Paris to Rental Car
 

My wife and I will travelling to Paris next spring. After a few days in Paris, we would like to rent a car and take a driving tour of France and North Italy. I would rather not drive in Paris. Please suggestions on where I could reserve a car for and reach by short train ride or etc. and avoid Paris traffic going and returning 2-3 weeks later.

Several comments:

First - - <i>where</i> in France do you want to tour? and over how many days? From Paris to northern Italy is a significant stretch of territory and can involve at least two routes - - via Nice/Monaco/Ventimiglia and any of several routes diretly over the Alps. A pickup might be as far south as Avignon, or Lyon (for either route) - - but there are many other appropriate choices.

Second, how do you intend to conclude this trip? Fly home from Italy? Returning a French rental car in Italy will likely cause you to incur a hefty drop-off charge. Perhaps you could fly home from Nice? Maybe even fly Paris-Nice, rent there, and then drive in a (&quot;skinny&quot;) loop both eastward and westward to take in some of the south of France and northern Italy.

Best wishes,

Rex

I get the impression you're talking about picking up and returning in Paris, right? If so there are dozens of options, but I think one of the easiest is Orly airport. It's a quick 20 euro taxi ride there (from the Left Bank, anyway), and the signage is clear for both getting onto major roads and for returning to the spot.
Of course you can also get to Orly by public transport, but the taxi is easy and probably worth it since there are two of you with luggage.

We are returning to Paris in about 3 weeks. If I pick up and return car to Orly, do I avoid Paris traffic problems?

If you return the car to Orly you will not have to drive in Paris.

Of course traffic gets heavy as you approach Orly, but assuming you are coming from the highway from the south, it is easy to follow the signs right into the airport and directly to the rental car return. Think of it as approaching a US airport from an Interstate highway -- very similar. In fact we found Orly to be much easier than many US airports where the signs don't even indicate what lane to be in until it's too late to get there.
And leaving the airport to get on the highway is just as easy.

&lt;&lt;We are returning to Paris in about 3 weeks.&gt;&gt;

Okay - - so I would still fly to Nice, and then amble as your schedule dictates (or lack of schedule - - might be nice!) into northern Italy, and then back east and north towards Paris (regardless of route). Two people can not only save the wear and tear by flying down - - but even bigger surprise - - the air fare <i>for</i> <b>two</b> could easily be less than the tolls and fuel to drive Paris-Nice.

You don't need to drive the Autoroute du Soleil both coming and going to see all the wonderful attractions along its length (and to either side of it).

Of course, alternatively, you COULD make a totally different route coming and going - - but even in three weeks, you're going to be whizzing through/by some wonderful parts of one country, the other or both.

As a delayed thought, since you are renting for three weeks, have you checked a lease program in France -- available for over 17 days? With that you pick up a brand new car and the savings mayb be significant. You also really get to pick the type of car you want, not rely on what may or may not be available at time of pickup. Check out AutoFrance.com.

With super cheap Easy Jet fares from Paris to Nice, Rex may be right, if you don't want to SEE anything between Paris and Nice. On the other hand, you might turn the drive into an additional venture with an overnight stop or two along the way.

&lt;&lt;Rex may be right, if you don't want to SEE anything between Paris and Nice. On the other hand, you might turn the drive into an additional venture with an overnight stop or two along the way.&gt;&gt;

My point is/was that you can pack in all the adventure you want in one direction or the other. You don't need to drive it both directions.

I wasn't thinking of taking the same route both ways. One way more to the east from Paris through the alps into northern Italy, the other more or less straight up from Nice on the AutoRoute.

Our plans, though still very preliminary, are to drive from the &quot;area&quot; of Paris to the Alsace Region working our way south and east to the Riviera and back north and west to Normandy before returning to Paris. My main question is how to do this without ever having to drive in Paris.

This tour is starting to ressemble &quot;Mission Overambitious&quot;, the more I read about your plans. Even with three weeks, you are talking about trying to fit in (or gloss over) 6-8 prime destination &quot;areas&quot; - - and a <i>lot</i> of driving.

From Alsace, it really is not practical to get to &quot;northern Italy&quot; without either a) going through Switzerland or b) returning to (at least a portion of) the Autoroute du Soleil (through/around Lyon, for example). It looks like you ought to be able to avoid this, but the roads just don't go... say... from Colmar/Mulhouse to Grenoble or the Queyras in any straightforward route <i>through</i> France.

It's true - - there is much to like in Alsace - - but then, there is much to like in Switzerland, and much to like in the Black forest, and in Lombardy, and the Italian Riviera, and the Veneto, and the Italian Alps... and so on...

Choices have to be made. And even &quot;from the Riviera back to Normandy and then return to Paris&quot; is three weeks worth of enjoyment if you want it to be - - plus you have to circumnavigate Paris to <i>get</i> from the south to Normandy.

I think, given your goal of avoiding driving in Paris, I would recommend taking the train (TGV) to Lyon, renting there, making a big loop (partial, or a complete circle) and ending up to return the car back there, in Montpellier, or Geneva, or Strasbourg, or Nice and fly (or train) from there back home (or back to Paris, to get home).


I'll go back to one of my oldest adages: &quot;See where you are more. Move around less&quot;.