Renting a car in Dijon and going to Geneva??

We will be coming off a River cruise in Dijon and what to go to Geneva for 5 days, Where and how can I rent a car or is there a easy way to get to Geneva with suit cases, Do I need a car in Geneva? we are thinking of taking Viator 3 days of tours in Geneva ..

Just a warning: Cross-border one-way car rentals are expensive in any country/continent, but more so in Europe. Train would be easier. You could drive to a French town bordering Geneva but the question is there a rental agency there. You also need a vignette for driving on Swiss highways. That said, I've found Europcar to have the lowest OW rates within France.

Looks like it's under 3 hours with one change via train. A car would be a liability in most European cities.

Just a warning: Cross-border one-way car rentals are expensive in any country/continent, but more so in Europe. Train would be easier. You could drive to a French town bordering Geneva but the question is there a rental agency there. You also need a vignette for driving on Swiss highways. That said, I've found Europcar to have the lowest OW rates within France.

 

Looks like it's under 3 hours with one change via train. A car would be a liability in most European cities.

What is a vignette I found out a toll sticker about 40$ U.S. But wont the train be a pain with 4 suit cases ??

You only need a vignette if you drive on Swiss motorways - easily avoided. Depending where you're intending leaving from, it's a very small hop from Geneva backi into France where you wouldn't be hit with an enormous different country drop-off. Even if you're leaving from Genève, a taxi back to the airport shouldn't be crippling!!

Dijon and what to go to Geneva We are coming off a River boat Where can I rent a car For 8 hrs ?? I looked on line 500$ plus

Where do you keep your 4 suit cases on the train? is first class worth it ??

The drive between Dijon and Geneva is really easy and very pleasant. It's a journey we do regularly on our way to the Alps. It takes about two and a half hours, using the A39 and A40 autoroutes (motorways/ freeways). You pass through the Jura region which is very pretty, through the tunnel at Nantua, then on the spectacular elevated section of the Viaduc des Geants before reaching the Alps and Geneva.

If you wanted to do a one way hire car and needed to begin and end in French locations, you might be able to do that if you rented from Dijon's central railway station and returned the car to either the French side of Geneva Airport (the airport straddles the border and part of it is in France!) from where there are frequent fast trains to the centre of the city, or to Annemasse which is a French town on the outskirts of Geneva on the border with Switzerland. The Geneva public trams take you from the border to the centre of Geneva in minutes.

Travelling out of Geneva further along the A40 from Annemasse, you could head to Chamonix and Mont Blanc. Just before Annemasse there is also a cable car up Le Saleve, Geneva's mountain. From the top you have a great panorama of the Lake Geneva (locally Lac Leman) and the Alps and Jura mountain ranges.

Thanks for all the info ..

Take the high speed train, the TGV.

IF YOU RENT A CAR, SCHEDULE THE RETURN TO THE FRENCH SIDE OF GENEVA AIRPORT.

Even so, a car is not good..the traffic is pretty bad.

Have to say that we recently (about 2 months ago) drove most of those roads between Geneva and Dijon (we were actually driving into France from Chamonix and did not have any issues with the traffic. It does get heavier as you drive into the city, but that is not a big deal as its only at the end of the drive.

In the same situation as the OP we would certainly try to use a rental car as it is just easier with all that luggage. We also agree that one should arrange to drop the car on the French side of the border...even if this means dropping the car a day early and using public transit to get back to your hotel. It has been several years since we have been able to find a decent price for cross-border rentals in most of Western Europe. Ironically, back in the days before the EU we often were able to get good prices on inter-country rentals. But this seems to have ended with the EU...which we have always found puzzling. And yes, before somebody "corrects" our posting we are well aware that Switzerland is not in the EU :).

Hank

You can drop off luggage and people at your hotel, and then turn the car in on the French side of the GVA airport and take a bus back into town, which isn't far.