We will be traveling in early July. AFter four days in Paris, we want to rent a car to continue our travels outside of Paris - the next night will be in Bayeaux. I am hoping to avoid driving out of Paris, so plan to take a train to either Lisieux or perhaps something closer, where I will rent a car. Train schedules are pretty thin for that time right now, but if I do a search for, say May 7, there are lots of trains, no transfers, cheaper prices.
1. Can I wait until I get there to see if I really am afraid to drive out of Paris (i.e. will there be any cars available to rent on the spot?)?
2. If I want to take a train out of Paris - toward Bayeaux, which destination station should I choose that would allow me to avoid transfers and still have rental cars available at the station?
3. If I wait until I get there to make train reservations, will I be able to get a ticket to my chosen destination?
Thanks for all your help.
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1. Maybe. French car rental firm are not like those in the US. Many offices simply run out of available cars for those who have not reserved. You can generally be assured of finding an auto at CDG or ORY or even a larger train station but there is a hefty surcharge for picking up a car at an airport or train station.
2. You%26#39;ll need to check with rental firms and train schedules.
3. Yes, as long as you are not traveling on the TGV. TGV travel requires advance purchase, reserved seating ticketing. Of course if there is space, I suppose any time before departure might be considered advanced purchase but you%26#39;ll possibly pay more than with pre purchasing.
Generally, I consider it silly to needlessly purchase train tickets to a point out of the city where you will pick up a rental car. Driving out of Paris on a well planned route, at a pre determined time (avoiding as much traffic as possible) is not the same as just driving around Paris, something I do not recommend. There are several special considerations when driving into Paris one might want to avoid: darkness or arriving at the end of holiday.
I usually arrange a car with Autoeurope. With a simple toll free call, you can make changes of pickup locations and times. They have been very flexible. Keep in mind that if you do make a change with Autoeurope, you%26#39;ll very likely need to advise the local rental company office as well (i.e. Avis, Europcar, Hertz, etc) to confirm availability.
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Thanks, Sarastro. You are right about the surcharge -I think I saw it was about $80.00 US - plus the cab fare to the station, plus the train tickets - (Can we say, I am a total Wuus?). I%26#39;m encouraged by your suggestion about renting in the city. So if I decide to drive out of Paris, (we%26#39;re leaving on Monday morning, July 7) what time would I have to leave in order to avoid causing chaos and confusion, wreaking total havok as I try to find my way out of Paris? Bearing in mind of course, that we are staying right in the heart of the city in the 5th and will need to pick up our car that morning (after they open). I would be inclined to leave by 6:00 am, but we won%26#39;t have the car unless we rent it the night before and then we have to deal with it in the city! I%26#39;m really stressing about this too much.
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My family and I spent a month living in a suburb of Paris during June-July and drove in and out of the city daily. The key is to hit the ring road and then shoot off onto the motorway that heads in the direction you want to go. Driving in Paris inside the ring road can be a little tricky but if you allow plenty of time is it an adventure that I highly recommend. The road around the Arc is not really that bad if you hit it at a non rush hour time.
If you are not comfortable navigating the city streets then consider taking a train out to Versailles - from there it is quite easy to drive away from Paris although I don%26#39;t know which direction Bayeaux is.
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