We are flying into Paris October 2024. After spending time in Paris, we plan to take the train to Caen and rent a car. We plan to travel the area by car ending in the Loire Valley. We plan to return the car in Tours. What car rental company would you recommend and in particular which train station in Tours do we want to return the car to so we can head back to Paris?
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
Hi!
The car rental companies you will find at Caen railway station (Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, Avis, Enterprise) are all OK; no real 'bad apples'.
Just make sure that they are open at the time when you want to pick up the car.
As for Tours: Saint-Pierre-des-Corps is where you want to return the vehicle. Also, if you are staying east of Tours e.g. Blois or Amboise, you could consider driving to Orly airport and returning the car there. Orly airport is now very well connected to Paris by metro line 14, and reaching Orly from the south is not too stressful.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you!
Posted by
912 posts
balso provided excellent advice! We took the train to Rennes, picked up a rental car through Enterprise, and returned in Lille. (It was a Sunday and hours were limited in Lille.) I've just always found that Enterprise has reasonable fees with drop off at a different location, both domestically and internationally (but within the same country.) A different country is out of the question. Always too expensive.
Posted by
Phoenix, AZ
333 posts
We rented and returned a car in Tours from Hertz. Had a good experience but of course the lunch hour is very important! We did have to return it a bit earlier than we'd like but there were 2 workers and one was quit ready to take her break!
It's a bit far from the train station so we took a cab. Very inexpensive like less than $10 I believe. But too far to schlep your carryon.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
I took a train to Rouen and picked up a car there for Normandy. I was doing a loop through Normandy, Brittany and the Loir. I dropped the car off in Chinon and traded for a bicycle (for touring Loir).
I'd suggest picking a car up in Rouen, visit Normandy and the Loir, then drop the car in Chartres and take a train back into Paris from there.