Rental cars In France...where to return?

One definite option is in Tours and then take the TGV back into Paris.

Tours.....I had not looked into Tours yet....Thank you.

From Tours, are there any companies that offer tours that go out to Chambord Castle? That way we may be able to return our car a day earlier.

If that does not work out, I recommend Orly airport. Easy drop off, lots of transportation options into Paris, etc. Versailles is a possibility, but would work best if you had a GPS that could take you right to where you want to go. It is a busy small city that can be hard to find a particular address in. Orly was easy to find (airports are always well signed). We found it very easy to drop off a car and get into Paris.

This company and this company offer day tours from Tours that include Chambord, on certain days. I have no experience with them. Google might find you more. The cost of these tours for two people is likely higher than another day's car rental, and you lose flexibility while gaining a guide. I wouldn't go that way myself.

From Chambord you could easily drive to Blois, Orleans, or Chartres to drop the car and train to Paris. I know Chartres is an easy one-hour train to Gare Montparnasse, no reservations needed. All three cities have interesting sights, Chartres Cathedral being one of the classics. Use a map and see where your rental company has an office where you can drop the car -- it shouldn't cost any more than taking it back to CDG (which I agree is a bad choice if you're headed to Paris from the south). Orly would be another option. Hopefully you won't have too much luggage to manage on the train and Metro to your Paris hotel. If you do, maybe a taxi from Orly is the way to go.

In July we had a very positive experience dropping a rental car in Versailles. We drove into town in the afternoon, checked into our hotel and unloaded the luggage, and drove to the rental agency to return the car. We walked back to the hotel and enjoyed dinner in Versailles. The next day, we stored our luggage at the hotel and spent the entire day at the palace. We then picked up our luggage and trained into Paris where we spent five nights before flying home. If Versailles is part of your Paris plan, you might consider that.

Why not just drop the car off at CDG and take public transport into Paris? CDG is not far from the city. I assume you are using gps which I highly recommend if you are driving in France. We just came back from France and the gps was really invaluable. You might want to find out the dropoff charges for dropping off in a different location.

We will be in the Loire Valley the night before and I wanted to avoid having to go all the way past Paris to CDG then back to Paris. I will check out dropping it off at Orly then take a Taxi to the 7th. That might work.

Hi from Wisconsin,
Why not drop off in Paris? Well, the typcal car rental agency has a drop off fee at CDG. Gas and tolls to Paris. SOme people get stressed driving in CDG. Then there are the train or bus tickets to get back into Paris.

I would take the car to Chartres, a nice rural drive from the castle. I would visit Chartres Cathedral...wow. The cathedral is a short walk from the train station. And then take a day train into Paris. Every hour. No muss, no fuss. IF your car rental has a drop at the train station or nearby.

wayne iNWI

I prefer to take a train to my first city and rent a car from a downtown location there. It avoids the transit location fee. You might get a train directly from CDG to your first city. Returning to CDG is easy, but I would not want to wast the travel time to get back to Paris.

I prefer to take a train to my first city and rent a car from a downtown location there. It avoids the transit location fee. You might get a train directly from CDG to your first city. Returning to CDG is easy, but I would not want to wast the travel time to get back to Paris.