Renting a Car at Charles de Gaulle Without Flying There

have you tried calling them for suggestions?

Through which channel and from which company are you trying to book?
It is very typical for travellers to go to the Paris airports to rent a car, since airports typically have the most choice and driving close to Paris is often difficult. I am surprised at such a requirement.

This being said, for the trip to Normandy, have you considered Eurostar to Lille + renting a vehicle there? At the cost of a longer drive (with light traffic for the most part), you save a lot of hassle vs. the London - Gare du Nord - CDG - drive to Normandy option.

I called the phone number for Alamo at CDG listed on line and they said you have to have an airline ticket (ditto for Orly). Not the answer I wanted to hear. They suggested I use one of the other locations in Paris, but none of the others say they have a vehicle big enough. Also the Alamo number answered as Enterprise, but I think Enterprise, Alamo, and National are all controlled by the same system. We don't want to try the Lille route.

I have rented cars at CDG, and dropped off cars there I rented elsewhere, and I have never encountered the demand for flight information, much less needing to show a boarding pass to get the rental. Maybe something has changed in this new requirement?

If you could obtain the vehicle from CDG, is your plan to return it there? If so, would you be flying out of CDG? Seems like that itinerary info would qualify you to rent the vehicle at CDG.

Frankly, I would travel by train from Paris to Caen to rent 2 vehicles for Normandy. I have done that twice...but that only makes sense if you are already in Paris, but since you are arriving in France on the Eurostar, follow the advice of others on this thread about Lille, etc.

Unless you’ve already purchased Eurostar tickets I like the suggestion to go to Lille instead of Paris. We returned a car there before taking the train to London. We were coming from Bayeux and stopped off in Honfleur on the way. It’s an easy drive. I’m assuming you’re spending time in England before coming to France so you shouldn’t be jet lagged.

I tried a dummy booking on Enterprise.fr and while I saw the same blurb regarding the correct terminal, I was able to choose "I do not have a flight" when prompted.

Yeah, I have seen the ability to do that, which still leaves me with the local french folks telling me they wouldn't be able to rent me a vehicle without a ticket/boarding pass, etc. So, I could chance it, but....

Yes, you can, but why would you?

When renting out of Paris, we use the nearby suburb of Mantes-La-Jolie. Train there, rental car locations next to station, easy drive out. Much more peaceful than CDG.

Plus, when renting from an airport, rates are almost always higher.

This being said, for the trip to Normandy, have you considered Eurostar to Lille + renting a vehicle there?

Ditto this also. Have rented from Lille also. Very good for the north. For Normandy we use Mantes-La-Jolie as noted above, but that is because we are starting from Paris. If you don't need to get to Paris and can get off Eurostar in Lille, it is an excellent option.

You might try calling AutoEurope. com toll free and see if they can help.

I have done this via AutoEurope twice. So it used to be possible

The requirement to be an arriving passenger at CDG to rent from there is something I first heard about a couple years ago. I really am not sure how strict the rule is, but if I wanted to go to Normandy, renting from CDG would be my last choice of locations from which to start. A13 to Normandy is on the opposite side of Paris from CDG, meaning you will need to cross the city, one way or another.

A quick check shows that the Renault Trafic is available from Alamo at Gare Montparnasse. There may be other options but Gare Montparnasse has relatively easy access to the périphérique and A13 to Normandy and would be much easier and faster than going to CDG.

We finally decided to just rent two cars at Gare du Nord, where we get off the Eurostar. When I called Auto Europe, they said they take walk-ins at CDG. When I called Enterprise at CDG, the company referenced by Auto Europe, they said they don't take walk-ins. (Enterprise, National, and Alamo all seem to be the same place/company in/around Paris). We just decided not to take a chance and to save the time of taking the train to CDG. Two cars will cost more than the van.

There were other factors. We noticed the option of Montparnasse, and while there was an address provided, we really couldn't find the storefront using street view on google maps. I realize the street view could predate the storefront, but it was just another uncertainty we decided to avoid. Our first stop after renting the van would have taken the same amount of time (within 5 minutes) from both Montparnasse and CDG. It will be 5-10 minutes longer from Gare du Nord.

Also, our plan is to take Eurostar to Gare du Nord, rent two cars there, then drive to Giverny to see the Monet gardens and then on to Rouen for the night. Next couple of days are around the Normandy battle sites. Then we drive back to drop our group and luggage at the hotel in Paris (Timhotel Louvre) and then return the car to the Gare du Nord rental site--which is just a 20 minute public transport ride back to the hotel. All of this seemed simpler than the Eurostar to Lille option.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It was helpful.

We noticed the option of Montparnasse, and while there was an address provided, we really couldn't find the storefront using street view on google maps.

I have rented a vehicle at Montparnasse, at the train station. There is no standalone storefront on the street for any of the car rental agencies, they are all inside the station itself. Getting out of Paris from Montparnasse, if going in the direction of Normandy, is pretty easy, easier than starting out in a car from Gare du Nord would be at least...and both of the in city car rental options are far better than going out to CDG to pick up a car and then have to drive back through the city to get out towards Normandy - I have done that, too, and would never do it again...

we drive back to drop our group and luggage at the hotel in Paris (Timhotel Louvre) and then return the car to the Gare du Nord rental site

I wouldn't suggest this at all. Driving in central Paris with all its restricted lanes and one-way streets will not be fun!

I just do not find driving in Paris particularly difficult at all. With a speed limit of 30km/h, nothing happens very fast.

However, there are two reasons not to drive in Paris: public transportation is excellent and reasonably priced, and parking can be a problem, it's limited and expensive.

Montparnasse would be much easier than Gare du Nord, just know where you want to go in advance of actually driving there.

We finally decided to just rent two cars at Gare du Nord,

Brave man, driving in central Paris.

Brave man, driving in central Paris.

Made even more difficult with 2 cars trying to stay together, one following the other...even if you are following someone in perfectly familiar surroundings at home, the pressure to stay in contact ratchets way up (red lights, heavy traffic)...doing it in central Paris will be really challenging, perhaps even dangerous...there will be nowhere to simply "pull over" in Paris to discuss the route with the other driver, to make changes...

I just returned from France. I flew into CDG and took a taxi to my apartment, visited Paris for a week, taxied to CDG and picked up my rental car. Toured around Ille De Paris for two weeks and returned the car to terminal 1--absolutely no problem!

Flying from San Francisco and back--you use terminal 1. There is also a car rental yard at Terminal 2. To pick up your car you go to the rental desks on the arrival levels of your terminal, just like you would if you were arriving on a flight.

I got a great deal from Booking com using Hertz and paid about $43 per day for a Renault Captur. There are a zillion hotels near CDG where you can spend the night before heading to the airport for your flight.

If you have to drop the car off before the rental return offices open (Hertz is at 7 am) you can park the car and drop the keys off on their level 5 car return location.

There are abundant free luggage carts there and you head for the elevator, punch level 2 for departures and go to your airline's check in location.

It's a piece of cake -- EXCEPT -- roadways around the terminal are confusing. I strongly suggest making a practice run the day before your early morning departure. We circled the airport about 3 times before we got it right! The GPS is not very useful because it can't keep up with the rapid sequence of turns and ramps.

By the way, we've found it best to pack our baggage in gym bags, then put them in large duffel bags. It's nearly impossible to get two full sized suitcases in the trunk of the small rental cars and larger cars are impossible to park!

Bon Route!!

Ye Olde Travel-Junkie 3PO

It's a piece of cake -- EXCEPT -- roadways around the terminal are confusing. I strongly suggest making a practice run the day before your early morning departure. We circled the airport about 3 times before we got it right! The GPS is not very useful because it can't keep up with the rapid sequence of turns and ramps.

Yes, I had the same experience trying to figure out which down ramp to take for rental returns. I circled the airport 3 or 4 times, and on the final circuit I rolled the dice and got lucky, found the return lot...but the signage at the airport was useless.

the signage at the airport was useless.

The CDG car rental returns for terminal 2 are all within the center area of the terminal with signage about auto height, all in English. For terminal 1, the returns at the side, again marked with signs in English. The signs are not overhead the roadway but they are there, unless they have all been very recently removed.

Many people seem to have problems with CDG car returns. All the more reason not to rent a car from CDG.