Rental car advice: Paris to Burgundy

Having made that trip many times, we pick up at Orly and return at CDG. You need to watch the roads carefully coming out of Orly due to merging and lane switching, but it’s preferable to the trek around the Paris region from CDG. We’ve also picked up at Montparnasse and the Porte d’Orleans, both of which are easy access to the roads south, or the periferique to the autoroute south.

There are car rental offices at Gare de Lyon, then a pretty straight shot down Rue de Bercy to the Peripherique.

Driving near CDG is about as hard or easy, take your pick, as driving near any major city airport. Presumably Orly is similar.

I started my loop by taking a train from Paris to Auxerre, picked up a car and did a loop starting there down to Beaune and Dijon, over to Alsace, Colmar to Strasbourg, turned in the car and took a train to Reims and from there back to Paris (plus a weekend in Le Havre not related to the loop).

If you start in Beaune/Dijon and only want to see Burgundy, you could work your way back up toward Auxerre, drop the car there and train back into Paris.

Driving near CDG is about as hard or easy, take your pick, as driving near any major city airport.

It partly depends on here you're coming from. We've driven to CDG several times from Senlis and Plailly, which are to the northeast, and it's an easy drive. But from Burgundy it would probably be different.

Everyone has a different comfort level, but we tend to take a train from large cities to a smaller city and then pick up a car. We use it for a week and return it usually to another smallish town and then take the train back to the large city. More specifically, we once took a train from Paris to Colmar, rented a car to tour Alsace, Burgundy and Loire. We returned the car in Tours and took the train back to Paris. Another time we took a train to Chartres, picked up a car drove around Loire, Brittney, Normandy and then returned in Vernon (Giverny) and took the train back to Paris. For us, this plan of attack entails less stress.

We pick up our car at Orly, but return it there, also , and take a cab back into Paris for a day or two before flying home. We often found that there were some things we forgot to do or buy before we left Paris and this way we have a few days to finish everything before flying home.

My advice, which I have followed myself, is to take the train to Burgundy and rent the car there.

"There" might be Auxerre, if your visit includes northern Burgundy, or Beaune, if it will just be day trip out of Beaune.

You do not say how long that part of your trip will be, or when your flight is.

Do you plan to stop on the way? Do you plan on just touring the center of town in Dijon and Beaune? If you're going directly to Dijon, and esp. if you’ll be spending your time in the center of town, I would think about taking the train. If you’re staying in the center of town in Beaune as well, you might not need a car at all.

But there are many interesting places to stop along the way, so if that is your plan, get a rental car. We have dropped off at Orly and it was not difficult. Highways around Paris are going to be busy. You can avoid that by getting a train to Burgundy first. Really , it depends on what you are planning to do, and on personal preference.

It's not that difficult for an experienced driver to do what you're contemplating. Of course, France has its distinctive driving rules and I would encourage you to use, before your trip, your skills at searching the Internet and reading websites that coach people on driving in France. Many websites are British in origin and have that irritating British perspective, but despite that they still can be somewhat helpful.

As far as where you pick up or return your car in the Paris area, I think it's irrelevant as long as you avoid the central city of Paris or other large cities (Lyon, Marseille, and so forth).

Hello from Wisconsin,
In France I usually rent a outside of Paris. Auxerre is on your way to Dijon. I would take a train to Auxerre, rent a car there, and then return it to CDG airport. Returning a car to the airport is much easier than exiting the airport with a car. On the way away from the airport, your route is up to you, but returning the car, they have signs showing you where to go.

Or rent from Auxerre and return there too. Dijon? Same thing. As far as I know, there is NO dead head charges in France. You can rent from one location and return to another, no extra fee.

For me AutoEurope has always had informed employees on their phone service. They know all the tricks and can suggest clever ways to rent and good easy places to pick up and return. You don't have to rent from them.

While you are in the Dijon area, Avallon is a real town. It has a market square that is used as a market square and dances. The shops on their high street are clothing, bakeries, and appliances. Real shops for real people. Plus it is mostly built inside the castle walls. Nice little restaurant called Chez Manu (think about that one for a while, the z is silent). Beyond the square, where you can park, is a restaurant called La Tour. Ignore the pizza connection, get a nice meal of duck breast with sauce inside.

Also on the way to Dijon from Paris or Auxerre is Vezelay. Much more a tourist town, but quite nice and historic with King Richard and crusades, not to mention relics in the church of Mary's bones.
And Autun. Nice real place.

wayne iNWI

How long are you staying in Burgundy? I spent 4 nights, stayed in Avallon and took day trips to Auxerre, Fontenay Abbey, Noyers, Château de Bazoches, Vézelay, and more. I skipped Dijon but spent 1/2 day in Beaune. It was easier to stay in a small town near the highway than a big city.

Thank you to all for the advice! We have decided to rent at Orly and return to CDG. We need to pick the car up on a Sunday, and not all small towns have rental car operations open on Sundays. I appreciate the suggestions on which stops to make on our drive to/from Burgundy. Merci!