Driving Advice - Paris to Lucerne

Posted by gdmplc66 on 01/04/15 03:33 AM

Any advice regarding a Multi - Country October trip that my wife and I are planning (primarily by train) with a driving leg between Paris and Lucerne ?

Has anyone driven this route before ? Any advice ?

I am looking at picking up a car at Orly A/P and dropping off at Bern A/P. The pricing with these locations is most reasonable thru Auto Europe - found on Skyscanner. Anyone with experience with this rental company ?

We are considering one or two nights in the Dijon area before continuing to Lucerne. Any suggestions regarding lodging ?

Thanks !!

Posted by Chris F

Basel, Switzerland

01/04/15 11:12 AM

8889 posts

Are you sure you've included the cost of the one-way hire dropoff? Dropoff in a different country to the one you picked up the car in is usually very expensive.
Most French Autoroutes charge tolls, you should budget for this. You will also need an Autobahn Vignette for Switzerland, cost 40 Franks. You can buy this at the border.

Why are you dropping off the car at Bern Airport (a small and little used airport) when you are heading for Luzern? That would mean taking a bus from the airport to Bern, and then a train to Luzern.

Posted by Harold

New York, NY, USA

01/04/15 11:58 PM

11294 posts

Auto Europe is a broker, so they work with multiple car rental companies. As Chris said, make sure any quote you get includes the charge for picking up in France and dropping off in Switzerland. Call them if you can't get this online: 1-888-223-5555. Also check with the rental companies directly.

If you don't like the extra fee, consider dropping the car in France (say, Mulhouse) and taking a train the rest of the way into Switzerland.

I didn't drive in Luzern, but it's not a large city, and driving didn't look difficult, so I wouldn't be afraid to drop a car there (as long as I had EXACT directions about the drop off point). If you want to drop off at an airport, use Zurich Airport, which has direct train service to Luzern (one per hour with no changes, and others with a change in downtown Zurich).

Posted by Zeeba

PNW

01/05/15 04:03 AM

60 posts

Totally useless, but we rented in Germany and dropped the car off in France and the fee was maybe $150. Not a lot by any stretch, especially when spread over 18 days. The convenience of a car was worth every penny.