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Paris & Colmar - Which first (& train questions)

Posted by on

I asked a few days ago about what other location my friends & I should visit during a girls trip to Paris at Christmas time & you all were so helpful! I think we've decided on Colmar, per your recommendation.

With that, we'll be flying round-trip in/out of Paris (I know Frankfort could shave off 30 min or so of travel, but our flights are direct if we stick to CDG). Curious if those of you who know the transportation system there well would recommend going straight to Colmar upon arrival, ending our trip in Paris or Paris first followed by Colmar. We'll have to be at the airport around 8am when we fly out, so trying to decide if we did Colmar second, if we should stay at an airport hotel the last night (we usually do Airbnbs).

Thanks!!

OH! And I read there is a train station within CDG.... is that the same one that we'd be taking for Colmar or just local transport?

Posted by
8889 posts

Yes, there are two railway stations in Charles de Gaulle Airport. The RER (Express métro) station connecting to central Paris and the TGV station serving High Speed TGV's which do not start or end in central Paris. There are TGV trains between Charles de Gaulle Airport station and Colmar, but they are a lot less frequent than those from central Paris (Gare de l'Est).

TGV fares are a lot cheaper booked in advance, but the standard caveat applies not to book fixed time tickets after a long flight. You cannot say in advance whether the plane will be on time, or how long it will take to get through immigration. For that reason alone I would recommend Paris then Colmar. When you arrive at Charles de Gaulle Airport station, just get the next RER train to central Paris. Book your TGV tickets Paris to Colmar and Colmar to Charles de Gaulle Airport station as far in advance as possible. Then stay overnight at the airport for your 08:00 departure.

For times and prices of TGV trains, go to www.capitainetrain.com This site allows you to buy print-at-home tickets, so you can have everything pre-booked. Tickets are cheaper the earlier you buy, booking opens about 60-90 days in advance, but when you buy you decide on a particular train (time and date) and cannot change your mind thereafter.

P.S. I just looked up Colmar to "Aéroport-Paris-Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle" (full name) on www.capitainetrain.com for a random day in May. It offered me:

depart 13:05 ➔ arrive 17:04 (time 3h59) single ticket 2nd class €34.50

The later train was more expensive:

15:07 ➔ 19:02, 3h55, €73.70

Posted by
393 posts

It is always my preference to tackle a big city early on in a trip and end with small town so you can "wind down." Yes, I would, and have, stayed at a hotel near the airport on the last night.

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