Renting a car in Paris for a week in July - Need guidance

I have used both Europcar and Autoeurope. Both rentals went smoothly. Do you intend to have a car in Paris? I've used public transportation when I'm in the city. I'm very used to big city driving in the U.S., but avoid it with a passion in Europe. The buses and metro in Paris are exceptional. What we've done in France is to take a train to the first location outside of Paris we'd like to visit, then rent a car, then prior to returning to Paris, we drop the car and take the train back into Paris. So on one trip we took the train to Colmar and picked up a rental car. Seven days later we returned it in Tours. On another trip we took the train to Chartres and after enjoying Chartres for a day, picked up a rental car and used it for eight days and returned it to Vernon/Giverney.

If you want to rent a car while you are in Paris, and I rather strongly recommend that you do not, the real question should be where will I park it? Parking costs will easily reach 50€ + per day, possibly more than the price of a rental and certainly much more expensive than public transportation.

If you really think that you need a car while in Paris, you can contact a consolidator such as Autoeurope or any of the common names in car rentals i.e. Hertz, Europcar, Avis, or Sixt.

Renting a car while in Paris in order to explore other parts of France makes sense. To rent a car to drive around within Paris is simply crazy. The public transport system is simply splendid; the Metro, buses and cabs will get you wherever you want to go quickly and cheaply.

Thanks everybody for the feedback. To be precise, I will be staying in Saint-Denis and will be visiting friends and family in Garges-les-Gonesse on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day for a duration for a week - with my family (kids aged 13, 11 and 2). Will renting a car for shuttling between these two places (may have luggage to transport either side) make sense ?

What have your friends and family you plan to visit suggested about getting to from where they are and where you plan to stay?

Totally agree with nukesafe.......just got back from Paris and would not want a car there for ANYTHING. We rented one to see the countryside in Provence, turned it in and trained to Paris where we walked and used public transportation all week......so easy!

Arslander, it looks as though the RER goes to Garges-les-Gonesse. You still have the "last mile" problem, how do you get to the address from the station, but in a pinch there are taxis.

You might compare the cost of a taxi (and RER tickets or pass) to the cost of rental and garaging.

Your 2 year old is free on public transport and fares are 1/2 price up to age 10.

It's unlikely anyone on the Forum has stayed in either St. Denis or Garges-les-Gonesse and I assume it was your family that told you to rent a car. Tocard gave you correct information about the consolidator and the individual companies.

Having lived in a southern suburb, I know how difficult it can be to get from one suburb to another. It’s even more difficult in Northern suburbs. It’s not even sure a taxi will respond In some of the northern suburbs.

Some people here assumed you were staying in Paris, but you aren’t.

My only 2-cents is to be sure you have safe overnight parking with your lodging in St. Denis.

Bets is giving you really good advice. Plus, it's old news but I would not recommend taking the RER D which is the train that serves the two suburbs that you mention. Take a look at Auto Europe or the EuropCAR location near Stade de France in Saint Denis. I have rented from EuropCAR a number of times and have had no problems. I think that renting a car makes sense in your particular fact pattern.

Be sure to rent ahead of time using a US credit card in dollars, or any non-EU resident can do the same with their own currency. Taxes on the rental will be lower. And nowadays you need an International Driving Permit, which you can buy at your local autoclub inexpensively. It’s simply a multi-lingual translation, good for a year.

Can you ask your relatives in Garges-les-Gonesse what they think? What is the parking situation where they live? What is the parking situation where you're going to stay in St Denis? You have to weigh renting a car against the excellent public transportation in and around Paris. A family + luggage leans me towards renting the car over public transportation but my pre-teen granddaughters absolutely loved the metro.
My experience is limited to being a tourist in Paris but I do not think driving or parking there is impossible. I drove extensively in NY City for work and college. Paris is big-city driving. Tons of people do it every day. If that wasn't true, the roads would be less busy and on-street parking would be a breeze. So you can do it too, if that option works best for you.
We rely on public transportation for getting around in Paris but have rented a car a day or two before leaving Paris or kept it a day or two after arriving in Paris. I have always found a parking place near where we were staying. Most often, that was directly in front or across the street from where we were staying. Once, it was a block or two away. That's good from my point of view. It may not be from yours. (It's not valet parking. You might have to go around the block. Maybe even twice. But perseverance pays.)
Overnight parking is free on weekends in my experience (as recently as last August). During the day, parking meters are pricy but not 50 Euros a day in my experience. You may, however, have to move the car after some set amount of time (3 hours?). It sounds like you'll be in Garges-les-Gonesse during the day, so that's the situation you need to be clear about.
Except for the question of luggage (how much? how often?) I think you'll do fine with whatever you choose.
We have rented through Gemut https://www.gemut.com and have been happy with the results.