tmk04

We are staying in the Toulouse area and plan on driving up to Paris to spend 2 nights in Paris. We would like to leave our car in a convenient town to grab the train in. Any suggestions? Also anything not to miss on the way up? We have 2 boys {14/16} with us..thank you so much

Dukey

Just to <b>clarify</b> this:

you've decided that driving will be better, cheaper, whatever than taking a budget flight on EasyJet or taking a TGV from Toulouse, right?

Certainly not disgareeing with you..just wanting to be sure because it is bound to come up.

tmk04

We like to drive off the beaten track and we have the time. That is why we are driving..thanks

kerouac

Once you have driven all the way from Toulouse to Paris, there will be absolutely nothing about Paris traffic that should make you uncomfortable. Why complicate your trip? Just drive into the city and leave your car there.

tmk04

Really..we just thought it would make life easier not to worry about driving into Paris and parking etc...any other thoughts? Thank you

kerouac

Well, isn't it a rental car? I thought you were just going to get rid of it.

tmk04

Yes but we are going back to Toulouse area.

Nikki

As far as things to see on the way, I would suggest the cave paintings in the Dordogne. It captured my imagination as a child reading about two teenage boys discovering caves filled with paintings thousands of years old.

We went to Font de Gaume and Pech Merle, both highly recommended. Font de Gaume is apparently under consideration to be closed to the public to preserve the art, so it might be your last chance.

Another worthwhile stop is Oradour sur Glane, outside Limoges. It is a town that was destroyed by Nazis and has been preserved as a memorial in its entirety. Very moving.

StCirq

Well, how much time do you have? The Dordogne is the obvious place to visit on the way up, but you'd need a few days at least to make it worth it.

ekscrunchy

I second the idea of a visit to Oradour-sur-Glane outside Limoges. this ranks among the most moving sights in France. I visited the town on a driving day trip from Domme in the Dordogne; if you scroll down past the Basque country section to the last day in the Dordogne in my trip report linked below, you will find some details of my visit last fall as well as a link to the site:


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34894706

Carlux

Well, much as I love the Dordogne, where we live, I still think it would be so much easier to take the train from Toulouse to Paris. I was going to say cheaper too, but maybe for 4 train tickets it wouldn't be. However, you will still have gas, tolls, and parking fees for the two days you are in Paris.

There is a direct train from Toulouse to Paris, Gare d'Austerlitz, and so it's really easy.

If you want to drive it in one day, you don't have a lot of time for touring. It's at least 6-7 hours with no rest/food stops along the way - about 700 km.

kerouac

Some of the parking structures at the entrances to Paris have special 24-hour rates of about 11 euros. Check the &quot;Vinci&quot; site, among others.

julia_t

Driving in Paris is really not that bad. I found the Peripherique in rush hour worse than actually driving in the city. (And I was in my RH drive English car, driving on the wrong side for me!)

Parking outside Paris won't necessarily make things easier for you.

I found a secure underground car park not far from Place d'Italie down from Place Monge, and it cost around 20 euros per day (2005).

I can't remember exactly how I found it, but I did find a list of car parks by googling something like Paris Car Parks, or a variation of those words.

Another option is to park at Orly airport and get the Metro/Bus into Paris

julia_t

I think it was www.infoparking.com

http://tinyurl.com/2hv34p