Suggestions for hotels close to but not at CDG

Liz,

As your flight doesn't depart until 13K, why not just stay in Paris? You can easily get to the airport via the RER "B" or you could ask the hotel to book a Shuttle.

Near but not AT the airport is the worst of both worlds. It is inconvenient to spend that last night in Paris if you are in the boons somewhere near the airport. The RER B runs from the airport and so a hotel there allows you to nip into town for dinner and then return to be there for the flight. We have done this several times when coming briefly through Paris on our way home or when our rental dates didn't match our flight dates by a day.

By staying near, it is hard to get into Paris and it is also awkward to get to the airport since the shuttles from hotels in the region may be full when you want them or slow or not on time. At the airport you just hop on the intra airport transport and are there at your terminal.

If your flight is later in the morning or afternoon, it also makes sense to just stay in the city and take the train out 4 hours ahead of the flight. If it is a fairly early flight then you get an extra hour of sleep not having to get out to the airport. For a 1 pm flight you need to be there at least by 10 which means leaving Paris at 9 so staying AT the airport and coming into town for dinner would be the choice I would make in your situation.

Agree with Ken and Janet! Additionally staying at CDG should allow you to turn in the car that afternoon/early evening upon arrival, then you don't have to mess with doing that the morning of your flight. Then you just take the train into town to have dinner and come back to go to bed!

Kim makes a good point. I want a receipt when I return a rental that indicates it is undamaged and gassed up and it can take forever to get one of those from passive aggressive rental agencies. We once turned in a heavily damaged car at CDG; I wanted a copy of the rental paperwork that documented that the damage occurred before we rented the car. (long story but basically the agency drove it into a pole bringing it from the back lot and they had no other car -- it was the damaged one or nothing for a week long trip through France to Paris) They kept insisting in that gallic way that it was 'impossible' to give us a copy and they wanted to keep the paperwork. It took us 2 hours to get copies. I have no doubt we would have been charged for the damage if we had not kept documentation of the damage. We had no plane to catch so we could wait them out; never turn in a plane at an airport in Europe just before a flight. Quick in and outs are not the way they do business in the rental industry in Europe. Get rid of the car the night before so you don't have to be concerned about the rental.

If you want to return the car in Paris, Gare de Lyon is a fairly easy way to do it. Drive the peripherique to the Seine then just head toward the center a couple miles along the river. There are plenty of hotels within walking distance and you can catch the RER from there in the morning. You will be hit with a one way charge, however. I suppose you could park the car in a garage here overnight also, that might cost less then the one way charge + RER ticket.

Generally the area between Paris and CDG is unpleasant and not a good choice to stay in.

If you are looking for a pleasant town to stay in overnight that's not too far from Charles de Gaulle, then I would recommend Senlis. It has a grand Gothic cathedral and is close to Chantilly--which has a wonderful chateau. Since it is north of the airport, you don't have to drive past Paris on the morning of your flight.