Trip to Colmar France from CDG

I don't recall that it was a particularly difficult drive. I used the N and D routes for a more scenic ride. It was a long day on the road, though. I had also driven in France before. The Michelin website has an interactive mapping/routing feature you can check out; otherwise, a good map and/or GPS would be necessary. I'm a firm believer in not relying on GPS alone.

You can either drive all the way on the Autoroute (A4 to Strasbourg then A35, http://www.viamichelin.com/ says 551 km, 05h44, Toll €36.00 plus fuel €45.32) or use N4 and N59 (457 km, 05h59, Toll €6.00, fuel €39.76).
I would regard both times ,especially the N4+N59 one as wildly optimistic. It allows no times for stops (fuel, food, rest) and you could encounter delays on 'N' roads. One advantage of the 'N' roads is you pass small towns you can stop off at. But late morning (11:00?) plus 6 hours (at least) is 17:00. Unless you want to be driving after dark and arriving late at your hotel you cannot make too many stops.

No particular difficulties driving either route. But, mark sure you know French traffic laws and road signs before you leave home. Ignorance of the law is no defence.

http://www.viamichelin.com/ is the best site for route planning in France an Europe in general.

You'll need to be very cautious, as driving after a long flight in a jet-lagged has been compared to impaired driving. Also, it's highly recommend that drivers have either an International Driver's Permit or a certified translation of their D.L.

Your post is confusing. Are you saying you're leaving CDG with a car in the late morning and then dropping it off in Colmar in the early afternoon? You're not going roundtrip back to CDG in the same day, are you?

That's a long drive after a long travel day, I assume...or are you not flying in that same day? It's way faster to take the train...6 hours to drive and 3.5 or so to take the train right from CDG.

You don't give us much to go on. Where are you from, how long is your flight, are you an experienced confident driver, can you handle weather, can you drive a stick, etc.

Thanks for all the replies. I should explain myself a bit better. I am an experienced driver. We are arriving in Paris and staying at the CDG airport hotels for 4 evenings while we explore Paris. Does anyone have any suggestions for doing this? We are thinking of taking the metro to downtown Paris and then using the Hop On and Hop Off bus to do the sightseeing. Do you know if the Hop On, Hop Off Bus comes to CDG? Also, are there accessibile ATMs in Paris and in the countryside? After the four evenings there we are renting a car, automatic transmission, from CDG and driving to Colmar. We are spending the first evening in Touls, France, as we are leaving CDG at 10:30 a.m. and it's too far to go all the way to Colmar and we want to enjoy the French countryside. We are planning to avoid the highways and taking the less busy route to Colmar via Touls. What would you suggest along this route and around Touls for sightseeing? The next day we are going to continue to Colmar ending up in Munster and spending 12 days in that area. Are there any suggestions for sightseeing along this route and once we arrive in the Munster area? Then we are going to return to CDG, but we'll drive from Colmar to somewhere closer to the CDG airport spending the night in the countryside. Any suggestions on a nice community to stay at? Our flight leaves in the late evening at 22:40 so should we get to the airport before the rush hour traffic and what time would that be?

That helps a lot! I'll leave the driving responses to other posters as I don't drive on vacations there. However, I would urge you to reconsider you plan to spend your 4 nights in Paris at an airport hotel. Is there some reason you're planning on this? Stay in Paris proper - it's one of the most beautiful cities on earth. You'll be right in the midst of it all, with easy access to all the sites and the ability to stroll the Seine in the early morning and evenings and wander all the beautiful neighborhoods. There's rooms for every budget so you should be able to find something, but you might have to do a little searching as your travel dates are so close.

I agree that it is a huge mistake not to sleep in Paris proper.

We slept in Strasbourg 3 nights (on our 6th trip to France) before renting a car upon departure, for Alsace. Hope they come up with the Automatic, but CDG is a good place to try for it.

Since you haven't mentioned wine, war, Michelin restaurants, art, hotel style, budget, disability details, Black Forest, Switzerland, Le Corbusier, it is very hard to give the sophisticated advice this newsboard is known for! Sorry.

I agree, stay in Paris. Then maybe take the TGV to Strasbourg and pick up a car there (or Colmar, but you'll have more choices in Strasbourg), then return the car at CDG.

Yes, definitely stay in Paris if you want to visit Paris, not in an airport hotel. Charles de Gaulle airport to central Paris is 40 minutes on the RER (Express métro/commuter train). Apart from wasting time (and cost) every day, commuting will mean you will not be able to sample all the restaurants and other evening activities.
Anywhere within Paris city will be a short walk from a métro station. Yes, go on a Hop On and Hop Off bus the first day if you have not been to Paris before, or simply take a guided bus tour the first morning, this will allow you to orientate yourself (new cities are never quite what you expect), but after that use the métro to get to locations fast, or the buses to get their slow but seeing the streets on the way.

Why Touls? The only Touls I can find in France is a very small village in Cantal 2/3 of the way from Paris to the Mediterranean. Unless you mean Toul, Meurthe-et-Moselle; which is near Nancy halfway between Paris and Colmar (saying Touls, France is about as specific as saying Washington, USA).
I suggest you take a TGV from Paris to Nancy (1½ hours), and pick up a hire car there. It would save you a lot of driving, not to mention the grief of getting out of Paris.

Don't stay at the airport, except perhaps if you are leaving really early or arriving really late

There are ATMs throughout Paris, best to use an actual "Bank" ATM, below are a listing & addresses for HSBC ATMs (Bank based out of NY). There is also a HSBC Bank & ATM within CDG, in the center of the Terminal 2, across from the Sheraton Hotel.

HSBC ATMs, Paris
107 Bd. Saint Germain
-- South on Blvd. Saint Michel, head West on Blvd. Saint Germain

42 Blvd. Sebastopol
-- Corner of Blvd. Sebastopol & Rue Rambuteau

28 Rue di Rivoli
-- 6 blocks East of Hotel de Ville

Ave Champs-Elysees
-- Street corner behind Louis Vuitton

3 Place Andre Malraux
-- 1-block behind Starbucks corner of Rue de Rivoli & Rue de l’Echelle

HOHO Bus: There are two HOHO companies that I know of. L'Open Tour,http://www.paris.opentour.com/en/Paris-bus-tour/pass-bus-opentour/, & Big Bus,http://eng.bigbustours.com/paris/home.html. Looking at their maps, neither go out to CDG. I will be utilizing L'Open Tour at the end of the month. You should really stay in the city center, easy access to the sites and less dependability on getting to and from the outskirts via Metro/RER/Taxi. Less time traveling and more time sightseeing.