Paris to Munich--Car,Plane or Train
 

My wife and I will be visiting Paris from April 1 to April 7. We are then going to Lower Bararia and start auto tour and end up in Brussels for the return flight to US on Saturday, April 15. Need advise on whether to rent car in Paris and drive to Germany and return car in Brussels or train or plane to Munich and rent car there and return in Brussels. I am not sure of driving time from Paris to Munich compared to the train time of nine hours. Costs are also a consideration. Any information will be appreciated.

I am usually very pro-car rental over train, but this is one route which can puts train to very good use. Like all things, it depends a lot on personal preference, but the timing of Paris-Munich is particularly good, in my opinion. You can leave at 13:24, arriving at 22:06 and spend the time on an afternoon nap, a nice dinner and evening reading and arrive at an hour that doesn't make you feel like a zombie. <BR> <BR>Yes, you could drive it in about the same time. The website www.euroshell.com shows 827 km, 8 hrs 47 minutes for Paris-Munich. The drop charge for taking a French car to Brussels might be substantial (or you might luck out and get none, but you can't count on that). You can take that same train headed for Munich and get off in Karlsruhe at 18:50 (to begin your German car rental), but you can see this part of Germany on the way back, and not many people would want to start a 3 hour drive (Karlsruhe-Munich) at that hour. <BR> <BR>It could be asked whether you have to go all the way to Bavaria to enjoy your side trip in Germany, but I'll assume you have your reasons. I understand that the German National tourist board groans every time they get a literature request for Bavaria (as if too many Americans want only to see Bavaria). <BR> <BR>On your drive back towards Brussels, you can return your German car back in Aachen, with a 2 hr train to Brussels - - runs about every hour. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex

Two excellent websites for train planning are: <BR> <BR>http://voyages.sncf.fr/voyages_gb/acgb_accueil.html <BR>and click on booking and fares <BR> <BR>OR <BR> <BR>http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en <BR> <BR>We are planning a trip to France and Germany in April also and I have found these sites very useful in finding train schedules. <BR> <BR>Hans

Have you thought about the overnight train from Paris to Munich? Unless you want to see the scenery, it is a great use of your limited time and is a comfortable way to travel.

Unless you want to stop along the way to see stuff, a car trip for that long is a wasted strain on your endurance. Take the train Paris&gt;Munich (overnight train, as suggested, is a time and money saver since you won't have to pay for a hotel that night). Rent your car to tour Bavaria ('cause you'll be stopping in little towns and diverting to see cool stuff). Op-dray the ar-kay in Germany, and take a train to Brussels (there's probably an overnight for that one too). <BR>Train costs break even with car costs when 2 people travel; once there's more than 3, the car usually is cheaper. <BR>Also to check are discounts for age and two travelling togeth