Car Rental in Paris

I’d drop the bags off (luggage storage ) at Gare Montparnasse in the morning and return and pick them up and take a train to Rennes and rent the car in Rennes. Leaving Paris for Mont St Michel at around 2 PM is likely going to result in about a 5 to 6 hour drive. Things always take longer than you think. You have a pretty aggressive day planned considering that L'Atelier does not open until 10 AM especially if you go to Pere Lachaise after that.

You asked about driving time: Oddly, Rome2rio doesn't give a car driving time from Paris to Mont St. Michel. I wonder why not? One of the other websites probably does. Whenever I've driven there, I didn't drive directly from Paris but instead approached the Mont from the Normandy side, so I don't know the driving distance direct from Paris.

If your rental car office is convenient, call ahead of time and ask if they would store your luggage or store it at the rail station. Europcar, Hertz and Avis all have offices near Gare de Lyon which I believe would be closest to Pere Lachaise. Check Autoeurope.com for best rates and availability.

I agree thoroughly with JHK: put the luggage in a Montparnasse locker, see the Paris sites, come back and take the high-speed train to Rennes where you rent the car. I’ve done the drive and I’ve taken the train to Rennes and rented the car. The second is much easier and faster.

This is fabulous advice, JHK. I forget that things always take longer than you think. Very good travel advice before we go... We could skip Pere Lachaise... it may be too much.... our tickets are at 11 am for the L'Atelier des Lumieres. We want to get to Mont St. Michel and enjoy that too.

Can you walk into the train station and find the lockers? I haven't done that before.

I would not drive from Paris to the Mont St Michel, it is long and not particularly scenic.
The highway drive out of Paris towards Rennes in particular is quite...uneventful, you won't be missing much if you skip it. You can find train tickets to Rennes for less than 60€ each in late June, and the drive to Rennes with gas+tolls would already cost 60€, so that's one train ticket paid for.
Likewise, you can drop the car off in Tours after the Loire Valley (unless you're staying one last night near CDG in which case yes, maybe drive back).

"We want to get to Mont St. Michel and enjoy that too."
As I said in my initial response, you have a very aggressive day planned. Let's say you get out of L'Atelier at 1 PM (I have not been but I read somewhere that most people stay for 2 hours). You will not have time to go to Pere LaChaise and get out of Paris by 2 PM. Figure on 5 to 6 hours for the drive and you are getting to Mont St Michel at around 8 PM. If you took the train and left L'Atelier at 1 PM, you could probably catch the 2:09 train or at a more leisurely pace, the 2:52 train and would be in Rennes by 5 PM and after the rental car pick-up, could be in MSM by 7 PM. In any event, Pere LaChaise is not going to happen if you want to to get to MSM by around 8 PM. I try not to plan days like this because I do not like to feel rushed while on vacation because then it is just like my regular life but everyone has different preferences and if you want a day when you have to follow a very precise schedule, and rush from place to place, this day will be it.

"Can you walk into the train station and find the lockers?"
I haven't done that before.The luggage storage area is in Hall 1, level 2 near track 24. Here is the map: https://www.gares-sncf.com/sites/default/files/field_plan_files/2019-02/hall_1_-_niveau_2.pdf On the map, it is in the lower left section. I have seen the left luggage area on my way to the taxis so my guess is that if you follow the signs for taxis once you get to level 1, you will find it.

The time I drove to Mont St Michel from Paris I seem to recall it took about 6 hours, in any event it took much longer than I had thought. And I was driving my own car — just zipped out of town rather than having to do the whole rental agency shuffle.

It doesn’t seem to me at all possible to see l’Atelier des Lumières, Père Lachaise & Mont St Michel all in one day.

I replied to your other thread regarding Chenonceau. Between that thread and this, I think you need to adjust your trip. You are trying to do way too much in not enough time. Your plans are unrealistic and will probably lead to frustration.

We were in France two weeks ago. We flew into CDG, picked up our rental car and drove to the Loire Valley. When we returned, we returned to Gare du Nord and took the Eurostar to London.

On the way down we drove through the outskirts of Paris and when we returned we drove through the heart of Paris on a Sunday afternoon. Unless you are used to driving in major metropolitan areas, I wouldn’t recommend either. Also, you have to get 40 or so kilometers outside the city for the scenery to be interesting.

Driving in the countryside was a joy, though. However, it’s like the US. You have a choice of major roads where you can zip from here to there but the scenery is a blur or take the charming back roads that are lovely but slow.

One last note. Be aware France has automated speed detection and there’s is zero tolerance for speeding. Scrupulously observe the speed limits or you may get a surprise when you get home.

So super helpful. I agree that we have too much crammed in... and will lead to frustration. These boards are so helpful! Thank you for the information on where to store stuff at the Train Station!

Would you all skip Atelier Lumieres and just head to Mt. St. Michel? Def skip the Cemetary.

Also- should i book train ticket here at home from Paris to Rennes or that day we are there? I know I should likely do the car rental set up from here, correct?