Rental cars

In general, you might not want to drive in Paris. Many of the main streets have lots of traffic and parking can be difficult and expensive. However, Renting a car as you exit Paris to drive through France is great. We did this recently from Barcelona to Paris. In France, the highways are great but they are also toll roads. You will pay about €0.07/kM. On some 100kM trips, we paid €18. But, the large highways were great with light traffic. The reason the traffic is so light is that there are usually parallel roads with no tolls that are smaller and go through the small villages and towns. Those are very busy with cars and lots of big trucks. But, if you want the really nice scenery, you need to be on the smaller roads. About half of our 2000kM drive through France was on these smaller roads.

Will you be allowed to drive into Spain? - Yes. But one tip is that you should try to return the car in France, because if you rent it in France and return it in Spain, you'll be charged a "one-way dropoff" fee, which can be substantial. Major roads in both countries are very good, and driving itself won't be a problem. Fuel and toll costs are high pretty much throughout western Europe.

Tom is correct. We were in Barcelona but we actually rented our car in Nimes, France. We took the train from the Barcelona Sants train station to Nimes with a train change (Renfe to TGV) in Figueres-Villifant. The car rental facilities are right in the train station (as they are in many train stations in France). It is suggested that you turn in your car before you leave France and take the train into Spain. If you want another car in Spain, rent it in country. It will be a whole lot less expensive.

Coming out of Paris, I suggest you start by taking the train to your first sight you planned to see. If you really want to start driving ASAP you could rent a car at Orly Airport or Versailles. That's assuming you are going to not hit northern France. If going north, Caen is a good spot for a car pick up. You can pick up and drop off cars during your trip if you find you don't need a car for a few days. You end up balancing any special longer rental rates off against the cost of the daily rental and any parking. Ed knows almost everything so he really needs to pop in here.

Taking it in order: I would never get a car in one country and drop it in another because of the expense. I often spend an extra day just to get the car back to the country in which I rented it since it works out to be cheaper - - to this end, open jaw flights are not always the answer if you're going to do a lot of driving. I drive in and out of Paris without a problem. I don't drive around within the city since it takes too darn long to find a parking place and walking, or even the metro, is much faster. In most cases I can't agree with taking a train to the first stop and then picking up a car. You're paying for both a train and a car on the same day. Also, from a standing start at a Paris train station, I can drive and beat the train to either Rouen of Chartres - - I can't beat a TGV to anywhere. I can't agree with turning in a car for a few days and then getting another one. The price of two short-term rentals is way more than a single one for the entire period. Tolls are steep in France. I think I spent close to two hundred bucks last year in one day driving from Dunkerque to Bordeaux. I always use cash for the tolls. BUT - - take my ideas with a grain of salt and run all the computations to the bottom line. I rent a car for a month at a time, always. I've also been driving in Europe for more than fourty years so I might not even notice some of the things that might bug somebody else.

Thank you all for your help and for sharing your experiences. I think I need to clearify a few things and I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner. We planning on renting a car at the airport and driving streight to Normandy, and spending some time seeing the D-day beaches and learning more about WWII. We will make our way slowly south along the western coast of France. Our main concern was taking the rental car into northern Spain for security reasons. Are rental cars safe or are they a target for thieves? After leaving Bilba and possibly Barcelonia we will return to the Paris airport by way of Languedoc, Dordogue and Loire regions of France. We are skipping Paris this trip and we have a total of twenty-five days. I love this website, and I love everyones comments. Your advice about great places to stay, and eat are so valueable. I especially love to hear about fellow travelers "don't miss" adventures. The weak dollor does not make it the ideal time to go to Europe. I just don't know if there will ever be an ideal time again. Life is too short!

Your plan will work. Don't worry about taking the car into Spain - - I've screwed up and left mine unlocked more times than I can count.

If you can drive in a major city like Philly or DC or LA, you will have absolutely no problem driving in France or Spain. Our family has found that a GPS makes all the difference in the tension level when on a road trip and I really recommend renting or buying it. As far as cars are concerned, your car carefully as American ideas of "midsize" do not translate to French. A VW Passat may be a luxury full size, so pack accordingly- one carryon and one daybag per person and check the dimensions of the trunk. I'm sure you've already already read to leave nothing where it can be seen, and leave the glovebox/console open if you want a clear conscience. I was amused when last summer in Brussels the car rental agent suggested the maximum insurance for taking the car into France; in his experience the French had the same reputation as the Italians for theft. ( and for the record, the insurance more than doubled the car cost- yet was worth every penny when a kid in the Netherlands backed into me and damaged the front grille a bit - estimated 1800 euros). Get the insurance!
Be very aware that speeding tickets in France are exorbitant- this is not the autobahn. I found the roads to be in good shape with good signage, and the scenery wonderful. The brown signs indicate tourist interest and are often worth a detour.