I will begin the RS tour of S France on May 12th, a Sunday. My hope is that I will be able to fly from Dublin to CDG that day and get to Chartres in time for the afternoon orientation session. There are plenty of flights to choose from so that's not the issue. What I need to know is how much time to allow for the trip from CDG to Chartres and the best way (time and ease of connections--not necessarily cost) to get from CDG to my hotel in Chartres. Any suggestions gratefully received.
Posted by
Florida (previously California)
3984 posts
You could take mass transit or a taxi to Gare Montparnasse in Paris and catch the train to Chartres. I'd plan on allowing 4 hours between scheduled landing time and the scheduled departure time for the train, although on a Sunday, I would not be as worried about traffic and might schedule 3 hours. The taxi will cost 62€. The train trip from Paris to Chartres takes about 60 minutes. For instructions on getting to Gare Montparnasse via mass transit, look at citymapper.com. The mass transit option will require you to switch from the suburban/city train line (RER B) that services the airport to the metro and there will be a bit of walking from the metro station to Gare Montparnasse.
Posted by
Bend, OR
1039 posts
As there is no longer an Airport bus directly from airport to Gare Montparnasse, take a taxi then the train to Chartres. If RS is still using the same hotel, it’s only maybe two blocks up the street from the train station. Allow at least 3 1/2 hours.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14725 posts
In looking at your other threads it looks like you will be in Ireland for a couple of weeks before your tour. I'd honestly recommend you try to arrive in France the day before the tour starts. While you "can" put together this transit it’s going to involve several moving parts and I'd want to make sure I had some flex time in case one of the transportation bits goes south.
BTW (per your question on the other thread), I'd have a waterproof rain jacket with a hood for France and Ireland in April/May. Since you live in Seattle you probably have this already but thought I'd mention it.
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
Try to fly to Orly from Dublin. It is a relatively quick journey to Versailles-Chantiers for the train to Chartres.
Or if you'd like, a car service would cost 120-150€ which is steep but probably 100€ less than from CDG.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA
10 posts
CDG to Montparnasse by taxi and then train to Chartres it will be, but I will leave a day ahead as well. The nonstop trip to Orly from Dublin would have been a great alternative, but it leaves/arrives too late. And the flights with stopovers leave in the a.m. but take 13 hours via Lisbon and Porto. I'm reconciled to one less night in Dublin and an expensive taxi (which, in fact, I did once before when doing the Camino via Montparnasse). Thanks to those who helped me sort this out.