Car rental Paris to Normany then Loire

I would pick it up and return outside of Paris no question!!! One of my worst travel memories is returning a car in Paris. We have rented cars multiple times in smaller towns in France with ease. NEVER again in Paris!

I agree to not driving in paris. I am training to Rouen to pick up a car to drive in Normandy and Brittany in June. sue

I also picked up in Rouen, then drove to Etretat area first before continuing south through Bayeux and MSM, Brittany then Loire (by bike). If I were only going further south, I might have chosen to pick up the car in Caen or Bayeux.

I started on the train from Paris early, spent a nice few hours walking Rouen center, then picked up the car after the agent's lunch break and started driving to the coast.

We took the train from Paris to Caen and picked up the car there. I can't imagine driving anywhere near Paris. We returned the car in Nimes and that was stressful enough!

You might look for a car rental site around La Defense, west of central Paris, the terminus of Metro line 1. That gets you outside the Peripherique for the price of a Metro ticket instead of a train ticket. Or take a train to Rouen or Caen if you're willing to pay for the train and the car on the same day.

Great suggestions all. Thank you!

I am planning to return a car to CDG airport and then take the train to Paris. Anyone ever do this and if so, any advice?

We rented and returned our car at CDG. It worked out very well. We were headed first to Normandy, but stopped on the way to tour Chantilly. We drove from the Loire to CDG to return the car. I didn't particularly enjoy the Paris ring road (Périphérique) but it was better than driving into Paris itself to return the car - which I had done many years ago.