Lesli

Planning to rent a car this next trip - probably Auto Europe. (We'll be heading to the Loire and Brittany/Normandy; still working on the itinerary.) It's my understanding that rental cars can be picked up at most of the major train stations. Which is easiest in terms of getting out of Paris and on our way?

vosaki

Car rental offices are all over Paris. What I do is find the one nearest the hotel, get the car, take it back to the hotel load up. This way you don't have to hassle loading and unloading your luggage from a cab. Manuvering in Paris is really not that bad. <BR>One other thing, you should carefully plan how long you'll need the car. Last time we decided to rent a car and explore areas close to Paris. The rental company refused to tack the extra days to our existing contract. The extra days were priced for someone on a very liberal expense account.

Amy

Does anyone else have any comments about which location to pick up a rental car to drive out of Paris? We will be driving south to the Alps, and I'm baffled by which location is the best.

C Sheen

My husband and I rented the car at CDG for our trip OUT of Paris to Normandy, but returned it to the Gard du Nord train station. We found it very confusing to return it there. The return places are not well marked and the agents are on a lower level. That means dragging luggage with you. If I had to do it again, I would find somewhere else to return it. The reason we picked that return station is it was suggested by a person who is from Paris. But we found it difficult. Maybe you won't.

Richard

Pick up the car at the airport, CDG or Orly, take the Metro/RER or a cab to the airport, 'A' roads are close by and you'll avoid the confusion of Paris.

Deborah

When we rented a car in June we picked ours up at the Gare Montparnasse. It was basically a straight shot out of the station to the ring road. One right turn onto the Avenue Maine and from there right to the road. We were heading in the direction of Chartes/Loire. Hope this helps.

cherie

I picked up ours downtown St. Honore. From there we navigated the Arch of Triomphe at rush hour (Veterans!)and took it back to our little hotel in Levallois. We left early in the morning for the Loire via the Periphique and down to Chartes, Vendome, and eventually Tours & Chissay. You'll like the highways...they're well marked and clean! Beware the Highway Patrol ride BMWs!

Carl

We took a similar trip this past May but did Normandy/Brittany 1st before going to the Loire. I was concerned about starting my French driving experience in busy Paris so I opted to take the train to Vernon(Giverny) and pick up my rental there. After going thru Normandy and the Loire for a week we dropped off the car at the station in Tours and took the TGV back to Paris. In your situation, if your going to the Loire 1st you could easily pick up your rental in Chartres(and do the Cathedral)and start there. We also rented from Auto Europe and got our car from them thru Avis. Be sure to circle the Contact number in France on their voucher. In Vernon, no one at the Avis counter spoke or read english and of course the voucher was in english, but after pointing to the phone number and using sign language to indicate they should call it all worked out well, but that's another story. Good Luck.

Tammy

We picked up our rental car at the Versailles train station and then headed to Bayeux. We rented from Avis and I believe that Avis was the only rental place located in the train station, the other rental agencies were outside of the station nearby. Getting out of Versailles for some reason was tricky for us, but once we figured out what road to take we had no problem. The train from Montparnasse (sp) in Paris to Versailles Chantier (sp) station was quick and easy. Have fun!

Robin

Lesli-- <BR> <BR>We picked our car up at EuropCar in the 8th. The agent directed us out to the peripherique. It was a straight shot, but did include about 20% of the Etoile around theArc de Triomphe! Although it was somewhat nerve-racking, it wasn't too awful, and the transition to the ring road is reasonably well-marked. Go ahead and drive out of the city if that would be more convenient for you. I second the suggestion to drive back to your hotel, rather than lugging bags to the rental office. <BR> <BR>I love driving overseas-- it really makes the trip!