We are going to be leaving Paris for Amboise, and then continuing on for 2 weeks through France this summer. My question is, should we rent a car in Paris, and then drive out to Amboise, or would it make more sense to take the train from Paris to Amboise, and rent a car there? I will be travelling with my two children, so whatever is going to be easiest and less time consuming is what I care about most.
Thanks in Advance!!
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
One easy place to pick up a rental car is at the TGV station at St. Pierre-des-Corps. Of course, train tickets to get there are not free and the best prices would be secured by booking soon, at https://en.oui.sncf/en/ (try paying with PayPal) or another agent. I have not picked up a car within Paris city limits for the outbound drive, but I'd be willing to try it from the south side of the city, perhaps from Gare Montparnasse or from Porte d'Orleans, avoiding driving cross-town and also trying to avoid the ring road.
Posted by
New York, NY
70 posts
A few years ago, we planned to rent a car at the train station in Tours (I believe that's the St Pierre des Corps station Laura mentions) for the driving portion of our trip in the Loire Valley and Dordogne, but there was an issue with our rental discovered shortly before our trip. Long story short, we ended up renting a car at Orly and driving to Amboise. It was easy to pick up the car at Orly and drive out of the city (and we took an Uber from Paris to Orly). The drive to the Loire Valley was also very easy - smooth, well-maintained roads... so smooth that I got a speeding ticket so just be mindful of that!
Posted by
Loire Valley
824 posts
Amboise is a small town, with one car hire place about 40 minutes walk from the station. Most of the vehicles they have are light commercial. Renting at Saint Pierre des Corps will save you a lot of time - quicker train trip, more choice, and less hassle getting to the rental place.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7889 posts
One reason for renting from St. Pierre des Corps is to reduce driving time on a day that you landed in Paris. You don't indicate, but it sounds like you will be over jet lag when you need the car. I personally would not rent in downtown Paris, so you have to get your luggage to the edge of town anyway. Just don't think you're going to get something from the long drive. A highway is a highway. If it saves you time, money, stress, sure.
Note that the agencies in S P des Corps close for a two hour lunch. It has nothing to do with the location, but I was glad we did a local excursion first, because we discovered, the hard way, that the Cigarette Lighter FUSE was blown when we picked up the car. The agency was still open when we went back. Now I carry another item (three styles of 10 and 15-amp fuses) in my already overstuffed carry-on!
You don't mention if your children are old enough to use regular seat belts, and whether you can drive a Standard if the agency fails to come up with your reserved Automatic.