Direct trains to CDG from the south

Taking a train the day of the flight is pretty risky. While trains are fairly reliable they are not perfectly so. We once had someone commit suicide on the tracks which delayed our train to Paris by 5 hours from Amsterdam. Always be in the city of a high stakes departure the day before. And in doing that you are better off spending that last night in Paris than the airport.

While there are trains from cities in the south e.g. Nice -- I don't think there are any that don't have a change or two along the way. You are going to be changing in Lyon or Paris at least and many of the routes involve a couple of changes.

I took the TGV last fall direct from Avignon to CDG, but I did it the day before departure.

Both Lyon and Marseille offer direct trains to CDG. I would definitely spend the night at a hotel at the airport.

I agree with the suggestions above. I always stay as close as I can to my departure airport the night before. The further away, the riskier it might be the day of departure for delays. So basically, it doesn't matter where stay if you arrive in Paris the day/night before. If you are talking about a suburb of Paris with a direct train to CDG, perhaps some local forum members can assist. I have either taken the metro/RER or a taxi from the city.

I’ll make two clarifications: yes, there are direct trains to CDG from many cities in the south. My city has several a day.

Second: I rarely am in a train that arrives on time. Delays are frequent and can be several hours long. Trains are not fairly reliable. Easily 80% of my rides to and from Paris or CDG are delayed by incidents from left packages/ suitcases that need to be detonated, electrical problems, police intervention against rowdies, and unfortunately accidents and deaths.

I agree that you need to be in your departure city the night before or fly on one itinerary from your southern city with a change to your international flight.

I read this post with interest. I realize that Bordeaux and the Dordogne are not necessarily considered the south but does anyone know if there is a direct train (not requiring a change of trains) from Bordeaux to CDG? My husband and I are a little too old to be hauling bags on and off trains.

@Kay, yes there are direct trains between CDG and Bordeaux St Jean station. But you will have to handle your bags at both ends of the trip.

Now that we are ancient we make getting on and off trains easier by using a backpack for our carry on on the plane, and a medium to small suitcase. we travel for weeks at a time and can't or don't manage with carry on only -- but with a not too heavy suitcase and our electronics, meds etc in a backpack we can at least manage our stuff. If you are doing a lot of train travel, be ruthless about cutting down what you take with you. You can always buy a clothing item you find you need.

I watch a lot of train vlogs and just saw one about TGVs which mentioned that many are now double deckers and the doorways and staircases are quite narrow, making suitcases challenging.

Correct if you have larger than a carryon, lack muscles and are seated upstairs. The stairs are narrow, doorways are standard.