Driving to Paris

We are planning a trip to France and will be renting a car at CDG and driving to Normandy. We will then return to Paris, return the car, and finish the vacation in Paris in the Rue Cler area.

My question is this: Which would be the biggest hassle? 1. Returning the car to the airport and then coming into the city by mass transit or

2. Driving into the city and returning the car at the Hertz place at Invalides.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

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I think it all depends on what time and what day you enter the city. If it isn%26#39;t during rush hour, I%26#39;d return it in the city. Even during rush hour, I might still return it into the city. Did you look at returning it to Gare de Lyon ? I found that an easier place to get to from outside the city.

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Be absolutely certain that the car rental considers any Paris return location a %26quot;same location%26quot; return. There is a large fee for returning a rental car to a different city.

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%26gt;%26gt;There is a large fee for returning a rental car to a different city.%26lt;%26lt;

Not usually in Europe. Provided you return within the same country, these fees are small and some companies (Europcar, for example) do not charge anything.

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%26lt;%26lt;There is a large fee for returning a rental car to a different city.%26gt;%26gt;

This is one of the reasons I recommend avoiding Hertz and Avis. I have never paid a different city (in France) drop off with Europcar, Sixt, Citer, or any of the European companies.

%26lt;%26lt;Driving into the city and returning the car at the Hertz place at Invalides. %26gt;%26gt;

On Saturday or other than rush hour in Paris, a drop off at les Invalides is cheaper and probably a lot faster than CDG which will take you 45 minutes to one hour just to return to the city.

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Look at where you have to drive to return the car. I have driven in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle, and driving in Paris looked intimidating. We had no trouble driving between towns on highways or secondary roads, but in the cities there are a lot of one way streets, narrow windy streets, and you have to know the international street signs because there are not words on them. (You need to know these in other places too, but you%26#39;re not making as quick decisions about where to go). We returned our car in Normandy and took the train back to Paris.

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Go to youtube and type in Paris traffic. Make up your own mind after viewing the results! They all appear genuine - traffic really is like that.

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I don%26#39;t find that driving into Paris is any harder than driving around the airport. You can doubtless find a return spot close to your hotel, so drive right there and avoid the hassle of getting back from the airport. Only problem may be parking while finding someone to take the car, but that could be as easy as pulling into a parking garage, if you%26#39;re lucky. I don;t know where the Hertz facility is. Can%26#39;t you find a better deal than Herrtz?

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Compare prices. Avis is about half the price of Europcar so their drop off fee may add up to less anyway.