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Car rental out of Paris?

Posted by (Washington DC) on

We are doing a trip in April that will start with Paris and then head to Normandy (Honfleur, Bayeux) and Loire (Amboise) and back to Paris, probably staying at CDG for our last night. We'll be staying in the 7th (Hotel Muguet). What is the best way for us to do car rental? Do we need to go back out to CDG for initial pickup or is there some midway location that would make sense for dropoff and return? Presumably there is an extra fee for pick up in one location (let's say city) and dropoff in another?

I have seen Rick's suggestion to take the train to Rouen and rent a car there. That's a possibility for us but also means skipping Giverny, which we planned to do out of Paris. Also not sure if it make sense to do a rental out of Rouen if we're continuing on it Loire rather than just staying in Normandy.

Ideally we'd love to do a mix of car and train but that doesn't seem feasible with our current plan.
Thanks for any advice!

Posted by
7019 posts

If you're not leaving the city on a Sunday, you could attempt one of the car rental offices at Mantes-la-Jolie station, with Sixt and Enterprise available. It is easy to reach from Paris and very close to Giverny.
Versailles Chantiers is another option, convenient if your Paris hotel is not far from Montparnasse.
Or, right next to Paris proper, check out options at Porte de St Cloud or Porte Maillot.

Posted by
1164 posts

Last June I rented a car in Paris and drove to both Giverney and Rouen before heading to the D-day beaches area. I used the Hertz office near Porte Maillot. It was close enough to the city to walk/bus there from my hotel in the Madeleine area in the 8th arr., but close enough to the periphery roads so I didn't have to drive through downtown Paris proper. It was literally a couple of short blocks from the highway, and from there it was smooth sailing on the highways out of Paris. I dropped off the car in Caen right near the railway station a week later.

Hertz Location De Voitures - 27 Rue St Ferdinand - Porte Maillot HLE

Posted by
284 posts

I would recommend you rent your car outside of Paris. Rent your car in Rouen see Normandy then go to Amboise. Take the train from Amboise or Tours to your hotel at CDG. It will be a lot less stressful for you. TGV or slow train. You pick.

Posted by
2360 posts

You might look at renting from Orly and returning to CDG. It’s an easy drive from Orly, and the taxi would be a fixed rate to the airport.

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