rome generally, but we did pick up our car near the Vatican and easily drove to the highway but I think the pick-up place was just in a good location.

WWID (What would Ira do?)

rs899

I had a devil of a time trying to drop our Europcar at the place near Bastille, but I suppose that picking one up in the city would be a bit easier as you don't need to be as precise about leaving Paris- you will always hit the peripherique or some main road , get out of town and find your bearings. But I would print all the maps you can beforehand on ViaMichelin- they will show you the one-way streets and give you directions that avoid them.

Rick

jody

We did the opposite trip last year. We took the train back to Paris from Auxerre. The car rentals (Avis and Europcar) are directly across from the train station and around the corner. The main road that goes around the town is nearby and it was easy to find our way as they have the names of hotels posted on signboards along the road.

jody

Forgot to mention the train takes 1hr and 45 minutes , there are some direct trains and some require 1 connection. They leave from Paris Bercy

TimS

The trains with one connection (in Laroche-Migennes) leave from Gare de Lyon.

kerouac

From the addresses you've given, it appears that Hertz will be providing the car.

You did not list the train station locations for pick up, but Gare de Lyon would be the best and easiest for your needs.

ira

Hi hd,

>WWID (What would Ira do?)<

Take the train to Auxerre. It's a not unpleasant ride.

See a bit of the town. It's quite interesting.

Pick up car.

It's about 1:45 hr from 11 Rue Saint Jacques to Auxerre by car.

It's 1:40 from Paris Bercy or Lyon to Auxerre by train.

It's about 14 min from your hotel to either Bercy or Lyon.

hdm

kerouac, no, I didn't think to give you the train stations but I'm glad you picked up on that. Gare de Lyon sounds good.

Sorry, now I'm a little confused. Regarding the Paris to Auxerre train, by connection, do you mean getting off one train and on another, or just a stop? I'd rather not change trains since we'll have two suitcases. Where do the direct trains leave from and is that a reasonable cab distance from our hotel?

So our choice, then, will be either pick up the car at Gare de Lyon station and with the help of our Mappy maps (rs899, good tip about printing the maps. I'll do that), drive to Auxerre
OR
take the direct train and pick up the car in Auxerre.

You're all so very helpful. Thank you.

TimS

Yes, a connection means changing trains. The direct train leaves from Bercy. In ira's last post he says it's about 14 minutes to Bercy from your hotel. See the timetables at www.bahn.de. Click on "Internat. Guests" to get the English version.

Mimar

Yes, it's better to take the train from Paris to Auxerre, then rent your car. I gather you're unfamiliar with train travel. It's one of the joys of traveling in Europe. The scenery slides by, both of you can watch it, no need to keep your eyes on the road or the map. The seats are roomy and comfortable, there's a bathroom at the end of the car and usually food on board.

Two of you and two suitcases doesn't seem unmanageable. One of you gets on the train first, the other passes up the suitcases.

ira

>See the timetables at www.bahn.de. Click on "Internat. Guests" to get the English version.<

Or go to www.voyages-sncf.com and click on the British Flag in the lower left corner.

Michael

Pick up the car at the Porte d'Orléans (walk to St. Michel and take the métro to the end of the line), which is on the southern edge of Paris. Stop by Vaux-le-Vicomte or Fontainebleau and maybe Sens on the way to Auxerre. If seeing in-between places is not on your agenda, it might be best to take the train.

kerouac

We are now reaching the stage of contradictory advice overkill.

I have to admit that travel boards constantly annoy me with the "do it my way" factor. If a person asks about car rental, people immediately say to take the train instead. If the person is asking about train travel, he is immediately told that it is better to rent a car. I try to give people information about the mode of transport they have requested and not try to sell my own preference.

Naturally, I am guilty of doing it sometimes myself (especially the endless CDG transport debate), or else when a person is wildly misinformed, such as the person wanting to use helicopter service from Nice to Monaco.

hdm

Hi,
OK, after much discussion (about 2 minutes worth) we've decided to pick up the car in Paris at Gare de Lyon station.

We're not entirely unfamiliar with taking trains or driving in Europe, having done both in Italy and we enjoyed both. It's just that this is our first trip to France.

We'll be spending a few days in Auxerre so, yes, we'll get to explore the town and surrounding areas.

And we'll be taking the train from Avignon to Paris so we'll get some nice train travel in too.

Thank you all very much. You've been super!