Car Hire Gap

If you are going skiing or mountaineering in the French Alps or planning a road trip around Southeastern France, Gap, the capital of the Haute-Alpes Department is the perfect place to start your journey. Along with Briançon, Gap is the gateway to the Alpine ski season for winter sports fans. But the town is not just a tourist destination, it’s also a major commercial centre with a thriving light industrial economy focussed on IT and biotechnology.

If you are travelling to the French Alps by train from the UK, it’s easy to catch the Eurostar to Paris and transfer to the TGV high speed train service to Grenoble or Aix-En-Provence TGV stations where you can pick up your hire car and drive to the mountains. Or you can take the train even closer to the action and head to Gap.

There are around 10 trains a day connecting Gap Railway Station with Paris Gare d'Austerlitz with the fastest TGV service reaching the mountains in as little as 5hr30min. A popular option is to catch the sleeper train from Paris to the mountains, a journey of around 11hrs. You can leave the French capital at around 9.30pm and arrive in Gap just after breakfast.

Gap Station first welcomed passengers travelling to the Alps back in 1875 and today it’s a key transport hub for the Southeast of France with connecting train services to other regional cities like Briançon, Grenoble, Valence and Marseille.

The station has recently been redeveloped as a transport hub for the town and facilities include a travel information desk, taxi rank, shop and cafe and close by, an Avis car rental location.

Hiring a car from Gap Railway Station gives you the chance to explore the Hautes-Alpes, or drive south on a road trip to the Cote D’Azur with its chic resort towns, pretty villages and unforgettable coastline.

So, whether you are planning to hire a rental car in Gap for business or leisure, Avis has you covered as soon as you step off the train.

You’ll find our Avis office at 9 Avenue Du Commandant Dumont, a 3min walk from the entrance of Gap Train Station. As you come out of the station, turn right and head along Avenue des Alpes until you reach the junction with Av Du Commandant Dumont. You will see the Avis rental counter directly in front of you on the other side of the pedestrian crossing.

From our Avis office at Gap Station, it’s just a 4min (1.1km) drive into the heart of Gap. Turn right out of the car rental carpark onto Av Du Commandant Dumont and at the roundabout take the first exit onto Cr Ladoucette. At the next roundabout take the first exit onto Rue Faure du Serre before turning onto the Boulevard de la Liberation and you will find the historic centre of Gap on your left.

At the meeting points of two valleys and two ancient routes across the Alps from Grenoble to Marseille and Valence to Briançon, the town of Gap has historically been a strategic location for both trade and war. The town is on the famous Route Napoléon, recreating the route Napoléon Bonaparte took from the coast to the mountains in 1815.

Modern day Gap is still a major trading centre – as the region’s shopping destination, it’s home to a mix of national chains and local independent stores so it’s a great place for some retail therapy during your trip.

For local produce and crafts don’t miss the main open air market held every Saturday in Place Jean-Marcellin, a pretty square painted in the warm bright colours of the region.

Spend time in the town’s handsome Neo-Gothic cathedral Notre-Dame et Saint-Arnoux.

One of Gap’s other main attractions is the Hautes-Alpes Department Museum, housed in a grand 19th century building showcasing the history and culture of the region. The richly diverse items here cover everything from contemporary art to archaeological discovery.

you are a sports fan, check out the calendar before you book your trip to Gap as it has been voted France’s sportiest town – it is estimated that around half of Gap’s residents play sport or belong to a sport’s club and the town annually hosts major sporting events including ice hockey, and the Monte Carlo Rally as well as being a stage in the Tour de France.

Gap is a popular destination for both winter sports and in summer, hiking, mountaineering and cycling. But we also must add driving to the list, because if you are planning a road trip in France, there are plenty of great drives to be had from Gap Train Station with your Avis hire car.

Head for the stunning Valgaudemar Valley via the valley entrance at St-Firmin on the RN85 midway between Gap and Grenoble. The Valgaudemar Valley is around 30km long and the round trip from Gap will take around 2hr. This remote valley is an environmentally protected area and along the way you might spot Alpine flowers in the lower pastures along with native mammals like marmots, chamois and ibex with the occasional golden eagle soaring overhead.

Or drive the perimeter of Lake Serre-Poncon – the reservoir is one of the largest artificial stretches of open water in Europe – and you can circumnavigate most of the lake and the 100km return trip from Gap in around 2hr. You’ll pass through popular water sport destinations like Chot and Chorges and to explore the history of the reservoir, step back in time at Savines-le-lac, which recreates the buildings and village life lost when the area was flooded. The remains of the village church stand on an island in the middle of the lake.

To travel further afield from Gap, take a trip to Briançon, the highest town in France at 1,326 metres. The drive of around 90km along the N94 road, will take 1.5hr and is one of the most scenic routes in the region. Be sure to stop off in the stunning cliff top town of Embrun along the way.

Travelling by train from Paris and picking up a car rental at Gap Railway Station is the ideal way to begin a ski trip or to discover the Hautes-Alpes Department. Hiring a car from Avis at Gap Station gives you the freedom and flexibility to explore at your own pace.

Whether you are travelling on business, heading out to the ski fields or plan to explore Hautes-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur from Gap Station, our friendly Avis team is on hand to help make your road trip as easy as possible and if you are travelling in winter, they’ll be able to advise you on routes and the best vehicle options.

If you are new to driving in France, we’d advise familiarising yourself with the latest advice plus the road rules in France.