Guide to flying into CDG and taking TGV out
Aug 21, 2013, 12:10 pm
#1
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Guide to flying into CDG and taking TGV out
I've seen a bunch of questions cropping up along the lines of "my transfer connection is xx minutes, can I make the train?" I've made the trip from CDG --> TGV --> Bordeaux a bunch and finally wrote a guide on how to do it and things to take into consideration. Hope it's helpful to some!
Full guide here: Weekend Blitz -- Taking a train from Paris Airport CDG-Charles de Gaulle
-------------------------------------------------
The station is connected to the airport and yes, you can walk there! (or take a quick and free shuttle bus/train).
There are very few words to express how awesome it is that Paris has a high-speed rail station from their main international airport that accesses all major lines to the rest of France. In the US where it’s uncommon to even have decent rail access from an airport to the city, long distance high-speed train access is unimaginable.
After scooping up your bags from the terminal, you’ll have a short walk from Terminal 2 to the TGV station.
If you land at either 2E, 2F, or 2G, your bags will wind up at baggage claim in 2E/F, so you should only have a 6-8 minute walk. If you’re arriving by train and flying out, you’ll want to budget enough time based on where your terminal is, see this chart:
The recommended minimum transfer time is:
- Train –> plane: 40-55 min. (depending on your terminal location) before check-in deadline
- Plane –> train: 50-60 min. before train departure.
But, this can vary widely with flight delays. I’m comfortable with the recommended 40-55 min train to plane time since delays on main TGV lines are infrequent but I would allow much more than 50-60 mins for a plane –> train transfer.
SHOULD I BUY MY TICKET BEFORE ARRIVAL OR AT THE STATION?
This is always a great dilemma, here’s our example and how we handled it. In short, I prefer to purchase tickets once we’ve landed.
Our flight was scheduled to arrive CDG at 12:30pm, giving us the following choices for the CDG-Bordeaux train:
When pricing out the tickets online, we compared both purchasing through RailEurope and direct on the Voyages-SNCF.com site and determined that dramatic savings (20-40%) can be achieved by purchasing direct through SNCF (post linked).
On the Voyages-SNCF.com site you’ll find a few discounted fares, and have the choice of applying any discounts you might qualify for.
The most important things to watch out for when pricing a ticket are the exchange/reimbursement terms of the ticket. Take this pricing for example:
For the PLEIN TARIF LOISIR fares, you’re restricted to:
This is shaping up to be a bad choice when arriving in France on an international flight, if you’re just 1 minute late for the train, you’ve lost 91 euros. In fact, the most flexible choice you’ll find, the TGV PRO 2NDE fare, has some serious risks in booking in advance too:
The obvious problem with this is the possibility for lengthy travel delays. If your flight is delayed a little, you might arrive to the train station within that 1 or 2 hour window, but, if it’s seriously delayed, you might be out 100+ euros.
For us, we wanted to waste as little time as possible in that train station–we were ready to make it to Bordeaux to start sightseeing! With the plane schedule to land at 12:30pm, there was a possibility, albeit it small one that we could make the 2:09pm train. If not, the 4:21pm train should be easily doable. We opted to wait until arriving at the train station to book so that we could be on the very next available train while minimizing our risk in missing a pre-booked ticket.
Our recommendation: If you’re flexible on time, book the cheapest ticket possible (will have the least flexible terms) and allow plenty of time for your transfer. If you don’t want to waste time waiting around the airport, and are ok paying a good bit more, plan to buy your ticket once you land and make it to the TGV station for the next available train.
BUYING YOUR TICKET AT THE CHARLES DE GAULLE TGV STATION
Once in the TGV station area, keep following the escalators down until you’ve reached the main concourse. Here, you’ll find 2 large ticket offices, a bunch of self-serve ticketing machines, restaurants, cafes, a bank with ATM (if you need to either withdrawal or change $$) and a waiting lounge.
A) Best bet: If you’ve got a credit card with the built in chip, then you can easily use the self-serve ticketing machines. They’re quick and rather easy to use.
B) If you aren’t lucky enough to have a credit card that will work, then you’ll have to join the queue to see an agent. The line is almost never shorter than 15-20 mins and could be as much as 60+ mins, so plan accordingly. Just about every employee here will speak English and they can take standard swipe credit cards.
With ticket in hand, you can proceed to your platform and board!
BOTTOM LINE: Flying into CDG and taking a train out, or vice versa, is very convenient but requires planning! Make sure to budget plenty of time for a transfer or buy your tickets when you arrive to remove the worry. We opted to buy our train tickets once we landed in Paris.
Full guide here: Weekend Blitz -- Taking a train from Paris Airport CDG-Charles de Gaulle
Full guide here: Weekend Blitz -- Taking a train from Paris Airport CDG-Charles de Gaulle
-------------------------------------------------
The station is connected to the airport and yes, you can walk there! (or take a quick and free shuttle bus/train).
There are very few words to express how awesome it is that Paris has a high-speed rail station from their main international airport that accesses all major lines to the rest of France. In the US where it’s uncommon to even have decent rail access from an airport to the city, long distance high-speed train access is unimaginable.
After scooping up your bags from the terminal, you’ll have a short walk from Terminal 2 to the TGV station.
If you land at either 2E, 2F, or 2G, your bags will wind up at baggage claim in 2E/F, so you should only have a 6-8 minute walk. If you’re arriving by train and flying out, you’ll want to budget enough time based on where your terminal is, see this chart:
The recommended minimum transfer time is:
- Train –> plane: 40-55 min. (depending on your terminal location) before check-in deadline
- Plane –> train: 50-60 min. before train departure.
But, this can vary widely with flight delays. I’m comfortable with the recommended 40-55 min train to plane time since delays on main TGV lines are infrequent but I would allow much more than 50-60 mins for a plane –> train transfer.
SHOULD I BUY MY TICKET BEFORE ARRIVAL OR AT THE STATION?
This is always a great dilemma, here’s our example and how we handled it. In short, I prefer to purchase tickets once we’ve landed.
Our flight was scheduled to arrive CDG at 12:30pm, giving us the following choices for the CDG-Bordeaux train:
- 2:09pm departure
- 4:21pm departure
- 6:09pm departure
When pricing out the tickets online, we compared both purchasing through RailEurope and direct on the Voyages-SNCF.com site and determined that dramatic savings (20-40%) can be achieved by purchasing direct through SNCF (post linked).
On the Voyages-SNCF.com site you’ll find a few discounted fares, and have the choice of applying any discounts you might qualify for.
The most important things to watch out for when pricing a ticket are the exchange/reimbursement terms of the ticket. Take this pricing for example:
For the PLEIN TARIF LOISIR fares, you’re restricted to:
- Exchange or reimbursement for free up until day of depart.
- 10 euro fee for exchange/reimbursement on day of depart
- No value retained after departure
This is shaping up to be a bad choice when arriving in France on an international flight, if you’re just 1 minute late for the train, you’ve lost 91 euros. In fact, the most flexible choice you’ll find, the TGV PRO 2NDE fare, has some serious risks in booking in advance too:
- Exchange or reimbursement for free up until minute of departure.
- Up to 1 hour (in some cases 2 hours) AFTER the departure of the train you can still can fully reimbursed ( “Il vous permet notamment d’échanger ou de vous faire rembourser gratuitement vos billets jusqu’à 1 heure après le départ, dans votre gare de départ en France”)
- No value retained past the 1 or 2 hour window
The obvious problem with this is the possibility for lengthy travel delays. If your flight is delayed a little, you might arrive to the train station within that 1 or 2 hour window, but, if it’s seriously delayed, you might be out 100+ euros.
For us, we wanted to waste as little time as possible in that train station–we were ready to make it to Bordeaux to start sightseeing! With the plane schedule to land at 12:30pm, there was a possibility, albeit it small one that we could make the 2:09pm train. If not, the 4:21pm train should be easily doable. We opted to wait until arriving at the train station to book so that we could be on the very next available train while minimizing our risk in missing a pre-booked ticket.
Our recommendation: If you’re flexible on time, book the cheapest ticket possible (will have the least flexible terms) and allow plenty of time for your transfer. If you don’t want to waste time waiting around the airport, and are ok paying a good bit more, plan to buy your ticket once you land and make it to the TGV station for the next available train.
BUYING YOUR TICKET AT THE CHARLES DE GAULLE TGV STATION
Once in the TGV station area, keep following the escalators down until you’ve reached the main concourse. Here, you’ll find 2 large ticket offices, a bunch of self-serve ticketing machines, restaurants, cafes, a bank with ATM (if you need to either withdrawal or change $$) and a waiting lounge.
A) Best bet: If you’ve got a credit card with the built in chip, then you can easily use the self-serve ticketing machines. They’re quick and rather easy to use.
B) If you aren’t lucky enough to have a credit card that will work, then you’ll have to join the queue to see an agent. The line is almost never shorter than 15-20 mins and could be as much as 60+ mins, so plan accordingly. Just about every employee here will speak English and they can take standard swipe credit cards.
With ticket in hand, you can proceed to your platform and board!
BOTTOM LINE: Flying into CDG and taking a train out, or vice versa, is very convenient but requires planning! Make sure to budget plenty of time for a transfer or buy your tickets when you arrive to remove the worry. We opted to buy our train tickets once we landed in Paris.
Full guide here: Weekend Blitz -- Taking a train from Paris Airport CDG-Charles de Gaulle
Sep 19, 2013, 5:47 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: UK
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Posts: 651
Nice guide!
I would just add that it could be worth looking into booking the TGV early. The tickets are on sale 3 months before departure, and the cheapest tickets on the line Charles de Gaule - Bordeaux cost 20€ (2nd class, 34€ for first class), for that price it could be worth buying them and risking to miss the train
I would just add that it could be worth looking into booking the TGV early. The tickets are on sale 3 months before departure, and the cheapest tickets on the line Charles de Gaule - Bordeaux cost 20€ (2nd class, 34€ for first class), for that price it could be worth buying them and risking to miss the train
Sep 20, 2013, 2:23 am
#6
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 494
There is another option: especially for travellers arriving after a very long flight, why not travel from the airport to the city, spend one night in a hotel to catch up on sleep before travelling further?
This way, you could book a very cheap fare for the day after arrival and get on the train well rested. The cost of the one night in the hotel could be balanced by the savings in the train fare, but you'll be rested and the chances of missing the train are very small.
This way, you could book a very cheap fare for the day after arrival and get on the train well rested. The cost of the one night in the hotel could be balanced by the savings in the train fare, but you'll be rested and the chances of missing the train are very small.
Sep 20, 2013, 2:50 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Posts: 102
Nice Guide! I responded to your other thread as well. I live in Germany, and will often take the TGV to CDG. Its a two hour ride for me to get to Paris via TGV,which opens up CDG as a viable competitive option over FRA, which is also two hours thanks to a lack of high speed options from my home.
I have found it to be quite pleasant - TGV from Strasbourg to CDG, then hop on a plane to Toronto or Montreal from there.
I ran into only one problem once, but the details are sketchy as this was in 2009 - I booked the TGV ticket "online" through DB, rather then SNCF. When i was on the train, they told me i did not have a ticket, rather just a booking. Apparently I was supposed to go to a ticket machine at the station, type in my booking and get the actual ticket. So guess who had to pay twice? Lesson learned, its never happened since, but now i always book on SNCF and double check that it is indeed, a ticket.
I have found it to be quite pleasant - TGV from Strasbourg to CDG, then hop on a plane to Toronto or Montreal from there.
I ran into only one problem once, but the details are sketchy as this was in 2009 - I booked the TGV ticket "online" through DB, rather then SNCF. When i was on the train, they told me i did not have a ticket, rather just a booking. Apparently I was supposed to go to a ticket machine at the station, type in my booking and get the actual ticket. So guess who had to pay twice? Lesson learned, its never happened since, but now i always book on SNCF and double check that it is indeed, a ticket.
Sep 20, 2013, 6:00 am
#8
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There is another option: especially for travellers arriving after a very long flight, why not travel from the airport to the city, spend one night in a hotel to catch up on sleep before travelling further?
This way, you could book a very cheap fare for the day after arrival and get on the train well rested. The cost of the one night in the hotel could be balanced by the savings in the train fare, but you'll be rested and the chances of missing the train are very small.
This way, you could book a very cheap fare for the day after arrival and get on the train well rested. The cost of the one night in the hotel could be balanced by the savings in the train fare, but you'll be rested and the chances of missing the train are very small.
Nov 20, 2014, 1:54 pm
#12
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Thanks! Glad it was useful!
Yep, just wanted to second this one. Air France offers through tickets in combination with SNCF to/from the following cities:
You still must check your bag when you get to the CDG (or collect if from baggage claim at CDG if you're flying into Paris and connecting).
I've never booked a ticket like this as every time I've checked it's been a good bit more expensive than just booking the air and rail separately. I guess one of the perks is that if your flight is late you're insulated from having to miss your rail connection and possibly eat a change fee with SNCF/TGV.
Another perk is that you can book TGVAIR tickets with Air France/KLM Flying Blue award miles. In this case, it would make sense to use it as you can essentially get your rail ticket for free since it will be the same cost with miles.
They do to a number of TGV destinations: see this page on the AF site.
- Angers - St-Laud
- Avignon
- Champagne
- Le Mans
- Lille Europe
- Lorraine TGV
- Lyon Part-Dieu
- Nantes
- Poitiers
- Tours - St-Pierre-des-Corps
- Toulon
- Valence
You still must check your bag when you get to the CDG (or collect if from baggage claim at CDG if you're flying into Paris and connecting).
I've never booked a ticket like this as every time I've checked it's been a good bit more expensive than just booking the air and rail separately. I guess one of the perks is that if your flight is late you're insulated from having to miss your rail connection and possibly eat a change fee with SNCF/TGV.
Another perk is that you can book TGVAIR tickets with Air France/KLM Flying Blue award miles. In this case, it would make sense to use it as you can essentially get your rail ticket for free since it will be the same cost with miles.
Nov 23, 2014, 1:39 am
#13
Join Date: May 2003
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Peak travel times might not have tickets available on arrival
I'm pretty familiar with navigating the TGV from CDG each July, and you might not be able to get tickets on arrival; many trains will be fully-booked. But it's not always as it seems. When buying on-line, if say CDG-Bordeux has no availability, you might find tickets available for a stop or two beyond. Never been able to figure this one out, but it's helped me a couple of times.
Also, as the OP pointed out, most everyone at the ticket office does in fact speak enough English to get by, even if the sign above them doesn't list English as one of their languages. A bit of dreadful French, just stringing words together, works fine. Un billet por Lourdes sil vous plait?
Pretty awesome resource here though! The only thing missing is an explanation of what the different seating options are, which I find myself having to re-learn every year. Nothing changes; I just forget.
Also, as the OP pointed out, most everyone at the ticket office does in fact speak enough English to get by, even if the sign above them doesn't list English as one of their languages. A bit of dreadful French, just stringing words together, works fine. Un billet por Lourdes sil vous plait?
Pretty awesome resource here though! The only thing missing is an explanation of what the different seating options are, which I find myself having to re-learn every year. Nothing changes; I just forget.
Mar 5, 2017, 9:42 am
#14
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 1,039
So not sure if this thread has anymore viewers at this point, but I have a short connection between terminal 1 and the TGV tomorrow. I land at 12:45PM, and my train departs at 1:49PM ... I'm arriving from in the Schengen zone (FRA-CDG) and I'm flying J ... I'll be the first person off the plane and I am not checking a bag. I should be fine, right?
Mar 5, 2017, 12:53 pm
#15
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Barcelona, Catalunya
Posts: 2,108
So not sure if this thread has anymore viewers at this point, but I have a short connection between terminal 1 and the TGV tomorrow. I land at 12:45PM, and my train departs at 1:49PM ... I'm arriving from in the Schengen zone (FRA-CDG) and I'm flying J ... I'll be the first person off the plane and I am not checking a bag. I should be fine, right?