How to go from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Gare de L 'Est train station

The RER B goes to Gare du Nord from CDG. You follow 'trains to Paris' signs to find the station at CDG; you can buy tickets from machines or window. The cost is 10 Euros each. From Nord you can either walk to Est which is not terribly far away or you can transfer (using the same ticket) to the metro 4 and take it to Gare l'Est.

A taxi would be flat fare of 50 Euros for up to 4 people and luggage.

The airport train station is easy to find if you are arriving at Terminal 2. If Terminal 1, take the shuttle train. Just follow directions. The train will take you to Gare du Nord, then it is 10 minute walk to Gare de L'Est.

Thank you to you both. Another question, my ultimate destination is Colmar. Should I buy my train ticket ahead of time or wait until I get to Gare de L'Est?

Thank you to you both. Another question, my ultimate destination is Colmar. Should I buy my train ticket ahead of time or wait until I get to Gare de L'Est?

Why not skip the trip to Gare de l'est and take the train directly from CDG? You'll probably have to change trains in Strasbourg but you might have to that with the train from Gare de l'est anyway.

Hi,

It really does not matter that much. When you get to Gard du Nord, you could get your ticket to Colmar, you still have to walk over to Est. If you rather wait until going from Nord to Est, get it there. The TGV leaves from Paris Est to Strasbourg, then change to Colmar.

Carol, you do not necessarily have to go to Gare de L'Est. there are some options direct from Charles de Gaulle station which avoid changing stations in Paris. For example:

Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle TGV depart 12:45 TGV 5406 Strasbourg arrive 14:41
Strasbourg depart 14:51 TER96223, Colmar arrive 15:21

But, advance booking of a train after arriving on an intercontinental flight is always a gamble. You have to factor in how long it takes to go through immigration and get out of the airport, and the risk the plane may be 1+ hours late. But tickets are a lot cheaper if bough in advance. Your choice, gamble or buy tickets when you land.

There is an RATP bus which runs from CDG to Gare de l'est. it is the No 350 and the fare is 3 metro .tickets. It picks up at each terminal. You can buy the tickets from the driver but you will need euros. The Airport Info desk can tell you where to wait for the pick up. The bus run very 20 minutes. The money saved can buy a half decent bottle of wine, plus you get a little tour on the way into Paris.

The old rule of thumb is to leave 4 hours between ETA at CDG and departure from a Paris train station to account for slightly late planes and long lines at immigration and then the trip into town. Usually immigration is about an hour (someone reported 2.5 hours recently though) and it is about an hour then into Paris by the time you buy train tickets -- maybe a little longer by bus) If you buy train tickets months in advance the cost savings is enormous, but the risk of course is that if you miss the train you lose the money. I'd probably leave a comfortable buffer -- 3 hours for a train from CDG and 4 from Paris and be philosophical about having to buy new tickets if the plane is late or immigration ends up being 2 or 3 hours.

Thank you all for your replies. Everyone has been very helpful!

I would not use the 350 if you are going on from Paris - it's a normal local bus route that will stop many times on its way into the city.

Great info and very helpful.

My biggest concern is time: My flight is arriving CDG at 7:50am and need to catch a train from Gare de L 'Est to Luxembourg. The train from Gare de L 'Est to Lux leaves at 10:40. Can I get to Gare de L 'Est in time to catch the train? Do you think I am cutting it too close?

Back up plan is to rent a car and see the country on the drive from Paris to Luxembourg..... so if I miss the train - not a big deal other than loss of Euros.

Any insight would be very helpful!
- Bob -

BTW: Rick Steves still has no info on Luxembourg,,,

It's possible to make your 10:40 train to Luxembourg, but I'd rely on the RER-B train from CDG to Gare du Nord rather than a bus or taxi that could get stuck in traffic. It's a really short walk between the Nord and Est stations. There is another train leaving at 14:40, so you could always take that one instead. It's cheaper to buy your train tickets in advance, but a bit of a gamble if your plane is late. If you want to make sure you make your train, I'd go for the 14:40 instead.

A better alternative might be to catch a TGV from the airport to Lorraine and then a bus to Luxembourg City.

For the quickest exit from CDG, just have carry-on bags and study the CDG maps carefully to figure out where to catch the RER to Paris. See EasyCDG for more details.

Awesome - Thanks!

The 14:40 is running too late for us. We need to be there by 16:00 to catch a bus to the German-Lux border area... and after a 9hr flight... that could make for a long day.

I'll post back after the trip and let you know how it went.