Paris to Normandy to CDG

Would it make sense to take a train out of the city before picking up a car?

Whatever rings your bell. I once dropped a couple at Gare Lazare because they wanted the 'train experience' and was waiting for them after having a coffee when they walked out of the Caen station. Admittedly, I didn't stop on the way up and they had to buy tickets and find the platform, but the timing is real close. You'll be paying for the car the same day, so paying for a train as well doesn't make a lot of sense. Tolls and gas won't come close to the price of the tickets. Getting out of Paris is easy - - my pick would be to get the car at Nord (large selection and easy egress), but other places would work almost as well.

How difficult will it be to return a car at the airport and is the rental return in or close to the terminal?

Easy to find your way in. The return is right across from the terminal.

Should we keep the car at the hotel and . . . .

Nope. There's mid-range and budget hotels at the terminal or a five-minute shuttle bus ride away. Save your money.

Thank you for the information. That is kind of what I was thinking, but having never been there before, I wasn't sure about where to pick up the car. We will be renting an apartment on Ille de St. Louis while in Paris, what would be the closest pick-up spot, or should be take the metro to a better starting point?

Boy, you sure don't make it easy.

There's no metro stations on the island and Metro 7 over on the right bank isn't much help. Places with a good supply are Gare de Lyon, Porte Maillot, or Nord. To get to one of the three, you'd have to transition at the Chatelet / Les Halles complex which ain't much fun with luggage. Maillot is the easiest escape. Nord is real easy. Lyon gives you a couple of doozy places to screw up if you aren't used to driving in Paris but you could almost walk over there (about a mile).

I don't have the dangedest idea how to build a bus itinerary.

I'd be tempted to toss twenty-five bucks or so at a taxi for a ride to either Nord or Maillot. If I were traveling real light, I'd metro myself to either of the two.

Another option, if you can tote your junk the half mile to the Saint Paul metro station, is that Metro 1 is a no-changer all the way to Porte Maillot.

The last viable option is to walk over to Ile de la Cite and take Metro 4 up to Nord. Depending on where you are on Ile Saint Louis, that won't be much more than half a mile, maybe less.

Thanks again. We will be traveling light, so can either walk to a metro or take a cab. But it is very helpful to know where we should look to pick up a car.