Car rental suggestions

If you don't want to drive in Paris traffic, I'd take a train to Caen. There are four car rental offices across the street from the train station--Avis, Hertz, Europcar, and Sixt.

On our last visit to Brittany/Normandy, we were actually coming from Belgium, so we took a train to Lille and picked up the rental car there, eventually returning it at Caen. Coming from Paris, getting away from the big city traffic has always been a concern.

If you rent from an airport or train station on the outskirts of a big city, that's one way to minimize traffic headaches, but there are often extra fees associated with car rental outlets at those terminals, compared to using a "downtown" location.

I always rent my car from AutoEurope or Kemwel both of which are affiliated with each other and both have online websites. They are brokers who arrange their rentals with Avis, Hertz and Europcar. I try to avoid renting a car at the airport, large city train stations and downtown in very large cities like Paris not only because of surcharges but because of traffic. However, if you want a specific car, sometimes it's necessary to pick it up at the airport (like an automatic). Either look at a map or call AutoEurope to find a smaller town outside of Paris or closer to Normandy where you can rent a car. A location that will be easy for you to get to by public transportation.

Added info. If you want a second driver and that driver has the same last name as yourself, Europcar will not charge for the second driver whereas Avis and Hertz will. Also, the online rates are less than over the phone, however, phone operators will match the online rates. I always reserve my car over the phone. The rates are known to go down and if they do and you call them, they will make that adjustment over the phone before you leave for your trip. Investigate and determine what you want to do with regards to collision insurance. Some people buy it with the rental which can be very expensive. Others use their credit card for insurance (check with your CC company for coverage) and others, like myself, buy travel insurance that covers the car completely--tires, loss of use, etc. Have a great trip.

Felicia, I suggest taking the train to Rouen then renting a car there. That puts you in Haute Normandy and not having to negotiate getting out of Paris. Train from Paris to Rouen leaves from Gare Saint Lazare, takes less than an hour (50 min) and costs about $30 for a 1st class seat which are reserved seats.

If you are flying from the states don't even think of renting a car and driving after that all night flight. It endangers everyone on the road. If you get tickets from Paris to Caen 3 mos in advance, you can get them for about 15 Euro apiece.

If you are flying from the states don't even think of renting a car and driving after that all night flight. It endangers everyone on the road. If you get tickets from Paris to Caen 3 mos in advance, you can get them for about 15 Euro apiece.

Thanks for replies....I couldn't find my original post, so I just reposted. Please excuse the duplication. I found original post promptly afterwards. Lol. P.s., no, I'd never hop off a flight & into rental car, we are staying a few days in Paris first

We rented a car thru Europcar. The location was on Ave Foch, which was on the other side of the Arc de Triomphe. We chose that location because we could easily get to it using the Metro, and once out, it was a straight shot (mostly) to the highway (we too were heading to Caen area). We didn't have to go around the roundabout at the Arc.

Now, this was a Sunday morning, so traffic was light...and we did get on the right track right away but had a GPS problem and ended up back in the middle of the city (hint - if the vehicle has a GPS, make sure you get it speaking English instead of German before setting out, and make sure you know how to program the darn thing). I didn't see the sense in paying money for two train tickets and a car rental. I guess the day of the week and time of day will have an impact.

The location was a bit hard to find - it is in an underground garage/parking, but we went the evening before and found it so we wouldn't be lost the next day...but for ease of getting to the location using the Metro and getting out of the city, it was just perfect for us.

I like the idea of getting out of the city before you rent a car but you need to price everything out. If the train ride is outrageous, it might be worth braving some traffic in the city. You may find a cheaper rental in Paris or alternatively outside of Paris that can help you decide what works best for your trip.

Re GPS, yes get one (or bring one) and if you're renting it along with the car, have the agent set it up before you leave the lot. Our guy at Avis was very helpful, he kept trying to find the option for American English but we said hey it's OK to use British English so we had "Tim" guiding us through the countryside. Fit the vacation mood. And damned if he didn't know what he was doing, even though I was absolutely convinced he was wrong. Also have a map or two for backup.