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Getting from CDG to Bayeux

Posted by on

Hello,

My 18yr old daughter will be in Europe for 33 days, roughly split evenly between two families. I'm trying to convince her to pack only carry-on and a personal bag and doing laundry while there but I'm not sure she'll be able to get by without an additional checked bag. I'm also seeing about having the other family take the checked bag back with them or have her share a checked bag with another person in the first part of her trip.

During our portion of the trip, we will be departing Krakow and arriving at CDG terminal 2D at 3:40PM on a Wednesday. We are trying to book an Overlord Tour for Normandy, and that tour would pick us up at 9:30AM at the Bayeux train station the following morning. The tour operator states they can accommodate one standard size suitcase per person in the tour vehicle. The tour takes us back to the Bayeux train station 5:30-6PM in time to hop the train back to Paris. [Edit: Fri/Sat] is scheduled to tour Paris (she'll already have spent a number of days there with the other family) and Saturday taking the Eurostar to London.

4:59PM - Take Aeroport Charles De Gaulle 2 (TGV train) to Gare du Nord
5:43PM - take RER E from Gare du Nord to St. Lazare
6:43PM - Depart St. Lazare for Caen
8:53PM - Arrive Caen

RailEurope says it offers these schedules, departing St. Lazare and arriving at Bayeux:

3:09PM-5:18PM
5:08PM-7:19PM
6:09PM-8:17PM
8:44PM-11:05PM

RailEurope also says it offers this schedule from CDG to Bayeux:

5:09PM - Depart CDG; arrive Lille @ 5:58PM
Transfer: 42min
6:40PM - Depart Lille Flandres; arrive Paris Nord 7:47PM
Transfer: 57min
8:44PM - Depart St. Lazare; arrive Bayeux 11:05PM

My concerns are:
1) My research indicates neither the Caen nor Bayeux train stations have luggage storage. I expect that we will be able to carry our personal bag with us during the tour(?), but if my daughter has a checked bag, then we are over the limit and I don't know where we'll be able to store the luggage.
2) What schedule would you recommend to be picked up at the Bayeux train station at 9:30am the day after we fly into CDG?
3) If we stay overnight in Caen and take an early train to Bayeux, do you consider it safe to walk to/from Hotel de France (~10min) in the late evening (past 9PM) and early morning (8AM'ish) or would it be better to take a taxi?

Thanks,

Jim

Posted by
3163 posts

No simple way to do this because of the arrival time of your flight. And then if it arrives late, more problems. Have you considered staying in a hotel near Gare St. Lazare on Wednesday and Thursday nights taking the first train to Bayeux at 7:06 Thursday morning, returning on the 6:35 train? You'd avoid a looong and tiring travel day on Wednesday and not have to worry about your luggage.

Your post is a little confusing. It says you're arriving CDG on Wednesday and want to do the D Day tour the next morning - Thursday. But "Thu/Fri" is scheduled to tour Paris. I'd also use the SNCF.com site to check and buy rail tickets in France.

Posted by
20103 posts

RailEurope also says it offers this schedule from CDG to Bayeux:
5:09PM - Depart CDG; arrive Lille @ 5:58PM
Transfer: 42min
6:40PM - Depart Lille Flandres; arrive Paris Nord 7:47PM
Transfer: 57min

Hold the phone Jones! This is the craziest way I have ever heard of to get from CDG to Gare du Nord. Like going from Brooklyn to Queens by way of Philadelphia. There are trains from CDG to Gare du Nord every 7 1/2 minutes operated by the Paris transit authority (RATP) taking about 35 minutes and costing 10 EUR. Stop, stop, stop using RailEurope for travel planning.

RailEurope says it offers these schedules, departing St. Lazare and arriving at Bayeux:
3:09PM-5:18PM
5:08PM-7:19PM
6:09PM-8:17PM
8:44PM-11:05PM

This is the correct schedule. Why don't all of you take the train to Bayeux, you might be able to make the 6:09 and use the 8:44 as a back-up, in case your flight from Krakow is delayed. Your daughter can store most of her extra luggage in Paris, at Gare du Nord if need be, and just take a small bag with a couple of days clothing with her to Bayeux.

This all a bit confusing to read through, but I think I got it.

Posted by
4044 posts

You're on the wrong track for the trains (pun intended.).
To go from Charles de Gaulle to Paris Saint-Lazare, ride the RER 2 to Paris Nord and connect to the second leg. RER is the regional train (think commuters) not TGV. Their airport train stops are adjacent in Terminal 2.
The service from St-Lazare to Caen and Bayeux is considered Intercites. It's part of the SNCF system that includes the high-speed TGV, but your head will not be spinning from the Intercites pace. You are right that trains run about every two hours in daytime; be sure to choose a direct service rather than needing to change trains.

http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers
This site will show all the trains, the purchase options, etc. It will also have the lowest prices. RailEurope is a retail agent, partially owned by SNCF, but many on this forum do not trust it to be complete on either scheduling or prices.
Some Americans have had credit card difficulties purchasing on-line from SNCF. An efficient alternative, based in Britain, is www.trainline.eu

You did not specify how many are in your party but the commute from the airport to St-Lazare might be easier by taxi. There is now a fixed rate from the airport to central Paris.

I agree that Caen offers more accommodations than Bayeux plus is a pleasant city on its own. For juggling luggage, however, it will be easier to stay overnight in Bayeux if you can find someplace suitable. The hotel can take care of your bags even if you check out before the tour starts. Plus you save the morning train commute from Caen.

If you do choose Caen, Google Maps says the walk from the station to the hotel is five minutes.
Www.googlemaps.com

Security is no big worry in Caen or most of France. Later in the evening the station area will feel a little lonely.

The handbook for all train travel is www.seat61.com

Posted by
2 posts

Everything after Poland will just be me and my daughter. I typo'ed the days, Fri/Sat is in Paris, Sun is travel to London. The St. Lazare train station doesn't seem to offer luggage lockers so we'd have to hop back over to the hotel and back to the station to pickup any extra luggage on the way back to Paris, correct? That could be inconvenient. I talked to my daughter and she'd rather get the travel over with in a single day in lieu of another 2 hour ride in the morning.

Does the following schedule look correct? When should we buy the train tickets? Do you think it's reasonable to board the 6:09PM train in St. Lazare given the 3:50PM flight arrival time? What else could delay us besides a late flight or strike?

7/5/17 (Wed) 1:25PM: Depart Krakow
7/5/17 (Wed) 3:40PM : Arrive Paris CDG
7/5/17 (Wed): Take RER B (Blue) from CDG to Gare du Nord (departs every 7.5min, ~35min duration, @10E)
7/5/17 (Wed): Once at GdN, store any checked luggage at GdN, then follow the signs for RER E (Magenta) direction Haussmann Saint-Lazare.
7/5/17 (Wed): Take RER line E one stop to St.Lazare.

Option 1: Shorten travel day and stay one night in St. Lazare
7/5/17 (Wed): Stay in hotel near St. Lazare train station
7/6/17 (Thu) 7:06AM: Take train from St. Lazare to Bayeux
7/6/17 (Thu) 9:17AM: Arrive Bayeux
7/6/17 (Thu) 9:30AM: "Tour 2FS" departs Bayeux train station
7/6/17 (Thu) 5:30-6PM: Tour returns to train station

Option 2: Go directly to Bayeux
7/5/17 (Wed): Depending upon arrival time in St. Lazare, take the 6:09PM or 8:44PM train to Bayeux
7/5/17 (Wed) 8:17PM or 11:05PM: Arrive Bayeux
7/5/17 (Wed): Walk or taxi to hotel
7/6/17 (Thu) 8:20AM: Tour 2: Tour departs from RDV Place de Québec (3-5min walk from hotel). Haven't verified return time & location. This may alter departure time from Bayeux train station.
-OR-
7/6/17 (Thu) 9:30AM: Tour 2FS: Tour departs from Bayeux train station (4-5min walk from hotel). Tour returns to train station at 5:30-6PM.

After tour:
7/6/17 (Thu) 6:35PM: Take 6:35PM train from Bayeux to St. Lazare
7/6/17 (Thu) 8:46PM: Arrive St. Lazare
7/7/17 (Fri): Take RER E (Magenta) from St. Lazare to GdN and pickup any stored luggage
7/7/17 (Fri): Take earliest transport from GdN to Paris hotel

Jim

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