Rental car, pick up in one country return in another

Fees to drop a car in a second country are usually prohibitive. You'll have to do some research with rental firms to find out what they offer you.

A quick check of the AAA website, plugging in hypothetical dates for mid-Sept, is showing a one way drop fee of $670.
There are several non-stop flights between Vienna and Paris for less than $100, with Air France offering at least one for as little as $55.
Will be your call whether the convenience of having the vehicle outweighs the cost, realizing that it's at least a two day drive from Vienna to Paris.

Some have what I call the "driving gene" and never consider the use of mass transit, whether trains, planes and buses.

On this Forum, I've seen people report fees for dropping a car in another country ranging from €50 to €600. So, check with as many companies as possible to see what the best deal is, and then decide if you want to do your original plan something else. If the drop fee is too high, you can either connect countries with flights or train rides, or else plan a circular trip. Of course, nothing is cost-free. For instance, if you have to allow 1-2 days to drive back to your origin country, that will cost meals, nights in a hotel, etc. So, you may decide paying the drop fee is the best option, particularly divided four ways.

Places to check include Gemut, AutoEurope, Kemwel, and something like Kayak which will search multiple rental companies (Hertz, Europcar, Sixt, etc). Be sure you are looking at a car large enough to hold four adults, plus all the luggage out of sight (you don't want visible suitcases when you stop at a restaurant, for instance).

Thanks everyone. I'm starting to think we are better off doing the driving trip on another vacation. We can still rent a car in Paris and do some day trips. Thanks again!

Teri, Driving in and out of Paris multiple times is also a bad idea, and hotels in Paris are very unlikely to have parking (unless they are really expensive, and you will still have to pay for the parking).
How about taking a train or flying to Strasbourg, a place worth visiting. Then hire a car and take a few days to get to Paris, stopping off and drop the car as soon as you get to Paris. That way you are dropping off in the same country so no €€€€ fees.
Do a search on this forum or other places for "Alsace", this is the region of which Strasbourg is the capital, and has many places to see.
Also en route from Strasbourg to Paris are Reims and the Champagne country.

I've rented through AutoEurope and suggest you call them on their toll free number. Their staff is extremely helpful and knowledgable and can find you the rental with the cheapest drop off fee. Don't depend solely on Internet sites. Their personnel have access to sources not available to mere mortals.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I'm going to do more research and try to come up with a plan!

Using the train you could at least still see the scenery. Flying, you will miss it all. It doesn't make sense to say you want to drive because of the scenery, but then not consider an option that would allow you to see it without the expense of a car.

The problem with a train is I get terrible motion sickness. I don't think I can take it.

Motion sickness on trains but apparently not while in autos...a new discovery to me. Despite sometimes dreadful toilets, I love trains.

For me, there's no intrinsic value to one form of transportation over another. I choose based on what works best for the trip I'm planning. I always price as many options as possible, car, train, and plane. I also price dropping a car near the border, train across, then pick up a new rental there. Sometimes it's worth extra to travel the way you prefer, sometimes it's not - only you can decide the trade off for yourself.

Generally, I think a car works best when you want to make multiple stops along the way, especially if they aren't well served by public transportation. Trains work best when the trip is from city center to city center, without stops - and is under four hours of travel. When the trip gets longer than four hours, it's worth checking out plane fares. Often planes are both faster and cheaper than trains for longer legs.

Have to agree with both Brads here.... I am a frequent drive in Europe as I love road trips and have a curiosity about what lies between point A & B... and if I want to stop and see it, with a car that is my choice. Lots of my most amazing and unplanned experiences were because I had the freedom of my car. I have taken the train plenty, and I love it... the main problem is that I can't get it to stop for me when I see the sun setting over a beautiful field of sunflowers:) I am a photographer and love my road trips in Europe. I have also dropped in other countries... or left my car at the border and taken a train to the next destination... just check out all your options.

It is your trip and it should be as you want it. There are lots of lovely places to stop on that drive to see little out of the way villages or to have a roadside picnic.

A few months ago I was looking into car rentals for Austria/Switzerland/Germany and it looked to me like there was no significant difference between returning the car in the same country or a different one - I tried several combinations. France is probably another story. So look into driving from Austria to near the French border and dropping the car. Then either train to Paris or short train/bus trip across the border and another rental for France.

You said trains were not preferable "since we like to go at our own pace". Fair enough, but when presented with reasons why the train would be preferable to a flight, suddenly there is motion sickness involved (only on trains and not cars)?

Well,I cannot speak for the OP, but my grandson who gets motion sick does fine in the front seat of the car... we can stop if need be, he can roll down the window, and he can watch the horizon line (which helps).... However, he had a terrible time on our bus ride from Athens to Nafplio and on the tour bus around Athens..... you can't always get the front seat on a bus, or face forward on a train.

Hi there, We are actually 4 travellers (2 parents and 2 grown children) driving from Vienna to Arras, France this summer! We prefer to drive in certain areas as we can stop frequently along the way and make side trips. We will be mixing up our transport with trains and boats this summer as well. Whenever we decide to rent a car we do a spreadsheet (yes, geeky but effective!) and figure out how much train fare to all towns and villages we want to go to will be and compare it to the cost of car rental including the one way fee. This summer we are going to pay a one way fee of 500 euros. Huge, I know. But, after doing the math, train tickets or passes for all 4 of us came out to the same cost as the car rental. Actually, as we didn't factor in every stop we will make in the car, probably a bit cheaper. Then of course there will be the time savings. I love travelling by train and we will do an overnight from Amsterdam to Vienna to save quite a bit of the driving and then pick up the car in Vienna and make our way through Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and on to France. We are using Europecar for our rental. Hope this helps!