Car hire
France
Our top branches in France
Discover France
Flexible car hire in France for short & extended trips
Explore with ease thanks to SIXT car hire options across France
Enjoy ultimate flexibility on holiday and explore at your own speed with a car hire in France. A wide selection of premium vehicles in the SIXT range, from convertibles to family-friendly cars, with several useful add-ons, allows you to take to the road in style. Choose from GPS navigation, child seats or additional driver to make your journey smoother.
A comprehensive choice of SIXT branches throughout the country, such as at Toulouse-Matabiau Station and Paris Orly Airport (ORY), makes finding a car simple. With a stress-free and trustworthy approach, and English-speaking agents, SIXT ensures you can drive with confidence.
Whether you're planning a short city trip or an extended journey, you can hire a car in France for any duration that suits your needs.
Why choose SIXT for car hire in France?
- Diverse and premium fleet for every travel style
- Credit and debit cards accepted
- Driving age: Car hire available from 18 years (for a small fee)
- Pick-up and drop-off across all of France
- English-speaking and friendly staff
- Flexible car hire options
- Wide range of add-ons: GPS, child seats, additional driver & more
Driving Tips when you hire a car in France
Advice to stress-free car hire
Make sure your adventure in France goes smoothly, by keeping the following driving rules in France in mind when you hire a car:
- Speed limits: When driving your car hire in France, you mustn’t exceed the maximum speed limits. Typically, in towns and cities, the top speed is 50 km/h (31 mph); on country lanes, it’s 80 km/h (50 mph), whilst on motorways it's 130 km/h (81 mph).
- Crossing borders: SIXT allows you to hire a car in France and drive it across the border to neighbouring countries, such as Spain and Belgium. You will need to pay an additional fee for this.
- The temperature: Some areas in France receive a lot of snowfall during the winter months. Remember to use the snow chains and snow socks provided by SIXT when driving in hazardous conditions.
- Beware of the cyclists: Cycling is one of the most popular sports in France, so you can expect to meet cyclists on the road regularly. When you pass a cyclist in your hire car, ensure you slow down and leave a distance of 1.5 metres between the bike and the vehicle.
- Toll roads in France: Most French motorways (autoroutes) are toll roads, marked with an “A” and blue signs. You can pay tolls by cash, card, or electronic Télépéage badges at designated booths.
Best places to visit in France with car hire
Discover top sights with flexible car hire in France
Car hire in France provides you with the ideal mode of transport to explore an array of popular attractions in the country. Explore iconic sights, vibrant cities, small villages, seaside, or popular beach resorts with reliable car hire from SIXT. Here are some popular sights to see:
- Dune du Pilat: Visit the tallest sand dune in Europe and enjoy views across the pine forest and Atlantic Ocean. Paid parking is available on-site, which makes it accessible in your hire car.
- Paris and beyond: Once you have explored Paris’ top attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower, which has several car parks nearby, you can get away from the capital city with three-day trips from Paris.
- Normandy Landings: Along the coastline of Normandy are the famous beaches of the D-Day landings from WW2. From Utah Beach to Sword Beach, about 1 hour and 20 minutes' drive apart, you can learn about these historic locations, making several stops along the way.
Customer reviews & feedback
Listen to what our customers say
*Our Customer Excitement Score is based on a survey sent to all customers who booked in France. The score is an average of all customer responses.
Good to know when renting in France
In France you are able to hire a car from 18 years of age as long as you have held your licence for at least 1 year. There are certain restrictions on which car categories are available depending on how long you've held your licence. A small young driver fee applies to all renters under 25.
Your car hire package in France comes with Third Party Liability insurance which includes cover for personal injuries, material damages and damage to the environment. Extra protection packages are available as an optional add-on.
Yes, you are able to pick up a hire car in France and drive to the UK. If you plan to use your car in the UK then a daily/weekly foreign usage charge will apply.
You can use all major credit and debit cards to hire a car in France. Prepaid cards and cash are not accepted.
To hire a car in France you'll need a valid licence as well as your passport. Your UK licence continues to be valid in France as a tourist. If you have been in the EU for longer than 6 months then you will require an EU driving licence.
Yes, you are able to use your hire car in neighbouring Spain, Italy and the majority of other countries in Europe. Please inform us if you plan to use your car outside France as a small fee will apply for foreign usage.
Explore our car rental locations in France
- Agen
- Ain
- Aix-en-Provence
- Ajaccio
- Alsace
- Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda
- Amiens
- Angers
- Anglet
- Angoulême
- Annecy
- Antibes
- Antony
- Aquitaine
- Ardèche
- Arpajon
- Asnières-sur-Seine
- Athis Mons
- Aubagne
- Aulnat
- Auxerre
- Avignon
- Bastia
- Bayonne
- Beauvais
- Bergerac
- Beziers
- Biarritz
- Blagnac
- Bordeaux
- Bouguenais
- Boulogne-Billancourt
- Brest
- Bretigny-sur-Orge
- Brittany
- Bron
- Burgundy
- Caen
- Calvi
- Cannes
- Carcassonne
- Centre
- Chalon-sur-Saône
- Chambery
- Champagne Ardenne
- Cherbourg-Octeville
- Chessy
- Clermont Ferrand
- Clichy
- Coignières
- Colmar
- Corbeil-Essonnes
- Corsica
- Courbevoie
- Dammarie les Lys
- Dijon
- Dunkerque
- Entzheim
- Épinay-sur-Seine
- Ferney-Voltaire
- Figari
- Fleury les Aubrais
- Franche Comté
- French Riviera
- Geneva
- Gironde
- Grenoble
- Guipavas
- Harfleur
- Hyeres
- Ile de France
- Issy-les-Moulineaux
- Ivry-sur-Seine
- Juan les Pins
- La Chapelle-Saint-Luc
- La Défense
- La Mole
- La Rochelle
- Landes (40)
- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Le Creusot
- Le Haillan
- Le Havre
- Le Mans
- Les Ulis
- Lesquin
- Levallois-Perret
- Lille
- Limoges
- Lucciana
- Lyon
- Mantes-la-Jolie
- Marcq en Baroeul
- Marignane
- Marne-la-Vallée
- Marseille
- Massy
- Mauguio
- Melun
- Merignac
- Metz
- Midi Pyrénées
- Montceau-les-Mines
- Montévrain
- Montpellier
- Montrouge
- Mulhouse
- Nancy
- Nanterre
- Nantes
- Neuilly Sur Seine
- Nice
- Nimes
- Nord
- Nord Pas de Calais
- Normandie
- Orleans
- Orly
- Paris
- Pau
- Pays de la Loire
- Perpignan
- Picardie
- Pierrelaye
- Poitiers
- Poitou Charentes
- Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64)
- Reims
- Rennes
- Rhones-Alpes
- Roissy
- Rouen
- Saint Etienne
- Saint Ouen
- Saint Tropez
- Saint-Denis
- Saint-Germain-en-Laye
- Saint-Herblain
- Saint-Louis
- Saint-Malo
- Saint-Pierre-des-Corps
- Saint-Quentin en Yvelines
- Saint-Raphaël
- Souffelweyersheim
- Strasbourg
- Suresnes
- Tarbes
- Toulon
- Toulouse
- Tours
- Trappes
- Troyes
- Uzein
- Valence
- Vannes
- Var
- Vélizy-Villacoublay
- Versailles
- Villebon-sur-Yvette
- Villefranche-sur-Saône
- Vincennes
- Beauvais Airport
- Bergerac Perigord Airport
- Biarritz Airport
- Bordeaux Airport
- Brest Airport
- Caen-Carpiquet Airport
- Carcassonne Airport
- Chambery Airport
- Charles de Gaulle
- Clermont-Ferrand Airport
- Corsica Ajaccio Airport
- Corsica Bastia Airport
- Corsica Calvi Airport
- Corsica Figari Airport
- Geneva Airport (French side)
- La Rochelle Airport
- Lille Lesquin Airport
- Lyon St Exupéry Airport
- Marseille Airport
- Montpellier Airport
- Mulhouse Basel Airport France
- Nantes Atlantique Airport
- Nice Airport Terminal 1
- Nice Airport Terminal 2
- Nice Airport Van&Truck
- Paris CDG Airport Terminal 1
- Paris Orly airport
- Pau Pyrenees Airport
- Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport
- Poitiers-Biard Airport
- Rennes Airport
- Saint Tropez Airport
- Strasbourg Airport
- Tarbes-Lourdes Airport
- Toulon-Hyeres Airport
- Toulouse-Blagnac Airport