Rent a car in Paris for Amboise area

We always like to take a train out of Paris and pick up a car in a smaller town. For one of our trips, we took the train to Colmar and returned in Tours (Saint'pierre-des-Corps). The car rental companies are right next to the train station on what seemed like the edge of town. Very Easy.

Another time, we took the train to Chartres and picked up a car for Vouvray and then Loire. That time we spent just a couple days in Loire and then drove to Brittney and Normandy and returned in Vernon (by Giverny)

I know you wanted info for renting in Paris, but thought this info would be helpful.

When we visited the Loire, we chose option B. That saved us the headache of driving in and near Paris, and finding a gas station close to the agency. Travelling by train is just so much easier (for us). There are several rental companies at the St. Pierre des Corps station. Before booking, be sure to check their open hours, especially if picking up or dropping off on the weekend.

Plan B is best overall, but it does not work on Sundays (rental agencies in Tours/St Pierre des C. will be closed). In any case, traffic out of Paris on a Sunday is light.

We're leaning towards plan B, but being careful about the day of the week. Thanks so much for all your responses!
andrew

I also support plan B, but note that these offices (like most similar places in France) tend to close firmly from noon to 2PM for lunch. That can affect your plans for the afternoon. We simply sat down for a decent lunch in the plaza in front of the two main rental agencies. I certainly agree that the Loire is best done with a rental car.

Have you ever driven inside Paris? I drive in New York City at least once a week, and it doesn't compare with the difficulty of driving in Paris. Do you imagine that you are going to stop at several fascinating little towns on the way to Amboise? Have you compared prices to see if the difference is significant?

I might add that on that awful day I couldn't get out of the Arc de Triomphe circle with my rental car, the big-name agency told me to drive down five levels of a narrow, spiral undergound ramp, to find a parking stall so small that I had to remove the luggage before backing into the stall. No one looked at the car (to verify real or imaginary damage) before I passed the paperwork over the counter at street level. Luckily, they made no claim for damage.

We also had to return to the St. P des Corps after I realized (under way) that the fuse for the cigarette lighter was blown. I didn't notice that my GPS was not getting power from my adaptor. Now I travel with fuses, and always look for the little lightning bolt on the display. Of course they only had the approximate fuse on hand! But lucky they did-The rental counter is not a repair shop.

I believe it was a Sunday when we returned to St-Pierre-des-corps. We had rented with Europcar. We were told to park in the lot and drop the keys at a neighboring shop. It might have been another car rental company, not sure. My point is that sometimes you can return after hours or on day they are closed if arrangements are made.

The last time we went to Amboise from Paris last Oct, we took a train to St Pierre-des-Corps as others mentioned. Could not have been easier. There’s a Hertz, Avis, Sixt, and maybe others, right outside the front door of the station. It was was a 30 min drive to Amboise on a scenic road.

We can drive in Paris confidently, but we would much rather take a train out, then get a car.

Some years ago but we chose option B and it was very easy. Mind the office hours. We made arrangements when we picked up the car to return it when the office was closed. The agent spoke 10 words of English and I spoke 5 words in French but we managed to figure it out, including a good natured game of Charades. We left the car in the garage and dropped the keys through a slot in the office door. Driving in the area was easy, scenic and destinations and routes were well signed. Our 4 days in the Loire Valley were among our favorites in many years of travel. Safe travels.

Thanks again to you all! I don't want to drive from Paris so we'll do plan B and be careful about hours of operation of the car rental place, or making arrangements for drop-off, since we're planning to return to Paris Sunday.