Driving, Paris

You can try to be a brave soul and navigate the streets of Paris by driving. Once you get a hang of the layout of the streets it isn't that difficult but I would recommend that if you are on a short holiday, skip the driving and use the metro, bus or taxi system.

Parking in Paris can be quite hellish and so can the traffic.

Self Driving To & From Paris, or almost anywhere,

Let's say you have leased or rented a car and want a safe trouble free experience. Here are some driving tips that have been accrued over many years of driving in Europe.
1. Set up your 3 mirrors so that you have a commanding view of vehicles behind you.
2. Besides being comfortable with your seating in relationship to the brake, clutch and accelerator you should be familiar with the position and operation of the other primary controls- LIGHTS, WIPERS, HANDBRAKE.
3. Keep at least 4 car lengths from the vehicle in front when on the open road.
4. Take a break every 2 hours. Eat only light meals or just snack sensibly every 2 hours when covering long distances. Drink at least 3 litres a day of water NO enhanced drinks or alcohol.
5. Drive within your capabilities and be considerate of the skills of others and let them by safely.
6. Don't be distracted by in-car conversations especially when negotiating difficult situations
7. Use a GPS and be familiar with it before you travel if possible, it removes a lot of stress.

I would recommend the "smart car" -- they can fit into those impossible parking spaces. This one was parked near rue Cler next to Café Marché on rue Chanps de Mars.
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The longest I have ever seen a parking space in Paris stay empty was 45 seconds. This was done as a semi-scientific survey while sitting in a café in the Latin Quarter drinking wine :)

First time driving to Paris?... Do the smart thing. Find a hotel on the outskirts - the beltway preferabbly and park there for the duration. Cost me 7 euros per night. But perhaps it was worth it. Subway system was great (a couple of times Metro stations were closed for work in progress...) BTW what happened to th BIG RED M's in the street to indicate metro stations ?

But worst nightmare was yet to come. How do you leave Paris and hit the A4 to Rheims?... The doorman tried to explain the beltweay was the best option but once on the beltway, God help you. The navigation system sure did not... Ended up hiking it on some alternate higway whuich would have crawled along for miles to get me to Maure (?) when I finally took the law into my own hand and decided to just follow an A104 (?) ... sure enough finalluy hit A4.
I guess it takes more than a brand new Toyota navigation system, a map, a helpfull English speaking doorman and all the roadsigns in the world... to GET OUT OF PARIS.

It wasnt so difficult, to drive over city by car. But we found it aweful and weird - when you need to park ur car.You need to buy plastic chip card for 10€ even when you are going to spend only 1 or 2, thats a rip off. Not mentioning about how difficult is to find free spot :( if not planning to travel a lot, fine, take car park it and forget, but do not even plan, to visit major attractions with a car

Now, unless you have driven to Paris there is pretty much, absolutely no reason why you would possibly want to be driving around in Paris when the public transport is so good.

Driving in Paris is a tad mad, especially in rush hour when the Parisians drive REALLY fast REALLY close and REALLY cut you up if you are not sure where you are going. Thus much said, it's not impossible and most places can be reached using the Perioherique (the ring road that runs the circumference of Paris).

I rented a car near Gare Austerlitz and drove it to Le Marais, where we were renting an apartment. Once I picked up the rest of the group, I drove out of the city to Rennes in Brittany. Needless to say, I was nervous about driving in the city. Most rental cars have standard transmission, so that took some effort even though I know how to drive a stick. Here are some general tips:

*Before you go, use Google Maps or ViaMichelin web sites to map your route through Paris. Study these maps carefully before you go. Be sure to have good printouts of your route.

*Don't count on any maps at the rental agency. We used Budget and they didn't have many maps (and the first clerk didn't speak English).

*Have a navigator as well as a driver. There is no way you can drive in this crazy city and try to glance at a map at the same time.

* Remember that drivers coming from the right have the right-of-way at unmarked intersections, even if you street seems to be an arterial. I almost forgot that at one intersection but braked just in time.

* French drivers are very aggressive but I felt more comfortable driving in my cautious style and letting them cut in front of me. Remember, your goal is to get to your destination safely and NOT get there first.

*Use a Web search engine for general driving tips in France. I found a good guide for British drivers that helped explain some idiosyncracies.

*There are few gas (petrol) stations in Paris itself. I was lucky. They asked me to bring back the car with the tank half-full. I used a service station on the Autoroute just before getting into the suburbs to fill up.

Don't use a car in Paris to get around the city, but if you need to rent one to get out of the city, it is possible to survive as long as you are prepared.

The most important tip for car owners who want to visit the city of Paris is: don't do it! Paris' traffic is hectic, traffic jams are everywhere, parking is very difficult and expensive and finding your way around can be a problem too.

A better way to visit Paris when you are by car is to park the car in the parking at Porte de la Chapelle. This is the northern suburb of the city, just inside the Periférique. Parking here is not expensive (€11,- a day) and the Metro is just around the corner.

The parking is not accessible for people who don't have a ticket, which makes it quite a safe place to park your car. Note: the ticket can only be paid with coins! No bankcard, no notes, just coins, so make sure you have enough of them! The parking is open 24 hours a day; you can open the door on the outside with your ticket, so don't leave it in your car!