we are traveling for first time to paris with a 3 year old so no. of questions. 1. we reach on tgv from toulouse to montparnasse at 11:18 at night and our hotel is left bank, st. germain how do we go and are cabs available - how much? 2. we'll be in paris for 2 days and than have 3 more days so thought would check the countryside and have reserved a bed and breakfast near mantes le jolie. good idea? acco. to the host, we need a car. our flight is from cdg on 5th so v should be at the airport latest by 10 am. is that realistic from mantes le jolie? i tried to find out how early to return a car, first train to st. lazare but no concreate answer. the hertz website has no online reservation for this location. do u think we'll be in trouble without advance booking and ofcourse - i don't want to pay a lot...
backup would be to go back to paris on 4th. in that situation, what area is reasonable not too far from the airport? 3. do u think breaking the trip between paris and country is a good idea? any other small towns that are connected by train where we can stay without renting a car, walk/ bike around and take a train back. merci.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
It's a short ride from Gare Montparnasse to the Saint-Germain area so the taxi fare shouldn't be much, even at evening rates. My guess is that you won't pay more than €10. Just wait in line at one of the taxi ranks at the station. Why not drive directly from Mantes-la-Jolie to CDG and turn in your car there? According to viamichelin.com, it's about a one-hour drive. Paris deserves all the time you can give it, but your plan to spend some time in the countryside certainly is workable. Giverny and Mantes-la-Jolie are fairly close to each other so driving between them won't take long.
Posted by
OP
downingtown
4 posts
thanks how tough is it to drive from mantes la jolie to cdg and what's the best way to go? is it difficult for first time visitors. also, after returning the car, how far are the terminals and how well are they connected?