advice on picking up rental car and dropping off outside Paris

We returned a car near Gare de Lyon after driving from the Loire Valley area 2 years ago and it was CRAZY. We just got home a few days ago from France where we rented a car and returned it to Avignon TGV and trained from there back to Paris......super easy. I would say to return the car in a much easier place than Paris and train back to Paris. We loved seeing the countryside from the train.

Your can take a TGV from CGD to Bordeaux; unless you have lots of time to spare, the train is the better bet. Your can also take a TGV from Avignon to CGD. Easy to pick up a car at Bordeaux and return it at the TGV station in Avignon. Plan to stay near CGG after your train from Avignon. It would be very tight to get a flight on the same day. Last year we drove from Bordeaux through the Perigord and had great food.

I'd second Monty's advice, except I'd stay in Paris itself the night before your return flight. I would never stay at an airport hotel unless it was absolutely necessary, and with a 2 p.m. flight it's not necessary.

Last year my wife and I picked up a car at CDG and rummaged through eastern France to Provence. Dropping the rental car at the Avignon TGV station was simple (several major rental companies are located at the station) and TGV puts you back in central Paris in less than 3 hours. And the rental price semed to be the same regardless of where I returned the car.

Hi from Wisconsin,
Been to France for long car rental vacations 3 of the last 6 years.

Take a train from CDG to Bordeaux (2hours). Use cd.cz to buy your tickets. You can view the train car make up and select your seats then print your ticket.

Maybe rent a car in Bordeaux to drive to Carcassone and then on to Provence. Getting out of Bordeaux can be a bit of a trick, what with the river, and one way streets. Plan carefully for your exit. Drop car at Avignon or similar and take train back to Paris.

The train tickets are about what you pay for gas and tolls if you drove, so you break even and arrive rested. (Bordeaux...gosh I am jealous).

Last I knew there was NO charge for dead heading a car (renting at one spot and dropping off at another) in France. It is the law...at least it was.

Returning car to CDG airport is not as bad as some make it sound. There are signs indicating where a rental car should go. But then you are at the airport where there is nothing to see and the food is really disappointing after having fine French food all vacation.

One more thought...driving on the big roads in France or Spain or anywhere is like driving on the Interstate in the USA. Quick, but boring. Bordeaux to Carcassone is a long drive and you will see practically nothing on the way. The trains will make you envious of what they have and what we in the USA have not.

wayne iNWi Bordeaux...what a great city.

We picked up and dropped off the car at CDG. On that trip we visited the Loire valley and Chateaus, then headed to Zaragoza Spain and over to Santiago de Compostela before heading to Bordeaux and back to Paris.

Wayner posted a Czech web site - don't use that one. French tickets are sold by the railway at https://en.oui.sncf/en/ and through agents like Rail Europe and trainline.eu. Tickets purchased in advance are no good if you miss the train - you'd have to buy a new one, probably for $100-150.

If there's a convenient flight connection to Bordeaux (probably one operated by Air France) that could be sold or added as part of your trans-Atlantic ticket, then that's the safest connection plan. Otherwise, allow a minimum of 3 hours transfer time to catch a train at CDG terminal 2 or to catch an un-affiliated flight. More time is always better, especially if you have checked luggage to collect.

I turned my car in at Bordeaux then trained to Paris after a couple of nights there. Bordeaux public transportation isn't anywhere as well developed as Paris, so I'd suggest staying somewhere with parking and renting at the start of your stay.

On another trip I flew back to Paris from Nice. If the train trip exceeds four hours, I look at flying. I stayed in Arles but Avignon is a bigger hub and might have flights back to Paris, so you could turn the car in there. I'd guess Montpelier and/or Nimes would have flights too, but I haven't tried.

For price, I've always started and finished in Paris. I plan a couple nights (or more) in Paris on arrival to get over jet lag, then a couple (or more) nights before leaving. Last trip it was three nights on each end but I've done as few as two nights and as many as five nights, depending on the trip.