Travelling to Amsterdam/Brussels/Leuven/Bruges, then Vimy Memorial and D-Day Beaches before a week in Paris. Probably train mostly, but need a car for Vimy and Normandy. Any ideas for pickup, drop off cities? Train to Arles and to Bayeaux and then just rent locally or take a weekly rental and drop it off at Charles de Gaulle? Is it horrendous to drive that close to Paris?
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Heather: I know you mean ARRAS and not Arles and if you are going to Vimy Ridge, there is a shuttle service from Arras to the Vimy Memorial from April until end of September, so depending on the time of year for your visit, you may not need a car until you get to Bayeux. Have you gone onto the Canadian Government web site for Vimy Ridge? Lots of info there.
Posted by
Christchurch, NZ
46 posts
We recently rented a car in France, picked up at St Malo drove through Normandy and dropped off at CDG. We didn't find it too "horrendous" driving that close to Paris. As stated in the previous reply, it is freeways the whole way, just get yourself a good map. We managed, and we are used to driving in the South Island of New Zealand, didn't even know what an "interchange" was, and had never seen a road with 3 lanes in one direction!
Posted by
Kansas
1175 posts
We had a hassle-free car rental experience this past May. Three car rental agencies are right across the street from the rail station at Caen. We used Autoeurope. All are open at 8AM on Saturdays, unlike rental offices in some smaller towns which are closed weekends. We drove around Normandy and Brittany for 5 days using our GPS and a Michelin map, it's only 20 miles to Bayeux, returned the car and caught the train into Paris. Having a car allowed us to wander about and stay in delightful little B&B's in rural areas, rather than staying in hotels in cities and taking tours of the beaches and MSM.
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