Arriving @CDG

While you wait for specific answers/directions, I hope the easyCDG website information could be helpful.

https://easycdg.com/tgv-long-distance-train-cdg-airport-charlesdegaulle/

I was always under the assumption when you arrived in a country you
remained separate until you passed passport control. Not true?

Correct, you will arrive in the non-Schengen part and need to go through passport control to get to the Schengen part of the airport.

1. We arrive Terminal E and depart TVG to Lyon. It appears that I descend 2 levels (maybe 3) but TVG are directly under terminal 2. Should be easy and quick Yes?

TGV (Train à grande vitesse) not TVG.

1. Watching the video I cannot see how you know where passport control is. Part of our previous problem is that we would ask where to go and the answer might be "Go down the stairs" but failed to mention, no passport control there but need to get on transfer.

To be honest, you don't need to know where passport control is. You will encounter it along the way.

1. Everyone mentions customs. I thought customs was part of your home country. What am I missing?

Customs is (usually) a government agency responsible for controlling the flow of goods across the borders of a country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs

Also, my directions for departure include the REFB transfer to
701Beaupré. What is 701 Beaupré?

701 is a bus route that runs from the airport to Beaupré

Mary,
Thanks that was very easy to follow, but no mention of passport control.

Ellen, if you check the "Arrival Procedures" section of the website, it outlines the steps:

https://easycdg.com/passenger-information/arrival-cdg-airport/

Thank you Badger,
Here are my directions from Google to Terminal 2. You can see the reference to Bus701Beaupré* I am at a lost. And what is Zone Les Renardières , translation is fox hole. THank you so much for all the information. It was been 3 years since our last arrival and I think perhaps a lot of construction has been completed.

6:41 AM
Chatelet Les Halles
TrainBAéroport CDG - Terminal 2 (Tgv)
38 min (11 stops) ·
7:19 AM
Aéroport Charles de Gaulle
WalkWalk
About 2 min
7:26 AM
Roissypole - Aéroport Cdg1 (B1)

- *Bus701Beaupré***

8 min (2 stops)
7:34 AM
Zone Les Renardières

WalkWalk
About 11 min, 800 m
7:45 AM

Terminal 2
France

Ellen, I’m not sure, those directions you found look very strange (not to mention they appear to be for someone going from Paris to the airport). But they are really messed up. Don’t pay any attention to them.

If you are talking about arriving at Terminal 2E on a flight into CDG from the United States and then taking a TGV, you just follow the signs for Baggage Claim and “Sortie” (Exit). Yes, it can be quite a walk. It may even involve getting on a little train shuttle to get to another part of the terminal to get to passport control. But you don’t have anywhere else you can go. You will finally get to passport control; once you’ve come out of that, you will see yet again directions for Baggage Claim (and monitors that tell you which baggage belt your flight’s luggage will be on).

then you either wait for your baggage, or if you don’t have checked bags, just go to the Sortie/Exit. You will pass under signs that are delineating lanes that are either RED (some goods to declare to the French customs agents as you enter France) or GREEN (you have no goods to declare to the French customs agents. This is the one that you are surely going through).

Once you are out of the luggage and customs area and back out in the “open” area of the airport (the area where anybody from the street can walk in), you just look for signs that say TRAINS, with a train symbol. Follow those signs. You just walk, take an escalator or two, walk for a little while, take a couple of moving walkways, and finally you will get to a place atop the train station where the train signs get a little more specific.

Then you will keep following the signs down yes two sets of escalators (at least) - you will see signs for GRANDES LIGNES and TRAINS FOR PARIS. Your TGV for Lyon is a “GRANDE LIGNE” train, so keep following those signs. Eventually you will get to a place with screens telling which trains are leaving from which quai/platform, and you find that accordingly. There are people around whom you can ask.

I really don’t know what those directions you have found about Renaudiere and bus 701 are . . .throw those away. Just follow the signs.

Ellen, use the SNCF website for directions. This is what it tells me for a random date and time.

From Terminal 2E (is that what you mean by Terminal E?) arrivals hall, it is a 15 minute walk to take CDGVAL to Terminal 3 (takes 4 minutes) . From there it is a 5 minute walk to RER B. Take the RER B (direction Massy - Palaiseau) to Chatelet les Halles station in Paris. At this station, switch to RER A train (direction Torcy) to Paris Gare de Lyon train station. At this station, you will take the train to Lyon, France.

https://www.sncf.com/en/booking-itinerary/itinerary/results-list/details?uic1=ChIJd1ou9SIW5kcRwCEKqnosJ1E&coordX1=2.584753&coordY1=49.004739&uic2=69123&coordX2=&coordY2=&date=1695110410&when=leave-at&id=-1801553684&typeDepart=ADRESSE&typeArrivee=COMMUNE&label1=Air%20France%20Lounge%202E%20-%20Hall%20L,%20Roissy-en-France,%20France&label2=Lyon%20(All%20stations)&listeCodesMode=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9&origineCP=&destinationCP=69000&iframe=null

@Mary - I think that Ellen is taking a train right from the airport and going to Lyon from there.

I have one other tip for you - in addition to the great directions you have been given. CDG is indeed huge and can be confusing for finding your way out. Here's what I always look for: the Sheraton! I know if I can find that Sheraton, standing right in front of the entrance doors, then I am literally standing right above the TGV station at CDG. There is an escalator right behind me as I stare at the entrance doors to the Sheraton.

Here are my directions from Google to Terminal 2. You can see the
reference to Bus701Beaupré* I am at a lost. And what is Zone Les
Renardières , translation is fox hole.

Zone Les Renardières is a bus stop where bus 701 stops. But to be honest, those directions are completely useless and will send you somewhere completely wrong, forget you ever saw them. When you mention Terminal E, do you mean Terminal 2E? If so, the easiest option is probably just to walk to the station.

From there it is a 5 minute walk to RER B. Take the RER B (direction
Massy - Palaiseau) to Chatelet les Halles station in Paris. At this
station, switch to RER A train (direction Torcy) to Paris Gare de Lyon
train station.

The OP is not going to Paris.

Thank you all for the very clear directions. I was under the false assumption that the TVG would be a very short walk and I now understand perhaps there is not short walk at CDG!

It is not a short walk but it is not that bad, and if you follow signs you really cannot go wrong.
The first part, from plane to luggage claim area, you have no choice of path - just follow the signs for luggage claim & exit. In most cases (depending on where you land) you have to take a shuttle train; it is quick.
Then, you pass through customs and exit into the public area. Once you are there, you follow the signs to the TGV station; it takes about 10 minutes (perhaps 15) to the top of the station and then there are escalators down to the mezzanine and platforms below.

Valerie's right — look for the Sheraton.

I started to say that but for some reason I had some vague idea it was under new branding. But anyway yes, if you arrive at the Sheraton within the airport (it sits in between terminals 2E and 2F), it is directly atop the train station. At that point, you simply know that you have to go down!

If you need only a little assurance, everyone has given good info. If you still aren't reassured, hire the airport concierge service to meet you at the gate and walk you through the process to the train. I hired this service for an arriving family member who was tired and traveling with a child.
Worked well.
https://www.parisaeroport.fr/en/passengers/services/extime-meet-and-greet

I am not sure how you miss passport control as you have no options except to follow the crowd -- there is no way to wander into areas that do not take you either to immigration and baggage (or to transfer if yu are making an airside transfer)

Once you have your luggage and walk through nothing to declare, then follow the signs for trains.

I have several CDG horror stories but none of them involves not following the crowd like a sheep to passport control.

We just experienced this - arriving CDG and connecting to TGV. Our flight was delayed 3 hrs, arrived (actually disembarked aircraft 415pm), TGV reserved time was 529p, arrived 2E, followed signs for exit/baggage claim, went through passport control, just one exit out of baggage claim - once out turn left, follow signs for train (Grandes Lignes).
Amazing!! We arrived TGV area with 20 minutes to spare.

Less than one hour from aircraft disembarking to train boarding area. We had carry on bags.
Freaking miracle.

Gina you are so lucky -- it was 2 hours from landing to cab line for us this spring. They were running all US and Canadian arrivals through one automatic gate that of course no one could use efficiently since it was new to everyone. I do hate CDG -- all of my worst airport experiences have been there. For many years we would finish our European trips in Amsterdam for 3 nights because that was the shortest time we could rent the houseboat we enjoyed staying on but mostly because we could fly out of Schiphol instead of CDG.