One day car rental Paris to Strasbourg

I don't mean to be snarky, but have you actually looked at the driving time involved? Paris to Strasbourg or Colmar is 500 km one way (300 mi), which means a 5-6 hour drive each way with no stops or 10-12 hours round-trip. So to be quite frank this plan appears completely unrealistic to me -- between sleeping time and driving time, you'll basically have time to do nothing.

The train takes half the time (about 2h30m from Paris to Strasbourg), which is what makes day trips from Paris to Strasbourg possible by that mode.

The other consideration is that outside of airports and major railway stations, car rental agencies often have limited Sunday hours, though in Paris this is usually less of a concern.

If you want to drive there from Paris and back (and it's a beautiful region) you need to at least add one more full day to your trip, though even that is going will be on the tight end.

Sorry, with your reply I forgot to say that it is one day one way. We are leaving Paris Saturday, dropping my daughter off in Strasbourg Sunday afternoon, and then we will continue on to Switzerland by train. So the primary purpose of the car is to get to Strasbourg and explore a bit in the afternoon outside the city.

Aha -- that makes more sense!

It would still likely save you time to take the TGV to Strasbourg and pick up the rental car there, although with the ticket cost I realize it may be financially advantageous to drive all the way from Paris (keep in mind, though, that gas is more expensive than in the US and that most French A-route autoroutes are tolled).

I would also then underline what I said about Sunday opening hours -- I found that outside of Paris many car rental agencies were only open Sunday afternoon/evening, presumably to collect returning cars from weekend trips. (I do not like to return cars when agencies aren't open, plus depending on the agency sometimes you can't do that anyway.) Check carefully that the place where you'd like to drop off the car is open when you will need to return the car.

It is true that most of the wine villages in Alsace are easier reached by car, but for such a short stopover I'd simply enjoy Strasbourg and Colmar by train, because driving you're doubling the time and stress of one of the greatest stretches of high-speed rail in Europe.

Ginger, The ViaMichelin website (click here for route) calculates the following fro Paris to Strasbourg, assuming absolutely no stops and no traffic problems:

Time: 04h39 (04h28 on motorways)
Distance: 489 km (483 km on motorways)
Costs: €83.43 (Toll €39.60 + Consumption €43.83)

Not a big saving on the train at €50 per person, even with 3 people. Plus time to pick up and return the car.
That would demolish most of Saturday. If you are returning the car on Sunday morning, you do not have much time for Colmar and the wine villages.
Does your hotel in Strasbourg (Saturday night) have parking? You may have to pay.

We began a past trip to the "wine route" in Alsace by taking the TGV from Paris. It worked extremely well. If you actually want to visit Strasbourg, being delivered to the train station and then on foot is ideal. You are glossing over a lot of wasted time (and boring highway between Paris and Strasbourg) when you propose this plan. Colmar is a substantial distance south of Strasbourg, and there are indeed many lovely and easy stops along that route. A car is useful for that route, but not for Paris-Strasbourg.

You need to get a realistic picture of just how much time you will be enjoying south of Strasbourg, so that you can VALUE your vacation TIME and weigh it against the walk-up TGV train fare you have quoted. SItting in the car, and having lunch at a motorway quick-stop is not a big priority for me. You need to select a suitable rental pickup point that is open on a Saturday and is (presumably) not in downtown Paris. So transport to the rental agency is part of your lost time on Saturday morning. If you plan to return the car within 24 or 25 hours, you have a tough pace to keep.

In fairness, we slept a few nights in Strasbourg, and our focus was Alsace (sleeping in Ribeauville.) But driving through a lovely "flower town" is not the same as walking around it. (And worrying about your luggage in the car.) We also used the car to have a memorable three-star (?) Michelin dinner at L'Auberge de L'Ill. So we must have picked up the car in Strasbourg one night before our turn south.

I don't know what day or time train you're looking at but I saw fares of €22 on some days and times later this month. Where are you looking for train tickets?

For you and everyone else: as a ballpark figure, rental costs excluded, driving a smallish compact car costs between 10 euros (if no tolls) and 20 euros (if tolls) per 100km in France. Using that guideline, driving a rental car on a long distance typically only makes sense for last minute journeys or for 4+ people who aren't time sensitive.

Ginger,

Have you checked the one way price of renting a car? Usually there's a heavy penalty if you return a car to a different location. This alone may negate any cost savings.

If you want to do a wine tour, you could leave Paris early and take one from Strasbourg.

As others have pointed out, it takes much longer to drive to Strasbourg from Paris than to take the train — not even counting for the time it takes to pick up a rental car. Too, with your very short time compared to how much distance you have to cover, I am not sure how you would have time to visit wine villages too.

There is also the sizable stress factor of driving out of the city and then finding parking or the return in your destination city. I really urge you to rethink this.

Thanks for all the helpful advice. Given the suggestions here and a little more thinking on my part, I will travel by train. With that, I have about 1 to 1.5 days centered around Strasbourg. What would you suggest? Any nice restaurants for a vegetarian for a birthday dinner or lunch?

It's not for everyone, but if you like cheese, la Cloche à Fromage is really memorable. Forget any diet.