Per advice from this forum, we will arrive at CDG at the crack of dawn but NOT rent a car that morning. Instead, we will take a train to Bordeaux and pick up a rental car at the station the next morning Monday 21 aout.
Our current reservation is to return the car on Sunday to CDG with plans to take the RER close to our vrbo on Rue St, Montmorency in the Marais.
But now I am wondering if we would be better off returning the car to Gare du Nord. Thoughts?
Not knowing your itinerary, it is hard to advise, but why not return the car in Bordeaux to avoid any one way fees or, drop the car in a city that has train service into Paris?
It is easier to drive to CDG than it is to drive into Paris, in my experience. I have done both with a rental car - once - and I would not do it again. As another poster suggested, find a way to return it outside of Paris, but beware that in smaller towns the car rental drop off may not be open on Sunday, so you may be forced to deliver it to CDG, or in town.
If you’re driving into Paris from the south, consider returning the car to Orly airport instead of CDG.
Paris is one of my least favorite cities to drive in. I remember going around the roundabout on the Champ de Elysees looking in my rear view mirror and seeing about 50 cars in 6 lanes. No thank you.
You should return your car where you picked it up and take the train back into the city.
If you are leaving from Bordeaux, why are driving to Paris? It takes about 2 hours by train and at least 6 hours by car to get to CDG followed by getting from CDG into Paris. That being said, driving in Paris is not horrible IMO and if I were insisting on driving from Bordeaux or anywhere else really and I was staying in Le Marais, I would just return the car at Gare de Lyon, which one would get to without even one moment near the Champs Elysees. Then taxi to Le Marais. Or return it at Orly as suggested above if you are concerned about driving 5 minutes within the city of Paris but don't drive past where you are ultimately going to end up just to drop off a rental car.
What are you doing with the car after you pick it up?
If you're staying in the Bordeaux area then drop the car back in Bordeaux and let the train take the strain.
The only time it really makes sense to leave the car at CDG is if that's where you're going to be at the end of a road trip. Making sure you can buy fuel before you drop the car off is always a bit of a chore on a Sunday, as is finding a car agency that's open.
Otherwise I would try to find an agency near a train station within an hour of Paris, drop the car there on the Saturday and stay overnight, then train in the next day.
Appreciate the food for thought my question has generated!
We are staying in Sarlat for 5 nights after we pick up our rental car in Bordeaux. IDK why I didn't think about returning the car to Bordeaux St. Jean and taking the train back to Paris. That makes more sense than driving and paying the one-way drop fee.
Merci!
good choice. quicker too.
After further investigation, we will stick with our original plan!
We have an excellent car rental rate that is @$200 less than most other options, e.g. Bordeaux/Bordeaux or Bordeaux/ORY. We reserved the car 4 months ago. Taking the train back to Paris from Bordeaux would incur another extra expense.
From Sarlat to Bordeaux is a 2.5 hour drive vs. Sarlat to CDG at 6 hours. So barring traffic issues, this is comparable to driving from our home to family in the NW Chicago suburbs. Definitely doable even with traffic, which we can cope with. Motorway into CDG is an advantage as well.
Perhaps if i'd joined the forum to ask about these other options in October, the pricing would have been palatable!
If you’ve never driven in France you should be aware that there are many toll roads. The tolls add up. Fuel is very expensive. Also consider the cost of transportation from CDG into Paris. I don’t know how many of you are traveling, but you can take the RER or a taxi. The taxi will have a fixed fare, determined by whether you are going to the Left or Right Bank. If you add up the cost of fuel, tolls and transportation into Paris you might find you will save money by returning the car in Bordeaux. What company is your rental with and how did you book it?
@Andrea
We have driven in France several times, including picking up/returning a rental car from CDG.
We have our automatic transmission reserved directly through Budget.
Toll estimate is 23.4 euro from Sarlat to CDG using vinci-autoroute.com. Petrol cost TBD.
We will take RER from CDG to Chatelet des Halles. Walk to our vrbo.
via Michelin has the tolls at 20.20€ and fuel (E5) at 58.86€
@Nigel
Tolls/gas cost comparable for us driving from Cleveland OH to Chicago IL as is driving time.
Thanks for the Michelin info.
My rule of thumb for timings is 90 km/h on the autoroutes, and 50 on all other roads. This allows for traffic, fuel/comfort breaks, and general speeding up and slowing down.
I know this is way below the speed limits, but over 14 years and almost 250,000km of driving in France it's remarkably accurate.
@Simon
Better to try to stay at or below the speed limit. DH and I have been caught speeding by cameras in Switzerland and Germany and the fines weren't fine at all!
August is far off: I suggest you keep checking car rental rates from time to time. If you can change it so that you drop the car at Orly airport rather than CDG, you will save an hour of unpleasant driving... I would personally happily pay up to $50-70 extra NOT to drive all the way around Paris.
