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Driving in Paris
Posted by ryanlesh on 8/7/18 at 1:24 pm00
Visiting Paris in 2 weeks. Planning on renting a car and spending several days visiting areas outside the city. I have read mixed info on web sites about what an American needs to drive legally. I thought a passport and US license wold suffice but I have seen sites mention an International Driving permit. Does anyone have experience with driving in France?
This post was edited on 8/7 at 1:26 pm
re: Driving in ParisPosted by BlackenedOut on 8/7/18 at 1:27 pm to ryanlesh
You can drive in France with nothing more than a passport and a driver's license.
Driving in France can get pricey if you use the Autoroute, but stick to regional roads and you'll enjoy better scenery and no tolls.
ETA: Would not recommend driving in Paris. Fantastic public transport and a great walking city, but driving to places outside of Paris would be ok (although may be better off taking train).
Driving in France can get pricey if you use the Autoroute, but stick to regional roads and you'll enjoy better scenery and no tolls.
ETA: Would not recommend driving in Paris. Fantastic public transport and a great walking city, but driving to places outside of Paris would be ok (although may be better off taking train).
This post was edited on 8/7 at 1:28 pm
Wow, good luck getting out of Paris. We drive all over France, but we took the train to Dijon to rent the vehicle. Stayed in a b&b outside of Dijon, since we had a vehicle, and just took off from there. We went south from there and it was so damn beautiful. Be ready for roundabouts.
Returned the vehicle in Dijon and rode the train back to Paris.
Returned the vehicle in Dijon and rode the train back to Paris.
Can you take a train to your first destination outside the city and rent/return the rental car there? I rented at the airport last fall & drove all around Normandy....getting out of town was fine, but a week later, returning the car was a long slog across Paris. Interesting enough to see the odd bits of urban outskirts, but heavy traffic, tolls, and required several detours because of construction.
Driving in rural (non-Paris) France was easy peasy. Spring for the GPS/nav and you'll have no problems. Several times, the nav system re-routed us due to traffic or detours. It saved us lots of navigational headaches. Plus, we made it to a number of out-of-the-way sights inaccessible via train.
Driving in rural (non-Paris) France was easy peasy. Spring for the GPS/nav and you'll have no problems. Several times, the nav system re-routed us due to traffic or detours. It saved us lots of navigational headaches. Plus, we made it to a number of out-of-the-way sights inaccessible via train.
Have you been to Paris? The drivers there make Baton Rouge drivers look like polite little old ladies who have had professional driver training.
NO WAY I would even attempt to drive a rental inside the city. Listen to the people saying to rent a car out of town and drive/return to there.
NO WAY I would even attempt to drive a rental inside the city. Listen to the people saying to rent a car out of town and drive/return to there.
quote:
Have you been to Paris? The drivers there make Baton Rouge drivers look like polite little old ladies who have had professional driver training.
NO WAY I would even attempt to drive a rental inside the city. Listen to the people saying to rent a car out of town and drive/return to there.
Paris is pretty tame, compared to Naples.
I rented a car there with my US Driver's License and Passport.
I did not find the driving there too bad, but one thing you should know is that on the fine print in 95% of the rental agreements in France it says that even with insurance you are not covered and responsible for any accidents in the Arc de Triumph circle. So avoid that if you do drive.
I usually use Europcar when over there, and avoid Sixt if you can.
I did not find the driving there too bad, but one thing you should know is that on the fine print in 95% of the rental agreements in France it says that even with insurance you are not covered and responsible for any accidents in the Arc de Triumph circle. So avoid that if you do drive.
I usually use Europcar when over there, and avoid Sixt if you can.
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Yeah don't worry about it OP, driving in Paris will be like driving in any big city. Best to avoid but just do what you have to do.
The international driver's license is a joke. I'm sure it helps someone at some point. But its literally a green piece of paper that has a paragraph and information in a bunch of different languages. Its absolutely nothing official, and just a money maker from AAA. I mean you buy it from AAA, how legit can it be? Its basically just to translate your driver's license into other languages, but in France it will be useless as your American license would be legible for them.
If your license is in Arabic, then I'd get one.
As said, definitely either get a car GPS or be able to use your phone. Avoid those monster round a bouts, and just prepare for the first day to be stressful. After the first day and you learn the basic road signs and what not, driving in europe is a blast.
The international driver's license is a joke. I'm sure it helps someone at some point. But its literally a green piece of paper that has a paragraph and information in a bunch of different languages. Its absolutely nothing official, and just a money maker from AAA. I mean you buy it from AAA, how legit can it be? Its basically just to translate your driver's license into other languages, but in France it will be useless as your American license would be legible for them.
If your license is in Arabic, then I'd get one.
As said, definitely either get a car GPS or be able to use your phone. Avoid those monster round a bouts, and just prepare for the first day to be stressful. After the first day and you learn the basic road signs and what not, driving in europe is a blast.
re: Driving in ParisPosted by BlackenedOut on 8/7/18 at 8:11 pm to ryanlesh
Important question no one asked, where exactly are you planning on driving to outside of Paris? Technically, the whole universe is outside of Paris.
re: Driving in ParisPosted by ryanlesh on 8/8/18 at 12:49 pm to BlackenedOut
Good responses guys, I do not plan on driving in Paris except when leaving the city and going back to CDG airport.
I’m driving out of the city to see family in Dinard (western coast) then up to Normandy, Bayeaux and Et tratat.
I’m driving out of the city to see family in Dinard (western coast) then up to Normandy, Bayeaux and Et tratat.
quote:
I’m driving out of the city to see family in Dinard (western coast) then up to Normandy, Bayeaux and Et tratat
Obviously, if you're going to Dinard, St. Malo is a must, but I'd make the effort to go to Cancale and eat oysters. On your way to Bayeux, you can stop in Villedieu-les-Poeles, where the Mauviel (copper cookware) factory is located. The village has a tradition of copper crafting, so if you're looking for useful souvenirs, it's an interesting place.
Bayeux has a fantastic Saturday market on a parking lot in the middle of town.....Etretat is beautiful!
re: Driving in ParisPosted by BlackenedOut on 8/8/18 at 8:50 pm to ryanlesh
Just suggestion but it may be more economical to train it out of Paris and then rent from your first stop.
re: Driving in ParisPosted by WacoTiger on 8/8/18 at 9:06 pm to BlackenedOut
My wife and I drove over 1,800 miles last summer staring and ending at the Paris Airport. We used Waze and it was incredibly easy. Driving was like in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston or Dallas. You don't need an international driver's license. We used mostly toll roads when driving out of the city and it was also very easy. Cost is about $20 per 200 miles and they have toll booths. Waze gives you the speed limit and your driving speed. Watch out for "enforcement zones" which are un-maned photo speed zones. You can't exceed the speed limit by even 1 KPH in those zones and but can drive like a bat out of hell when not in a speed zone. We never saw a cop our whole trip. Waze tells you about the enforcement zones and they are also in the smaller cities. There are a lot of roundabouts (traffic circles). We had a blast over 20 days and saw a lot of the country. I normally take trains in Europe, but we were glad we took a car in France. They also drive on the correct side of the road, unlike the UK.
re: Driving in ParisPosted by BlackenedOut on 8/8/18 at 9:11 pm to WacoTiger
After a week or so of driving in France earlier this year I am willing to trade every stop sign and red light in America for a roundabout. They are the best.
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