carolinept

We are going to France next month and would like to rent a car to drive in the country. We are staying in Paris for a few days, then off to the Loire Valley, then Brittany. Last year when my husband and I rented a car from Paris to Normandy, we loved driving the countryside and HATED driving in Paris! This trip, it is just me and my sister-in-law, so I especially do not want to drive in the city.
Is there a place that is just outside city limits that we could easily access by train and then drive to the Loire Valley from there?

Thanks!
Caroline

wideman

Yep, rent it from any major company at Orly Airport, which is several km south of the peripherique (beltway) and with easy access to the highway leading to where you want to go. You can get to Orly any of several ways: Air France bus from Montparnasse (across from the Meridien), RER, taxi are the onbvious choices (see the Orly web site for details).

blairvanhorn

You could also just take the high-speed train (TGV) from the Montparnasse train station to Tours, which is just about an hour. The major rental companies have agencies at the Tours TGV station (Hertz, Avis, etc) and you could thus avoid the Parisian (and its suburbs) traffic and start driving once you are in the Loire Valley.

lalala

We did this in September. We arrived at CDG and took the TGV to Lille and picked up the car in Lille, drove around Normandy and Brittany and then returned the car in Quimper. We took the train from Quimper to Paris. The Quimper to Paris train was expensive, but we could sit and read and have a nice picnic while watching the scenery.

In the past, we have picked up and dropped off cars at Orly and taken the Air France bus to and from the airport.

I wouldn't drive in Paris if I could avoid it.

lala

wideman

After a quick réfléchir, I agree with Blair's much more convenient solution.

slawecki

If you use AutoEurope.com, they list over 200 cities and towns in france for pickup. They also list 30 or so places in paris for pickup.

I do not know about paris france, but many places have a premium charge for an airport pickup. Usually in the range of 10%

Non-NonRev

Disregard this if you enjoy driving a care with manual transmission: If you prefer an automatic, be sure to verify that cars with AT are offered in any smaller offices you are considering renting from.

lalala

don't forget full coverage on the car...

We were dinged by AVIS for a crack in the small headlight(fog light) and it was covered... They do a great job of checking the car in but not out.

lala

carolinept

Thanks to all for the great suggestions. I will probably rent the car from Orly or Versailles. I might even rent it from Tours, but the issue is we are renting the car, driving to Villandry (Loire Valley), then driving to Brest in Brittany, then back to wherever we rented the car from. So we're trying to make sure that we are not going to go too out of our way. Also, the train to Tours was a bit more expensive than taking the RER to Orly or Versailles, so we thought that Orly or Versailles might be the better option.

If I am way off in my decision making, please let me know! I don't have a great appreciation for the location of all of the suggestions in relation to where we are going.

I appreciate all of your help!