France to Italy or France to Spain/Portugal

Jerry: Ed, who knows a lot about driving in Europe, can advise you on the wisdom of renting a car in one country and taking it into the next before backtracking to the place of rental. What strikes me, though, is that you could save yourself an awful lot of time driving from CDG to Toulouse. Why not book your flight from the US into Toulouse and pick up the car there? Even with itinerary 2, it might be better to fly into TLS and pick up the car there. Of course if you have specific places in mind between CDG and the Spanish or Italian borders, then renting at CDG makes sense...but otherwise I can't see it. It would help to know what you do NOT want to see in France: the Loire, the Dordorgne, Burgundy, Provence, the coast around Nice seem to logically fall between CDG and your destinations in Spain or Italy. But if you have already seen Nice, or Arles, etc etc....there is no point recommending them to you.

Hi Roe, Thanks for the quick response, yes we have seen all those cities you have mentioned. The reason for the pick up at CDG is we never tire of Paris so we will do it again. With a lease purchase (which is different than a rental) we get full insurance coverage throughout western Europe, a new vehicle and road side assistance included in the price. I guess what I am asking is which trip will be better for exposure to art, architecture and food? On our past trips we did have just a one day exposure to Venice and Florence which is why I have included them in the number 2 itinerary; we need more time in those cities.

I understand that you want to get the car in Paris and why, but what I don't understand is why you want to backtrack to Paris. You can drop the car anywhere in France without paying the additional drop charge. Even paying a drop charge outside of France would be less than backtracking to Paris.

OK, I understand a little better now. That's still a lot of driving, and I can't imagine driving IN Paris, but each to his own. Be aware if driving in Italy that many cities are making huge profits by fining tourists who drive into no drive zones. As far as food goes, Spanish food has plenty of advocates, but for me Italian food is the way to go. Art, I think, would be about equal between the trips, and architecture...probably Italy has the edge.

Hi All, The charge outside of Paris for the car is $300-$400. The return to Paris seemed logical to me for the return round trip air fare otherwise an open jaw fare may add more expense. I have driven in Paris, Madrid and Barcelona (all a piece of cake) plus a myriad of other European cities, the only cities I don't drive in are in Italy. Italians are in too much of a hurry and they view their own traffic laws as a loose set of guidelines. So let's say we want to go into Rome here is what we do: we find a hotel in a city outside of Rome like Orte, park the car at the hotel and take the train into Rome. This has worked well for us. I do agree this is a lot of driving, but how else can I have the flexibility of seeing all the cities in the routes I have outlined? Taking the train is great but then we'd have to bring along our carry on luggage from train station to train station. We pack light, one small carry on wheelie for each of us, that is it.

"how else can I have the flexibility of seeing all the cities in the routes I have outlined?" Answer for Spain: Rent two cars, one in France and one in Spain. Where you do this is up to youat the border, or take the train from Toulouse to Pamplona (or Tolouse to the border, etc.) But it's not hard for people who pack light. Answer for Italy: You do not need a car in France for "all the cities in the route" you outline. So you could take a night train to Venice (where you also do not need a car) and pick up your car when you leave for Bologna. If you actually want to see some of the things between Paris and Venice enroute, you can figure out when and where to pick up and drop off carsjust cross the border without one. What you get from this is a good two or three days not schlepping back to Paris that you can spend sightseeing. You love Paris? Then spend the days there. You can also save some travel time with one car a little bit by flying home from a more southern French airport, e.g. Toulouse or Nice, not Paris.