Driving in Paris – good idea?

Here's a list of car rental firms available at Charles de Gaulle Airport :
http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/...vices/Services-Pratiques/Location-De-Voiture/

You can also use this site for finding a flat to rent on a weekly basis or even for a few days :
http://www.homelidays.com/FR-Locations-Vacances/fr_iledefrance_75-paris_fr/list_r2.asp

Use public transports in Paris, surface and underground. It's always a good way to get immersed in local life, and of course it gives opportunities for interesting shots.

Have a pleasant trip.
 
I've driven in Paris many times - from borrowing a German-plated VW when I lived there to schlepping over my right-hand-drive car from London.

Never had a problem (and it can be quite fun on the cobbles in the rain) - it's quite logical if you just remember that the only rule is "give way to the right".

That said, Paris is a surprisingly small city (at least the centre) - it's probably easier and more pleasurable to just use public transport and your two feet.
 
urban_alchemist said:
That said, Paris is a surprisingly small city (at least the centre) - it's probably easier and more pleasurable to just use public transport and your two feet.
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Or ride a bicycle! Paris' bicycle renting scheme (Velib, I think it's called) is cheap and easy. I had great fun riding around Paris a few years back.
 
If you think driving in Paris is "interesting", then definitely don't rent a car in Cairo !

But the best advice is just use public transport, same as most other people in Paris.
 
Renting at the airport makes sense: well outside Paris itself. As others have said, driving isn't a problem, but parking is.

You might find the following short story riding a motorcycle in Paris amusing: http://www.mctie.com/fiction/fiction.html. Others have said that it captures the mood of the Champs Elysées (Elysian Fields) quite well, even though it's set some 20 years ago.

Cheers,

R.
 
Driving in Paris: bad idea! There is much too much traffic; it's hard to tell where the lanes are, at times, or where you are supposed to go; you can't believe that you, or the other cars, will get through the traffic jams you find yourself in. It often looks as if mass collision is inevitable. You will see that many Parisians use motorcycles. There's a reason for that. People you meet who live outside of Paris will say there is no way they would drive in Paris. My wife and I did it. Never again. Driving in Provence, for example, while still challenging, is more doable. Watch out for French drivers in the roundabouts! We met French folks in Provence who said they don't care to drive in Paris.
 
urban_alchemist said:
Never had a problem (and it can be quite fun on the cobbles in the rain) - it's quite logical if you just remember that the only rule is "give way to the right".
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That is right, it even applies on the ring (périphérique). Too many times have I seen near misses because foreigners do not give priority to cars entering the ring. Applies to the Arch of triumph roundabout too, probably the most thrilling driving spot in Paris ;)

To me the real danger in Paris is the fear of hitting a motorcyclist, they do drive like madmen and if one is not accustomed to it and very careful, is very easy to provoke an accident.
 
Rob-F said:
Driving in Paris: bad idea! There is much too much traffic; it's hard to tell where the lanes are, at times, or where you are supposed to go; you can't believe that you, or the other cars, will get through the traffic jams you find yourself in. It often looks as if mass collision is inevitable. You will see that many Parisians use motorcycles. There's a reason for that. People you meet who live outside of Paris will say there is no way they would drive in Paris. My wife and I did it. Never again. Driving in Provence, for example, while still challenging, is more doable. Watch out for French drivers in the roundabouts! We met French folks in Provence who said they don't care to drive in Paris.
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What's challenging about driving in Provence?

Cheers,

R.
 
urban_alchemist said:
Or Tel-Aviv. I have friends that insist it's alright to reverse back up a motorway if they've missed the exit...
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Or Delhi. Red light? No problem. Drive on the other side of the road. There's no red light there, after all.

Actually, the only place I WON'T drive at all is Italy. It's not that they're uniquely bad drivers: they're no worse than Greeks, Maltese, Indians, Mexicans (to name some of the other places I've driven) or Chinese (where I've only been driven). But Italians are uniquely aggressive bad drivers. Middle-aged men drive like teenage boys, and at least half of them think they own the road.

After five trips there, spread across a decade or more, I have come to the conclusion that I've not just had bad luck. An awful lot of Italians are truly rotten drivers. On my first trip we were rear-ended on the motorcycle and Frances couldn't walk for three days. After that we took the Land Rover. On our first Land Rover trip -- 5000 km or more -- I saw no serious accidents (big enough to cause traffic hold-ups as they waited for the ambulance) in France, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Germany or Switzerland, but I saw five in Italy. On my last trip, I had to brake hard as I encountered the first roundabout after entering the country -- a motorcyclist shot through without looking or slowing down -- and 10-15 km later the traffic was held up for 20 minutes or so because of a motorcyclists' attempts to distribute himself and his machine more evenly around the countryside. It may have been the same guy.

Cheers,

R.
 
There is nothing wrong with driving patiently. Just make sure your insurance is square and you know what to do and who to call in the case of an accident. A cell phone is a great idea. I never found driving in Italy or France any worse than Boston or Quebec, the two worst places to drive in North America.

Actually Boston is the worst. I've seen guys with Harvard stickers on their window look like they were about to shoot me, thank God those liberals had their guns taken away.
 
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Roger Hicks said:
Actually, the only place I WON'T drive at all is Italy.
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Agreed, Italy is TERRIFYING. My wife and I drove around Palermo on our honeymoon for like an hour, trying to find the Capuchin Catacombs. (In the end, we succeeded, miraculously!) Highway speeds in alleys so narrow you have to fold over your sideview mirrors. Total insanity. New York was nothing after that!
 
Frank Petronio said:
There is nothing wrong with driving patiently. Just make sure your insurance is square and you know what to do and who to call in the case of an accident. A cell phone is a great idea. I never found driving in Italy or France any worse than Boston or Quebec, the two worst places to drive in North America.

Actually Boston is the worst. I've seen guys with Harvard stickers on their window look like they were about to shoot me, thank God those liberals had their guns taken away.
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Agreed about Boston--also Detroit. In and around Detroit it's like, "We make the cars, we'll dirve 'em however we want."
 
claude lelouche? really? wow! that was quite a ride. I lost count of how many red lights he ran. that certainly got my adrenaline flowing.

having spent major chunks of my life driving in places in like NYC and Chicago, I have to say that Paris is definitely not for the faint of heart behind the wheel. and, as others have said here, parking is not exactly fun. Yanidel's advice is probably good since your aim is to travel from Paris to other places. however, if you liked Robert/Mabelsound's suggestion, consider this as an option (spotted a year ago on my last visit there):

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I think you can rent one of these for about $1000/day.

mabelsound said:
Just be sure that you drive like this
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Just be careful when you drive and adapt. Have lived in Paris and go there a couple of times a year, but I always use taxis (not very expensive), metro (I have a card I just charge for a week when I am there) or my feet. Never really cared for the Velib (rental bikes you can use throughout the city, you just return them to one of the special parking places), I am Dutch we love using bikes to move around, but I notice in Paris the 4 wheeled traffic is not yet used to two-weelers and saw a couple of near misses which were hair raising and made me decide to not use a bicycle in Paris. Parking as many before have written is a nightmare and if you park in the underground garages it is actually rather expensive. Feet, metro, taxi in that order is my advice.
 
I lived in Paris from 1978-1982 and drove everywhere. (I was a jazz drummer and needed a car.) Traffic was like that in any major city. For the last year I drove a tiny Fiat that had no brakes! Had to pay attention, keep my distance, downshift, and use the handbrake to stop the car. Not for the faint of heart but it worked for me! -George
 
It's the 90-degree turns on the motorway that get me...
Who the heck ok'd those?!?!
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Up until 1982, a major thoroughfare in Chicago had a coupe of famous 90* turns aptly called the "s-curve".
Look here.
Thankfully this has been redone.
 
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