Cliff09

I am looking to rent a car in Paris from Europcar for just a couple of days to do a trip to Belgium. I dont have firsthand experience with Europcar so am looking for some feedback. I would like to get the car early and Gare Lyon has an office opens at 6:30 am. Any information/suggestions would be most appreciated.

Michael

Depending on what you plan to do in Belgium, the train might be cheaper and more efficient.

Facing the Gare de Lyon, the office is on the street to the right of the station (on the south side).

kerouac

The Gare du Nord office also opens early.

If you book through www.autoeurope.com, the rate for unlimited mileage for either 2 or 3 days is the same.

Gretchen

Take the train and either rent there or use public transport.

Alec

The drive to and from Belgium is on autoroute along flat, featureless landscape, with heavy industry and dense traffic near the border (Lille - Roubaix - Tourcoing). Unless you want to stop off several times en route, I agree with others in travelling by train.

BigRuss

Thinking Gretchen is right. Just getting the car out from Gare de Lyon's parking area and driving out of Paris will take you about half as long as the train will to get you to your Belgian destination.

pariswat

If you're not too many, train is good option.
Book thalys 90 days in advance and if you need car, rent it from Brussels.
First Thalys arrives about 8 am in Brussels.

kerouac

Travel time on the Thalys is about 1h20. However, since the OP said they were going to "Belgium," that does not automatically mean just Brussels. For example, Mons is the European capital of culture this year, Bruges is always amazing, and a lot of the other cities are nice.

Driving out of Paris, one can visit many battlefields around Arras, the Louvre in Lens (free!) and lovely architectural ensembles such as in Valenciennes.

StuDudley

>>many battlefields around Arras<<

And the city itself is quite nice with two separate arcaded squares. We're planning on a day-trip there from Paris this October (it was raining last time we were in Arras).

Stu Dudley

kerouac

I made a report about both Arras and the battlefields and cemeteries at the end of last year:

Arras: http://tinyurl.com/lrdvpa7

the cemeteries and battlefields: http://tinyurl.com/q437sld

Cliff09

Thanks we are going to Bruge and want to stop in Lille coming back that is why we want to rent a car and see what the days bring thinking at 6:30 am we can get out if the city without a hassle staying at Hotel Prinsenhof in Bruge. One other question is it best to get full coverage insurance or not? We are insured with our credit card etc...

MaineGG

Do you have an American Express credit card? We always use their inexpensive full coverage when renting in Europe. So far have never had any claim experience, but others have reported that they were satisfied.
Details here:

https://www295.americanexpress.com/p...verage/home.do

shelemm

Of course you can visit places that would be hard to see otherwise without a car, so I think you should take advantage of that rather than rushing through.

Michael

The credit card probably gives you CDW coverage (the rental automatically includes liability) without any deduction, but you should check on that with the company itself.

ColtonJ

Definitely check with your CC company to ensure you are covered and bring a written letter from the CC provider stating your coverage (rental companies will sometimes require this if you decline their insurance and use your CC instead).

It seems like you will traveling back to France, but if you are planning on leaving the car in Belgium be wary of one way fees!

StuDudley

>> bring a written letter from the CC provider stating your coverage (rental companies will sometimes require this if you decline their insurance and use your CC instead). <<

This has never happened to us in France - and we usually rent 3 cars each year and perhaps 40 in our lifetimes. My CC company only covers 31 days of "intended" rental - so when we're gone for 5-6 weeks at a time, I need 2 rentals. We go to France usually twice each year.

Stu Dudley

Sarastro

The AE rental coverage is excellent and a bargain for primary coverage at only $25.

Departing from Gare de Lyon and connecting to A4 is really not that difficult and is exactly what I would do if I were to rent a car at all. Just be sure to know your route before leaving the rental office.

If you happen to be renting from Autoeurope or some other broker, check to see if you can pickup your car at someplace other than a rail station to avoid paying the 45€ location surcharge. Do not be intimidated by those who are afraid of driving out of Paris. It is drop dead simple as long as you prepare your exit in advance.

ColtonJ

Stu Dudley, you are right in that CC coverage shouldn't be a problem in France (unlike Ireland!) so long as the card provides coverage.

If you're considering picking up downtown instead of at the Gare de Lyon you can use this map to find the most convenient downtown location otherwise.

http://www.autoeurope.com/go/map/france/paris-map/

The nearest Europcar downtown offices only open at 8:30, though. Avis downtown offices open at 7, but Avis rates in Paris are a bit more expensive than Europcar, thereby negating the benefit of booking downtown and avoiding the rail station surcharge.

Basically, you can book downtown instead of at Gare Lyon and save ~€45 but you won't be able to pick up until 8:30 and you'll have to travel to the downtown location (closest Europcar offices are at Place d'Italie and Rivoli, both just over 2km from Gare de Lyon)

kerouac

I have paid by both Visa Premier and Gold MasterCard over the past 30 years often enough to know that in case of an incident (not to say 'accident') both of them reimburse the deductible very reliably. The rental agencies absolutely never press you in France to buy additional coverage even with an ordinary card.

I have a special contract with Europcar to rent (small) cars for only 26 euros a day anywhere in France, and they are nearly always the cheapest for that reason. However, I was checking rates for a 1-week rental in June today and compared AutoEurope to Europcar, and AutoEurope proposed a 1-week unlimited mileage rate with Avis that was almost 100 euros cheaper than Europcar.

kerouac

Note: I checked on the AutoEurope.be site rather than the AutoEurope.fr site because any of their sites in a different country will propose cheaper rates than using the site of the country where you pick up the car. (The EU unified market rules for competition make this a completely legal 'trick' and in fact it was the Europcar employees at Gare du Nord who told me about it since they said they used it themselves to rent cars for their holidays because AutoEurope in a nearby country was always cheaper than even their local employee discount.)