Arriving from London to Paris via train, first time to Paris, later on Friday night. Any tips / lessons learned for renting a car? Problems with picking up on Saturday?
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10634 posts
For renting a car to drive outside Paris, see autoeurope.com.
A car in Paris would be a handicap. You can get around easily with public transportation.
Posted by
Beverly Hills, MI
813 posts
Seriously, I can think of no better way to absolutely ruin a first, second or nth trip to Paris than to have a rental car. The traffic is insane and there is no place to park. Use the excellent public transportation and taxis.
Posted by
OP
Dublin, Ohio, United States
2 posts
Thanks for the comments, let me rephrase as I think I am being misunderstood. I am not interested in driving IN Paris. I am ARRIVING in Paris and need to drive to Normandy. I expect to get into Paris AFTER normal close of business. I simply would like to know if anyone has encountered weekend-related problems to car pick up (fewer locations open, shorter open hours, etc.) That's all. I study in London, have toured through Europe a good bit and not interested in driving in Paris.
Posted by
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
355 posts
If you go to the rental websites (Autoeurope, Avis, Hertz, etc) and enter the date and time you want to pick up the car, they will show you which locations are open at that time.
Posted by
Lakeville, MN
68 posts
If you have to rent the car in Paris, try and leave on a Sunday morning. City will be quieter and much easier to navigate if you haven't driven in a large Europeon city.
This will limit places to pick up a car, I would check one of the train stations. One other tip, rent or buy a chip for your nav system, invaluable.