Kandace_York

Hi.

We've done some legwork and have narrowed our car rental down to Sixt in the Strasbourg train station. We'll get international driver's licenses, etc., but we're looking for info that I can't find online.

First, what was your experience, driving in France as an American? I'm a bit intimidated; we live in a rural area where even traffic lights are a big deal.

Second, where do you exit the train station with a rental car? Is it the same place you return the car?

We need to drive north from Strasbourg, toward Haguenau. I'm looking at Google Maps and it all looks like a labyrinth. Maybe I just need to get more familiar with the route? Once we're on the open road, we'll be fine, but city driving and highway exits are a whole other thing.

Thanks for your counsel.

kerouac

You will find driving easy.

The only problem with Strasbourg is if you try to go towards the center of the city -- all of the roads will lead you away from it, particularly the central island, so don't even try. Leaving the city is easy.

hetismij2

Just be familiar with the basic driving rules in France, and some of the road signs. Know speed limits. Know the name for a town or village is a speed limit sign and there is often a speed camera a short way into the town to get those not at 50km/h or the posted alternative speed limit.
Use an app such as Google Maps to get you in and out of Strasbourg. You can download the maps you need before you leave home if you don't have data available. It won't then give you traffic or diversions but will basically get you where you need to be. Use the voice directions option, but leave off the street name option as it makes things too distracting and generally the pronunciation is terrible.
Make sure you know what fuel you need, and where the tank is, and how to open it!
Also go over the car thoroughly and make photos, good photos, as Sixt has a bit of a reputation for claiming damage which didn't happen. I've never had a problem with them, but I know some people have.

kerouac

After all these years, I just recently learned that the fuel gauge on cars has a little arrow on it to show which side the tank is on.

tomboy

Good tips above.
Another: if you see a traffic sign with city names that says:
ALWAYS
BE
CAREFUL

They're listed in distance order: as I vaguely remember, in the above case, ALWAYS would be the farthest away....................I think
Others here will correct me if wrong. Point is, it's a way to know what the town just before your goal is called, so you know when to heighten alert.

We, too, are from a small town. I found driving to be easier than in the US. People are more courteous. (maybe not in Italy, from what I read). We NEVER experienced some yahoo in a pickup truck darting in front of us. Just remember, you're on vacation, so no need to rush...anywhere.

For our last trip, which turns out to be our LAST trip, we bought a used GPS on E-Bay. It helped in southern France, including speed traps, but was invaluable coasting through the Paris expressways toward CDG at about 7 PM. Went thru Paris like prunes thru a duck. "Move to far left lane" "Go to right lane for exit in 2 km". Now, we'll be selling the GPS on Ebay for cheap, but it was worth the (modest) investment, just for peace of mind.

Kandace_York

These are all great tips. Thank you!

We've already planned to drive in a foreign country and then backed out at the last minute, so I'm hoping that this time we follow through. At least this time I'll be the primary driver instead of my husband (he's the co-pilot this time), and once we get out of Strasbourg I think we'll be OK.

ANUJ

Incidentally, we rented from Sixt in Strasbourg at the rail station few years ago, and it was very easy exiting Strasbourg (we were heading down the Route des Vins towards Colmar, we had GPS) and the experience with Sixt was flawless (we were upgraded to a Mercedes SUV from a Volvo s60!). We returned in Lyon though. I often familiarise myself with routes (particularly pickup and drop) by toying around viamichelin.com.
We regularly rent cars on holidays in France (we drive on the other side of the road back home), its a breeze. Enjoy your trip.

kerouac

I have heard many reports that French drivers are better than a lot of drivers in other countries, probably because a driver's license is so difficult to obtain (and very expensive, which motivates people even more when they pass their driving test). I do have one major complaint, though. (I passed my driving test in California, by the way, which is one of the stricter American states.) It looks like people in France are taught to use their turning signals to indicate "this is what I am doing now" instead of "this is what I plan to do in a few seconds."

bilboburgler

Kandace, if heading north into the wood that straddles the French German border you will find a lot of speed traps. So the passenger needs to be aware of all the rules, the one that gets me is the sign that indicates you are in a village, they don't tell you the speed but you are limited by that sign until you see the leaving village sign.

HappyTrvlr

Rick Steves’ guide books include a chart with the universal European road signs such one way, do not enter, etc. . Make a copy and tape it to your rental car’s dashboard to relieve more of your anxiety about driving in a foreign country. You will be fine.
It really isn’t difficult to drive in a foreign country especially when they drive on the same side of the road as in the USA.
Enjoy Strasbourg, a beautiful city! We did not have any problems exiting exiting rental car pickup.

Kandace_York

Great tips, thanks so much!