My husband and I are traveling to France in Sept for about 19 days. We will land in Paris around 7 am. Our plan is to head over to St. Michel right the way and then do a loop to come back to Paris. What is the best way to get to St. Michel? Should we take a train to somewhere and then pick-up a rental car or should we just pick-up the rental car in Paris and drive from there? This is our first time visiting France. Thanks!
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
Do not pick up a rental car after an overnight (possible sleepless) flight and head out on a long drive. Take a train to a city large enough to offer the kind of rental you want (automatics are trickier) and plan to spend the night there.
Rennes seems to be the closest city, though I don't know anything about car-rental arrangements there. It's only 1-1/2 hours from Paris by TGV, from the Montparnasse station. However, keeping the fare reasonable might require pre-purchase and a guess about how long it will take you to get through immigration, etc., at CDG airport. Rennes is an attractive place to spend your jetlag-recovery day.
Other folks can offer first-hand reports on doing what you are planning. I've only traveled by train or bus in France. There certainly are other stopover cities that would work. They'd just leave you with a slightly longer drive the next day, but that might not be a significant issue for you.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thank you! I really appreciate the insight!
Posted by
USA
402 posts
We will land in Paris around 7 am.
Don't be so sure... You are very likely to end up in Paris that day, likely to end up in Paris that morning, often will end up in Paris within an hour or so of the scheduled landing. Picking an outgoing train is not easy; you need to estimate the delay, the time to get off the train and into Paris to the train station with the TGV line to Rennes. Advance purchase TGV tickets are significantly cheaper than walk-up, so you need to guess right.
If I were you I'd plan on sleeping in Paris that 1st nite. Odds are pretty good that will happen, then take a train out the next morning to pick up your car in Rennes. I picked up a car in Rennes, car rental places are right at the train station, big outdoor rental car lots, easy to do.
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
Another possibility is to spend the night somewhat closer to Paris in a city that either has TER (non-express) train service or is close enough that even last-minute TGV fares are not too expensive. There is some risk of fully-booked TGVs, though.
I would try to find a solution that did not involve paying Paris hotel rates for that first night, since my first day in Europe is always so mentally foggy.
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2087 posts
To my opinion you can spend first a few days in Paris for getting an impression what you like to see and keep that for a number of days at the end of your trip. You can take a train direct to Rennes if you want to skip Normandy, but taking one to Rouen is an option too in case this region is (certainly) of interest. Best time to visit Le Mont-Saint-Michel is in the evening or early morning when the crowds are gone, who will be not so bad in September as during high season. If you can visit Rouen in the morning you will have the rest of the day for driving to Le Mont-Saint-Michel, with room for interesting stops.