We will be renting a car in June and driving from Paris through Normandy and to Mt St Michel.
Could anyone explain WHERE the best places are to buy gasoline and HOW the process works in France?
We are used to pumping our own with a credit card -- but I would like to be able to do it %26quot;the right way%26quot; on our trip.
We will be driving a hybrid -- so any extra advise on that would also be welcome.
MERCI
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A Prius? I rented one in Canada a couple of years ago and had fun driving it. Watch out when going slow in parking lots etc... if the car is running on electric it%26#39;s very quiet and pedestrians don%26#39;t hear you coming.
As far as gas is concerned, your best prices will usually be at the huge grocery stores you%26#39;ll find at the edges of towns. The worst prices are on the autoroutes.
Your credit card won%26#39;t work at the pumps so you%26#39;ll need to pump and go inside to pay. Watch out late evenings and weekends as there may not be anyone manning the cash so you%26#39;ll effectively not be able to fuel up. On the autoroutes I never came across a situation where there was not someone to take my cash or credit card... it%26#39;s only at the pumps your card won%26#39;t work.
If you take any autoroutes your credit cards won%26#39;t work at the tolls either... we always make sure to have cash for the manned booth.
Bon voyage!
Rob
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The best and cheapest places to buy %26quot;essence%26quot; (gasoline) %26quot;SP95%26quot; (regular unleaded grade) are the numerous out of town %26quot;hypermarche%26quot; (supermarkets). Look out for %26quot;LeClerc%26quot;, %26quot;Champion%26quot;, %26quot;Carrefour%26quot; and %26quot;Intermarche%26quot;, which are usually signposted on routes into or out of towns. Use the stop to take a break and grab a picnic or a meal in one of larger stores. The LeClercs are often the nicest places of the four, as they tend to be a little more up market.
Failing that, some of the Esso stations are cheaper that the French brands. Avoid filling up on the Autoroutes, where you will pay the highest prices for the convenience. If you want a break, the %26quot;aire de repos%26quot; stops without services are usually more pleasant, being smaller and sometimes wooded.
Most stations are %26quot;24-hours%26quot;, but unmanned when the corresponding shops are closed. I have a European chipped (%26quot;puce%26quot;) credit card with a PIN. The French have long ceased to accept magnetic swipe cards and signatures, although they should do in theory by telephoning for authorisation. Anyway, this isn%26#39;t going to happen when the pumps are unattended.
The process is to insert the credit card, enter your PIN and fill up. For some reason I have never worked out, I only get a 50% acceptance rate on my card, so I always have a station or two planned out in reserve. Best time to fill up is during the day when the pumps are manned, as the cashier will often accept the card even though the pump has rejected it.
I recommend you check here before setting off:
www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/
You can plan out your journey, get details of the gas stations on your route and see how much they are charging. If your hybrid uses liquified propane gss(%26quot;GPL%26quot;), you can find that here too.
Or perhaps your hybrid is a gas/electric. I had the use of a Toyota Prius for a month. It drives just like a normal automatic, but doesn%26#39;t have much spare horsepower at high speed, so plan your overtaking carefully. French drivers are not tolerant of slower vehicles in %26quot;their%26quot; lane and they will tailgate you through until you can clear whatever it is you pulled out to pass.
If you have the time to meander, check out Monet%26#39;s garden at Giverny and the American art museum. Then cross the Seine via the Pont de Normandy which is one of the longest cable stay bridges in the world and take a short detour into Honfleur for another break.
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THANKS -- Giverny is our FIRST STOP after we leave the airport.
MERCI
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You will not be able to pump your own with a credit card. Your card will not have a chip and so will not be accepted by any unattended machine, such as petrol pump, metro ticket sales, or toll booth.
The petrol areas at supermarkets usually have a number of pumps where you serve yourself. You then get in your car and drive to the exit, where there is a cashier. You tell the cashier the number of the pump you used (write it down if you don%26#39;t know how to say it in French) and pay.
Note that, even at staffed cashiers, you may have difficulty in having your card accepted: many French no longer understand cards that do not have a chip. Carry adequate cash.
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Be sure to fill up in advance of a holiday, when gas pumps will not have attendants to take your U.S.-style credit card.
I find it astonishing that the U.S. card issuers apparently have no plans to implement chip cards. I keep on asking Citibank, and the answer is always a variation on %26quot;Maybe sometime in the future.%26quot;
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Just to add to your worries, rural France closes for lunch. That often includes supermarkets, especially in small towns. It also includes things like church sites and other places that are not MAJOR tourist attractions. You can of course, go with the flow and drop into the local restaurant as all the French are doing. You can expect things to be closed roughly 12-2.00 or 2.30 and on Monday they may not open at all.
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