getting from Paris airport to Bayeaux--confused!!

Where are you looking for information?

You are right, it is simple. Take the RER from Charles de Gaulle to Gare Saint Lazare, and a regional train from there.

(chuckle). No Lisa, you just take the RER B from CDG to Gare du Nord, then at Gare du Nord, you take the RER E to Gare St Lazare, That will cost you 10.30 EUR per person. Global Pass is not valid.

When you put in CDG to Bayeux in the train planner, it puts you on a TGV express train to god knows where, then puts you on another TGV to god knows where, then a local train to Bayeux.

If you want to live in the lap of luxury, it is a fixed price taxi ride from CDG to Gare St Lazare for 55 EUR.

Use the SNCF website for train times and tickets. As is usually the case, most trains will leave not from the airport, but from one of the stations in Paris. You have the choice of taking the RER/metro lines to your station, Uber, or an official taxi which would be a fixed price (€55-60 depending on whether your destination is on the right bank or left)

Note that when Badger mentions taking the RER from the airport to St Lazare, that requires a transfer at Gare du Nord. It's not direct. (Sam mentions the detail of needing to transfer to the RER E for one stop; he also correctly notes that the fixed-prixe taxi fare for up to four people from CDG to Gare St Lazare is 55€.)

Is this your first trip to Paris/France? It’s not as cost effective to take a taxi or Uber from the airport to Gare St. Lazare, but it might cut down on stress and confusion (and jet lag). The only caveat would be if you arrive during rush hour because you could get caught in a traffic jam.

Its very likely that it could take 5-7 hrs to get from landing at CDG to Bayeaux. It could take at least an hour to get through immigration and pick up bags (if you are checking any). Then it’s about an hour train ride, with a transfer, to get to Gare St. Lazare. Then you could have a wait for the next train to Bayeux. Then the travel time could be anywhere from 2.75-4 hours, depending on which train you take, and whether you need to transfer.

Since you never know if your flight will be delayed, it’s risky to purchase the discounted timed train tickets in advance.

book the train from St Lazare no less than 4 hours after landing at CDG. You can take the RER B to Gare du Nord and transfer on the RER E to St. Lazare. Or for 55 Euro for 4 you can take a cab to St. Lazare.

Few trains go from CDG and in this case it would be an odd roundabout route that would be more expensive.

This issue is brought up almost every month on this forum. Do a search. I'll sound like a broken record, but here's what I do on a regular basis. Take the RoissyBus from CDG. it leaves right outside of arrivals and brings you to Opera Garnier—which is a 7-minute walk to Gare Saint Lazare for 13€ per person. If you have a lot of people or too much luggage, get a taxi from the official taxi stand (only there, don't get solicited in the airport). Taxi will cost 58€ for up to four people and will bring you door to door. I personally think the advice to take multiple RER and metro trains, with their accompanying stairs/escalators, and changes is arcane and an abysmal way to travel. At least the bus or taxi lets you see the city en route, rather than tunneling underground in the urine-laden metro.

Not a fan of public transportation.

If I look up CDG to Bayeaux, there are hardly any options... they have multiple transfers... they take 5 to 7 hours... they cost over $100 Euros.

You didn't use Rome2Rio to get that crazy answer did you? It sounds like one of their off the wall ideas.

@Nigel, actually the official SNCF site gives those ridiculous answers. They don't seem to recognize Ratp trains. So it sends you to Lille Flanders, then sends you back to Gare du Nord, then tells you to make your own way to Gare St Lazare for the train to Bayeux, making it an expensive 6 hour journey. Even DB isn't that dumb. Because they cannot sell you an Ratp ticket, they give you a crazy routing.

So… where do I look for accurate info about French trains???

SNCF runs the national trains, but they do not run Paris Transport trains. You just have to know that you need to get to Gare St Lazare to get to Bayeux. When you go to Switzerland, you will leave from Gare de Lyon.

For Paris transport trains (called the RER) or Metro (subway) or buses. go to https://www.ratp.fr/en/itineraires

There are two places you need to look for tickets:

From Paris to Bayeux:

https://www.sncf.com/en

For CDG to Paris and within Paris:

https://www.ratp.fr/en/itineraires

There is no combined ticket for both.

thank you so much! I think we'll take a taxi to the Gare de Lazare and grab a train from there.

Thanks to all of you for this information. My husband and I are traveling from CDG to Bayeaux on the 79th anniversary of D-Day ( no I did not even think about that when planning our trip). I’m hoping that we can buy tickets for Bayeaux at St Lazare when we arrive. Have any of you traveled to Normandy for D Day activities? Had any trouble getting train tickets?

Have any of you traveled to Normandy for D Day activities? Had any
trouble getting train tickets?

I have traveled to Normandy for seven anniversaries, most recently last year, and including a couple of "big" anniversaries (70th and 75th). The train is never an issue—lodging and restaurants are.

It is confusing. We are headed there in two days. After looking at all options we have opted for a taxi to St Lazare from CDG

Olivepeteymom, that's probably your best choice for convenience and speed with luggage. Hope you have (are having) a great trip.