Car Hire in Tours

We will be in Tours in late September and require a small car for two people for five days.

Our arrival and departure is by train so would prefer railway staion pick-up and return rather than at the airport.

Any recommendations for a reliable, local operator rather than the large organisations?

Thanks, Pasc0.

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There are two I should recommend:

http://www.ecoto.fr/

http://www.ada.fr/

Both are near the train station.

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Sarastro - Any car rental agencies that have info in English :)?

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Avis is in the same building as the TGV train station at St. Pierre des Corps (the Tours TGV stop). They were very helpful, reasonably priced, and spoke good English.

I know you asked for local, but this was certainly easy.

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%26lt;%26lt;Any car rental agencies that have info in English%26gt;%26gt;

I am sorry Pasc0 but small, local operators will not have websites in English. You might try either the large corporate companies or try a broker which can usually obtain better pricing than we can on our own:

http://www.autoeurope.com/

easycar.com/car-hire/destination/France.aspx

http://www.easyterra.com/

http://www.france-car-hire-rental.com/

http://www.interrent.com/

http://www.kayak.com/cars

http://www.kemwel.com/

http://www.novacarhire.com/

departing CDG enough time

we depart Paris CDG at 11:40 AM on June 26 to USA on American Airlines. We are staying in the Tours area,and if we take the first TGV in AM from tours, we arrive at CDG at 9:42AM. Is that enough time for check-in? Has anyone done this?

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Normally I suggest arriving at the airport 3 hours before departure.

AA usually departs from 2A, The TGV arrives at Terminal 2 between 2C and 2E. If you are feeling lucky and you know exactly where to go, have no luggage to check or items needing stamping at the de-tax window, you can always give it a try.

Only you can weigh the seriousness of missing the flight by the unlikelihood of a late arriving train.

Six day itinerary - comments please!

Hi everyone, I have been lurking on these boards for months and it seemed like it would never be my turn - but finally it is only days until we leave for Paris!

Any comments on our six day itinerary? My husband has some mobility issues (dual hip replacement one year ago), so please let me know if these plans seem like too much!

Day One - Arrive CDG 8:30am. Shuttle to apartment in 7th. Drop off bags and wander around - get some groceries, get our Navigo Decouverte, get our bearings! Then head to Notre Dame and Ste Chappelle, followed by a quick bite to eat and (if we can stay awake) a cruise with Vedettes de Pont Neuf.

Day Two - Musee d%26#39;Orsay. Ile St. Louis and Berthillon. If we have any energy left, Musee Marmottan for evening opening.

Day Three - Musee de Cluny. Lunch at Jardin des Luxembourg. Catacombes. Dinner at Cafe Constant and walk to the Eiffel Tower.

Day Four - Louvre. L%26#39;Orangerie. Jardin de Tuileries. Place de la Concorde.

Day Five - Giverny in the morning. Picasso museum in the afternoon.

Day Six - Porte de Vanves Market in the morning. Galeries Lafayette/Printemps in the afternoon. Nice dinner (if we can afford it after Galeries Lafayette!)

Wow, putting this all down is making me see that it is really ambitious. DH especially is an art lover, so lots of museums - I am thinking that he can use a wheelchair in the larger museums to save himself for all of the other walking that Paris offers.

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It all looks like a lot of fun and very energetic. The only thing I see that you might have a problem with is the Catacombes, especially if your hubby has limited mobility as I read that there is quite a staircase to manoeuvre~ 130 steps down and 83 to go up.

www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm

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Thanks for the link, I love the warning: %26quot;Visit disadvised to the people suffering of cardiac or respiratory weakness and of nervous disease.%26quot; We will keep this as a %26#39;maybe%26#39;, although hubby has been doing the stairclimber at the gym so we might be ok. : )

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My knee is not the greatest either but I have left it on my list of things to possibly see. I will make up my mind once we get there. Also I%26#39;m still not sure if it is really amazing or just very creepy! lol

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I think all of the days sound do-able and not too exhausting. Because I was sick during my trip, I especially noticed that the museums have plenty of seats and benches if you need to stop and rest. Day 3 might be tight because the Catacombs (as I learned the hard way) close at 5 but they do not admit people after 4pm. So you%26#39;d have to fit that in early, and they say that most visits last at least 45 minutes.

Enjoy your trip!

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You may have a long wait at Ste. Chappelle. You should plan to arrive early unless you don%26#39;t mind waiting.

Buy your ticket to the d%26#39;Orsay a day or two in advance so you don%26#39;t have to wait in line the day you go. If you go to the Louvre, make SURE you see the state apartments.

Also, if you want to see the L%26#39;Orangerie you should book tickets in advance. I was in Paris for New Years and we wait in line in the cold for 45minutes to get into the L%26#39;Orangerie and this was December 29th!!

Avoiding the lines makes it easier to enjoy the museums. I suffer from back problems and if I wait in line for long times it makes it difficult to enjoy all of the museums.

trip report days 4 and 5

DAY 4: Thismorning we went to pl de la concorde to see the obelisk and then over to L%26#39;orangerie to visit monets water lillies.My hubby is not big on art, but was totally blown away by this beautiful work.Never thought i%26#39;d get him out of the place!Spent time looking around the rest of the gallery too-really enjoyable.Great little gift shop.

After lunch at le royal opera cafe on ave de l%26#39;opera,which was very good, we walked to grevin wax museum.Bit of a line up here,took about 30 mins to get in.Well worth the wait.Was our first visit to a wax museum and couldn%26#39;t believe how life like the figures were.When i came face to face with Pavarotti i just had to smile back at him!Had heaps of fun here.

Evening we took a bateux mouches river cruise(10 euro each).Lovely view of things going along the river and lots of people out partying along the river- not sure if this was normal for a thursday evening or if it was due to ascension day.

DAY 5: Left kids in bed thismorning and hubby and i headed to notre dame.We got there just before 9am and walked straight in.There wasn%26#39;t many people around at all .It was beautiful and peaceful inside and bought tears to my eyes.This felt like a very special place to me.

About 9.30 we lined up outside to climb the towers.This was good timing as we were the second group up and the line was massive by the time we went in.Quite a climb to the top, but what a reward!The view was amazing on this clear sunny morning.Stayed and lingered as long as we could.

Headed back to apartment and cooked lunch and then did postcards and a few souvenir shops. Headed to the louvre about 5.30.Walked straight in and then took awhile to get our bearings and find the egyptian department.Great stuff here.Continued our trek and got to the mona lisa about 8.30.Crowd was about 5 or 6 deep so within a few minutes we were at the front looking at this famous piece of art.Truly amazing moment.After making our way out we took some family photos outside and then headed home for the day.10.30pm tea and macarons before bed.

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Looks like you timed these days just right!!

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Forgot to say I loved L%26quot;Orangerie also. I waited 6 years to see it. First it was closed for renovation ,second time closed due to transportation strike , Third times a charm-the perfect setting for the Waterlilies-so serene.

Rest of the museum good too -Impressionists to Post Impressionists to Picasso.

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Yes i agree with you. we found L%26#39;orangerie to be a really manageable size for us with 2 teens (one with a bad head cold).A great variety of art work.Louvre was too overwhelming-only tackled a couple of areas there.

Plese help me buy tickets

I would like to purchase tickets online for LES GRANDES EAUX MUSICALES 2009. There are INTERNET TARIF PLEIN %26amp; INTERNET TARIF REDUIT. The website is www.rodrigue.fr/transact/VenteEnLigne.ASP… What is the difference in the tickets besides the price? Thanks for your time!

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The %26quot;tarif internet réduit%26quot; is for under-18, students, war invalids, holders of a Vinci card, holders of a %26quot;large family%26quot; card and the physically handicapped and their helper.

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Is this for at Versaille? If so....http://billetterie.chateauversailles.fr/online

You can read ticket choices in English and compare prices to the site you were looking at.

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Thank you both!

Advice for accomodation

I am going to Antibes and Nice in september. I have found some accomodations in Antibes Résidence Couleurs Soleil - Juan les Pins or Résidence d%26#39;Antibes Residéal. I want to hear your advice may be for another one.

How and Where to buy Navigo

I am planning to buyt the Navigo pass for a week.

Is it possible to buy it at the RER station at CDG airport? If not, can i buy it at Charonne station?

Can someone explain how to buy it?

One more question, if I buy a single ticket at CDG RERstation do I have to buy a new ticket to transfer to metro line?

Thank you in advance

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Yes, you can buy the Navigo at the airport. At the bottom of the escalator, the station is on your left. The attendant will speak passable, if not good, English. Ask for a weekly (hebdomadaire %26quot;hebdo%26quot;) Navigo card. Make sure to bring a headshot of yourself, about 1 inch square or passport size.

You do not need a new ticket to switch to the Metro.

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this link has a step by step guide

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k27314…

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Thanks, plan09. I was looking for that thread, as it is much more complete than my answer ever could be.

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Small additional note: they are sold until Wed. (noon?) of the current week, ending on Sunday. It is not possible, for example, to buy one valid from Thursday to Thursday.

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All of the complication with the machine to buy the Navigo card is not necessary if you just buy your pass at the ticket window. I had to wait in line (at the CDG T2 RER/SNCF station) but I was able to buy the Navigo Decouverte (zone 1-2) plus an RER ticket to Paris in one transaction

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It isn%26#39;t that hard to do. Just did it last week. Best bet is to go to the window and ask for the Navigo Decouvert Hedbomedaire (weekly pass for non-residents). Do bring a 3cm x 2.5cm picture (it is smaller than a passport size one). The attendant will put it together for you and charge it up on the spot especially if you are paying with an american credit card.

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Thank you everyone for your reply.

Now I am worried about getting to my hotel by metro with 26inch luggage which is really heavy and the pockpickets. Any suggestions on pickpocketers?

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I%26#39;m assuming the person who said it was only available til noon is just speculating? If this is true it%26#39;s really worrying, as I arrive just after noon tomorrow and want to buy a Navigo card.

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ilovetotravel, just make sure all the zippers, and other closure devices, on your luggage, backpack etc. are all shut. Keep your purse close to you and keep a watchful eye. If you appear alert, the pickpocketers will look for an easier target.

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ilovetotravel031,

I had to pipe in here again. You will be fine with your luggage and personal belongings. The best advice I can give is just take your time with your stuff and getting to where you need to go. By doing this you are aware of your surroundings and your personal belongings. The very idea that someone is around every corner to get you is not the mind set you should have or is it the true situation. You just need to be aware that such a thing could happen, not that it will happen. So relax and just go through the motions like someone who is on a mission.