We are planning to spend two weeks in France in October. We'll be flying in and out of Paris. The tentative plan is to spend about half the time in Paris and half in Normandy. It sure looks like a car could be useful in Normandy. I gather that once you get there your options to travel to other places in Normandy using public transportation might not be that good. Is there a handy place to rent a car in Paris and just head out of town? I don't think I want to schlep out to CDG with our luggage just to rent a car. Or is all of this crazy and we should take a train to someplace in Normandy and rent a car there?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
If you get the car at Nord, escape from the city is easy and you can see all the stuff on the way north.
Posted by
OP
Richardson, TX, USA
153 posts
Ed, interesting. Will investigate.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
We rented our car at Gare Nord from Hertz. We made two right hand turns and followed the Avenue/Rue that runs to the periferique and turned left there and were on our way to Normandy. Very easy and Hertz provided a map-no English spoken. This was several years ago.
Posted by
OP
Richardson, TX, USA
153 posts
Sounds good. Our rental experience in France was limited to Marseille. That was a little too exciting - finding the Hertz place on the way back was very difficult, and we had a built-in GPS in the car. Now - I wonder about the tolls. Of course, our credit cards don't have chips.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
The tolls from Paris to Caen/Bayeux will run about twenty-five euro. Reviews of credit card use are mixed. I always use cash.
All toll plazas along that route will have a manned lane which can give change. All freeway gas stations will be able to take your credit card inside.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2903 posts
Here's another idea: We took the train to Chartres and rented a car there. We rented from Hertz, which was a fairly long walk from the train station, but it worked out well. We stopped to see the cathedral in Chartres, which is amazing, before we headed on to Dinan, then Normandy.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Carroll's idea of including Chartres has a great deal of merit. When I take folks on the Normandy loop, I usually go up through Rouen and back through Chartres since the flow/timing seems to work a little better. I think it's a crime to be within a hundred miles of Chartres and not stop. I can't agree with the idea of paying for both a train and a car on the same day. The tickets probably cost about twenty bucks each and the ride is about an hour. You can drive it in exactly the same time, spend twenty dollars total for tolls and gas, and not have to hoof it from the train station to the car place.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
I agree with Ed that paying for a train and a rental car on the same day is folly, but, you know, Rouen is a very interesting place and taking the train there, staying overnight, seeing the city and then picking up your rental for the onward journey might be worth considering. I can recommend the Hotel Cathedral for your one night there.