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Rental car at CDG and on to Normandy

Rental car at CDG and on to Normandy

Old Jan 13, 2015, 5:36 pm
  #16  
 
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Back to the OP:

Up to me, I would take the train to Normandy and rent my car out there. Unless you plan to get off the main roads between CDG and Normandy, you will miss nothing and you would avoid driving for 2-3 hours a day after a long flight. There were be no choice in my book.
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Old Jan 13, 2015, 8:15 pm
  #17  
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Originally Posted by Mountain Trader
Back to the OP:

Up to me, I would take the train to Normandy and rent my car out there. Unless you plan to get off the main roads between CDG and Normandy, you will miss nothing and you would avoid driving for 2-3 hours a day after a long flight. There were be no choice in my book.
The op posted about a year and a half ago. I bumped this thread yesterday.

Again, we plan on spending a night at an airport hotel before heading out. We will be staying in an apartment in Bayeux for a week, with side trips to various and sundry places. The apartment is owned by a friend who lives in Paris and grew up in Normandy. I'll seek his logistical advice, as well.
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Old Jan 14, 2015, 6:02 am
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by Mountain Trader
Back to the OP:

Up to me, I would take the train to Normandy and rent my car out there. Unless you plan to get off the main roads between CDG and Normandy, you will miss nothing and you would avoid driving for 2-3 hours a day after a long flight. There were be no choice in my book.
Each one has his preferences how to travel, but from CDG to Normandy for me it's a no-brainer to rent a car. Going downtown Paris to catch a train which is not high speed (maybe direct to Bayeux, maybe with a change in Caen) while there is an easy to travel freeway getting me straight to my target place?
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Old Jan 14, 2015, 8:10 am
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Originally Posted by MarLim
Each one has his preferences how to travel, but from CDG to Normandy for me it's a no-brainer to rent a car. Going downtown Paris to catch a train which is not high speed (maybe direct to Bayeux, maybe with a change in Caen) while there is an easy to travel freeway getting me straight to my target place?

Where is this mysterious freeway from CDG/Roissy going straight to Caen? The autoroute to Caen, A13, departs Paris from the southwest side of the city. Anyone wanting to travel on a freeway from CDG will need to drive first into Paris or at least take A86 around to possibly A14 to A13. These are not routes I would recommend to someone who is tired and generally unfamiliar with his surroundings. There are N and D routes from CDG traveling west to Caen/Bayeux but they are very slow going and can consume a great deal of time. It would not really be something I would suggest to someone who has just stepped off of an all night transatlantic flight.

For the obvious reasons of both safety and time, Mountain Traders solution of taking the RER or taxi to St Lazar and the train to Caen/Bayeux is the sensible solution.
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Old Jan 14, 2015, 8:54 pm
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by stimpy
I rent often in France and there's nothing special to consider, other than the radar cameras as mentioned. Although I generally drive a few kph over the limit which accounts for the skewed speedometers in cars here. Never a ticket. But all the fixed radar cameras here are advertised by signage well before you come to the camera. And they are noted in many GPS's and perhaps Waze. That doesn't help you with the occasional mobile radar that the police might set up. In any case when I see a radar camera coming up, I slow down.

The only thing to watch out for when renting is to make sure you have unlimited kilometers. Sometimes they sneak in a cheap rate which only allows 200km per day, but that is usually when you pick up in one location and return to another. If you are picking up and dropping off at CDG you should be ok, with Avis or Hertz at least.
stimpy, I never knew this and we've driven in France many times. What exactly does the signage say advertising the radar cameras? I don't speak
much French so it would be helpful to know this. Would it be pour votre securite?


Bobette

Last edited by b1513; Jan 14, 2015 at 9:05 pm Reason: Spelling
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Old Jan 15, 2015, 2:00 am
  #21  
 
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There was an effort to remove the speed camera warning signs, but ultimately they were left in place. Between 2011 and 2013, new speed cameras were installed with no advance warning of their locations at all. If you google the words radars panneaux you will be able to see what these signs look like.

There is a difference between tripping a speed camera and receiving a ticket. Until recently, few foreigners driving rental cars received tickets when they were caught by speed cameras. However, the National Police have expanded their collection efforts and now contact violators with the help of their rental companies. Rental companies typically charge renters up to 25€ for this service. Many vacationers have received fines from the National Police weeks after their return home.
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Old Jan 15, 2015, 5:00 am
  #22  
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Originally Posted by b1513
stimpy, I never knew this and we've driven in France many times. What exactly does the signage say advertising the radar cameras? I don't speak
much French so it would be helpful to know this. Would it be pour votre securite?
There is a large wireless symbol so you don't need to speak French. Also, you will notice the speed limit is posted on both sides of the road as you approach the camera so you can't say you weren't warned. Also, you will notice everyone else slowing down! This is pretty much the same all over Europe, but the signs are different in each country.

In most places the camera is on the right side of the road. So if you happen to be passing a semi, you're in luck as the camera will be blocked. But in the big cities like Paris or Lyon, they have the camera also on the left side as that's usually where the speeders are.

So in general it's a very friendly system. Unlike Brazil where I had no idea there were cameras in the city of Salvador until weeks later when I got an email from Avis, in Portuguese and complete with the picture, saying they paid my fine for me and charged it to my Amex.

As for rental cars getting fines, I don't know when France began this, but the Netherlands has been doing it for many years, and sending the fine to your home in the US in Dutch only. So most people cannot read it and ignore it only to be caught the next time they show their passport at AMS and they are held til they pay the fine!
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Old Feb 23, 2015, 12:33 pm
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Does anyone know how tolls work on the highway? Years ago, you could pay with cash. Are you ok with a chip & signature credit card? That's my real question. I've heard stories about unmanned toll kiosks that are chip-and-PIN only.

This old thread, by the way, brings back happy memories of the time we did the standard Normandy drive trip over Thanksgiving weekend many years ago -- from Orly. At the end of our last day, we used the Chartres Novotel as our "airport hotel" and got to see the cathedral as a bonus sight. The late afternoon sun streaming through those windows was jaw-dropping.
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Old Feb 23, 2015, 12:37 pm
  #24  
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I've seen people posting about chip and signature cards recently and I have no idea what they are or why they would be issued instead of chip and pin?

In any case, I don't know if they would work or not. I haven't seen a manned toll both in a year or two now, but some of the automated ones still take cash. Just avoid the ones marked with the image of a charge card.
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Old Feb 23, 2015, 2:29 pm
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The various autoroutes are operated by different companies. You may find some that accept magnetic strip cards, others may not.

The US appears to be headed for wide adoption of chip and signature cards, those with a chip but no PIN. Some of the chip and signature cards have PINs which are used in unattended locations such as ticket kiosks or pay-at-the-pump fuel stations. Holders of these types of credit cards may find that their chip and signature cards work well on many autoroutes by entering the PIN but this may not be the case on all autoroutes.

I have a PenFed Visa card that is chip and signature but the PIN has always been accept at unattended locations. I have heard that the Andrews FCU chip and signature card also is issued with a backup PIN that is widely accepted. You can always try a credit card toll lane on the autoroute but if you run into problems, those behind you may be blocked and other than completely pleased that you have barred their passage.

Paying in cash always works and there is always at least one lane that will accept cash payment.
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Old Feb 23, 2015, 10:43 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by FallenPlat
Does anyone know how tolls work on the highway? Years ago, you could pay with cash. Are you ok with a chip & signature credit card? That's my real question. I've heard stories about unmanned toll kiosks that are chip-and-PIN only.
Yes, you can still pay with cash, the automated kiosks accept bills and coins as well as chip and pin cards. In my recent experience, chip and signature cards are not accepted.

This is what a typical autoroute toll machine looks like:


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Old Feb 24, 2015, 2:32 pm
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Very helpful, thanks. I guess I should look forward to getting a new PIN-enabled American Airlines card from Barclays sometime later this year or early next once the merger with US Airways is fully completed.

Figuring out French parking garages, as I recall, wasn't exactly a day at the beach either.

Our day that ended at Chartres many years ago started at Mont Saint Michel, by the way. Henry Adams -- the author of "Mont Saint Michel and Chartres" -- would've thought he'd died and gone to heaven. We certainly did, give or take the jet lag.
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Old Feb 24, 2015, 2:55 pm
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Originally Posted by FallenPlat
I guess I should look forward to getting a new PIN-enabled American Airlines card from Barclays sometime later this year or early next once the merger with US Airways is fully completed.
Assuming that you are US based, I strongly recommend checking the Wiki and the spreadsheet (post no. 2) in the linked thread; very few US financial institutions issue Chip & Pin cards.
I can't remember where I read it on FT, but my recollection is that the automated toll kiosks accept only French issued cards. I don't know if that is still the case. In any event, I suggest carrying enough cash with you to pay for the tolls; they sure add up fast (interactive key rates, routes)
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Old Feb 24, 2015, 3:12 pm
  #29  
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Originally Posted by TWA884
I can't remember where I read it on FT, but my recollection is that the automated toll kiosks accept only French issued cards. I don't know if that is still the case. In any event, I suggest carrying enough cash with you to pay for the tolls; they sure add up fast (interactive key rates, routes)
No, that's not true. For at least a decade I've used foreign cards here. As long as they are pin cards you can even use foreign Amex cards at most toll booths.
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Old Feb 25, 2015, 2:24 am
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Originally Posted by FallenPlat
Very helpful, thanks. I guess I should look forward to getting a new PIN-enabled American Airlines card from Barclays sometime later this year or early next once the merger with US Airways is fully completed.
While Barclays issues chip and sign cards with a pin capability, it is highly unlikely that they will issue an AA card. AA cards are issued by Citibank.
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