Car Rental at Paris Gare du Nord

Try to Google "car rental by gare du nord" click maps and you will get results.

There are car rental places in the station. If for some reason you do not want to rent from a place located inside the station, Sixt has a location on Rue de Compiegne. I don't know if it is the closest but it is just about across the street from the front of the station.

The car rental places at Gare du Nord are one level below the main level where the trains and the street are. It's designated as level "-1" which caused me a lot of searching till I figured out the minus sign. From the rental desk you descend further to the garage to get your car, then drive up a spiral ramp to street level. I think the ramp takes you onto a street just north of the station, and we had no trouble getting from there to the Peripherique, having planned the route in advance.

I don't recall which company we used, I think there were several in the station on that lower level. There might be others on the streets near the station, but those in the station would be the most convenient if you're coming in by train.

I'm curious. Where will you be coming from when you arrive at Gare du Nord? What are your plans once you arrive in Paris? Have you been to Europe in general and France and Paris in particular?

I'm asking because I think having a car in Paris would be very inconvenient. Public transportation is easy, quick and cheap. If you plan is to rent a car to travel in other parts of France, I'd see Paris first, then find a rental office on the outskirts of Paris so you don't have to drive in the heart of the city.

We rented a car through Hertz at Gare du Nord. It was a Sunday morning and we were headed to the Normandy area. Luckily there was no traffic and we were on the periferic quickly. This was back in the day with no GPS. The guys at Hertz spoke very little English but gave us a map. Cannot remember where we turned the car in but it was not Paris.

Try to avoid the Peripherique during Friday afternoon rush hour. That's when the name changes to "Slightly Suburban Parking Lot."

We encountered no language barrier at the GDN car rental counter, and it wasn't because of my [not] fluent French!

I think all would agree with Dougmac that a car makes no sense for Paris itself. I assume you'll be heading out of town -- ?

Thanks for all the good advice...don't intend to drive in Paris more than it takes to get out of the City from the train station. We'll be arriving from London (will need a break from big city stuff) and going straight to the Normandy area. Will return the car when we get back later in the week to explore Paris and go to the Ryder Cup! Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Do you have tickets to the Ryder Cup? If so, looks like a plan. We took a taxi from Gare du Nord to our B&B. I think you should have no problem driving out, although traffic was congested at 8:00 at night.

I'm glad you'll be returning to see Paris after a break. We did London, then straight to Paris. We did have a day in Peterborough to get away from the city, but I can understand wanting to take a break. Happy travels!

Yes, we were lucky enough to get Ryder Cup tickets in early May (for the Thursday rounds). Primo weekend dates have been sold out for awhile, I'm told.