Paris TGV from CDG train question, stopping in Montparnasse

Sorry, but I do not see any TGVs of any type that go direct from CDG to Bordeaux that stop at Montparnasse. Time and date?

The stop at Gare Montparnasse doesn't seem to be showing up in the itinerary online now. It certainly was showing up there earlier! It accounted for part of the time difference between the Montparnasse-Bordeaux route at 2:05 travel time and the CDG-Bordeaux travel time at 3:45. Not sure what's going on here.......

We are also hoping to take a train from CDG to Bordeaux. The 12:18 would work best (we land at 10:35 am) and ours shows a connection in Massy - maybe that's what you saw? My issue is the train shows, then says "not bookable" - does anyone know what that means, exactly? They never allow pre-booking (seems unlikely)? I'm on the wrong web site?

You know, it's entirely possible I misread Massy as Montparnasse. Good catch.
We arrive at 6:15 am, and I'm thinking of buying tix for the 8:05. Seems like that should allow for a slight delay as well as passport control....as I understand it, buying same-day tix is substantially more expensive.

I would be very surprised, maybe even shocked, that there would be a TGV from CDG to Bordeaux with a stop at Montparnasse. This would require the train to go from Massy, in the south Paris suburbs, then back into Montparnasse in the center of Paris. This would add about an hour to the travel time to Bordeaux, and the purpose of the TGV is to get to Bordeaux as fast as possible.

SNCF does not usually include RER legs in its website, but maybe outside vendors like Trainline would. I suspect that the routing you saw was to take the RER to Denfert-Rochereau, then gave you 40 minutes to get to Montparnasse.

SNCF Connect does give you routings with RER+metro from CDG to Montparnasse. The direct TGV from CDG to Bordeaux go thru Massy, and they are my recommendation for this trip! Travel from CDG to Montparnasse is a real pain.

So you land at 6:15 and you’re planning to take a train that leaves less than two hours later? You need to pray that you’re everything goes perfectly because you have not allowed much wiggle room at all. If you’re plane is late or immigration is backed up you are going to have a problem.

You really haven’t allowed for a slight delay. Two hours is assuming everything goes well. You’re not off the plane at six you’re landed at six. You’ve been got to truck to immigration, which, depending on where you land can be quite a haul and go through immigration which the last time I did it at CDG took 45 minutes. If you’ve checked luggage, you’ll have to wait on that. If not, you can skip that part

We arrived last March at 6 AM and it was after 8 before we were in our taxi and the taxi was a lot closer to where we exited customs than the train station would have been.

There used to be a Paul kiosknear the entrance to the train station. It’s not the best breakfast option in the world, but you could certainly get an edible croissant and some coffee there.

Thanks to you all for correcting my mis-remembering of the train itinerary. I conflated two different possible routes and got them garbled.

I haven’t checked luggage since, well, ever.

Haven’t the passport scanning kiosks sped up the transit time thru immigration?
Last time thru CDG, I was at the T2 Sixt rental office an hour after touching down at the crack of dawn.
I will likely chance the earlier departure bc the next train to Bordeaux departing from CDG that day isn’t until slight after noon. Ugh, I’m not hanging around CDG that long for sure.

If I miss it, c’est la vie. I’ll buy another ticket.

"I would be very surprised, maybe even shocked, that there would be a TGV from CDG to Bordeaux with a stop at Montparnasse. This would require the train to go from Massy, in the south Paris suburbs, then back into Montparnasse in the center of Paris."

It is actually physically impossible, as TGVs can't reverse at Massy.

SNCF (and other platforms) will however show connections where you make your own way from CDG to Montparnasse, and board the TGV there. And the part from CDG to Montparnasse you just buy when on the ground in Paris, as that is just local mass transit. Hence the whole trip cannot be booked on one ticket. (Which is something that SNCF really may want to improve...)

It took us 2 hours last spring to get through immigration --American and Canadians (and maybe Aussies) were funneled through one automatic booth. It took us 45 minutes last October( but the plane was 2 hours late) -- so for us we would have missed this train on our last two trips to Paris from Chicago. Less than two hours from ETA to train is risky. If you choose to do it , you have to be sanguine about losing the ticket. You probably make it and cross Atlantic planes are usually a little early; but things have to go very smoothly and they don't always.

And you don't have time to provision yourself before getting the train so I would plan to travel with the makings of lunch on the train from home and hope to pick up something on the train dire though that may be.

Haven’t the passport scanning kiosks sped up the transit time thru immigration?

Not really. To me it seems to slow down the process as the contractors put people in the wrong lines and then people don't know what to do when they get to the machines.

And when I returned in early December, they were all closed for Americans anyway. So you can't count on their being open and in use.

You guys have really helped my planning. After digging into the train schedules and pondering the chaos that is CDG on a good day, I’ve decided that my most flexible option is to deplane, take the RER B to Port Royal stop, and walk the 1 km to Montparnasse (will help shake off the jet lag), I’ll plan to buy a same day TGV ticket for Bordeaux, as there are beaucoup trains to Bordeaux St Jean all day long. No worries about missed connections, a chance for a decent breakfast along the route, and some daylight exposure and a decent walk. Another bonus: it’s a significantly faster journey to Bordeaux from this departure point.

I know I’ll pay $$$ for a same day TGV ticket, but if I were trying to save money, I’d stay home. Ha.

Again, thx for all of your POVs.

I logged in to suggest going into Paris and catching the train to Bordeaux there. And saw your new plan. Excellent idea. LOL!

I think your new plan has an awful lot of benefits to you. The only thing is the money for the ticket. I think you have the right attitude.

What is your travel date? Trains can get full on some days.

Tuesday, April 16…..doesn’t seem like a peak day.

Good plan. The Bd. de Montparnasse is a nice large sidewalk all the way. You'll pass Le Selectjust after Bd. Raspail, which is a well-known restaurant/cafe and a good place for breakfast. They serve that thick hot chocolate that so many people stand in line for at Angelina's. You can get it there without a line.

If it's raining too hard to make a walk enjoyable, you can take the 91 bus right outside the Port Royal station that will drop you in front of the Montparnasse station. The other choice is to stay on the RER until Denfert Rochereau and then switch to one of the two metro lines that drops you at the station. This involves more walking and stairs.

Circling back: I bought tickets for the TGV in advance, with a departure at 11 am on my arrival day. Turns out that a first class ticket can be changed prior to departure for 19 euros plus the fare difference, and the SCNF app is far easier to navigate than the website. So I saved a little over a day-of fare, yet it is still somewhat flexible. Also got the trip insurance offered thru SCNF for a small sum, just in case a strike or rail stoppage sends me out on the highways.

diane4morgan....when is your trip?

FWIW. If you find on the day that you don't want to walk a km -- e.g. it is pouring rain or something, you can get the metro line 6 at Denfert Rochereau which takes you to Montparnasse. Just make sure you are pickpocket proof on this journey. Passport, money, ID under your clothes.

And a cab is 62 from CDG to Montparnasse.

Thanks for the metro suggestion….unless it is absolutely raining buckets, we will hoof it. Light rain doesn’t bother us much, as we are from the subtropics and don’t really consider it rain unless objects are floating down the street, ha. Hoping to pop into the Monoprix near Gare Montparnasse for some essentials and snacks before boarding the train. Now I just need to book the car rental and find a hotel for our final 2 nights in Paris.

nikkiu,
Just nitpicking, but it is SNCF not SCNF. If you need to google it, you will be out of luck with SCNF. Happy travels!

I'm still scratching my head wondering why you're not taking the direct TGV from CDG to Bordeaux.

In response to jphbucks, we wanted to arrange for our daughter and her two children to take the TGV from CDG to Bordeaux after her flight from the west coast of the US. The times of the TGV were too close to her scheduled arrival (just under one hour) or else a 6+ hour wait, with a late arrival in Bordeaux. This was to be followed by a three+ hour drive to La Roque Gageac. An overnight in Bordeaux wasn't an option. Hence, we bought our tickets on Air France from departure in the US to Bordeaux, with a plane change at CDG with a 2 hour transfer time. It went very smoothly and she arrived in the Dordogne before dinner. ( She was traveling with a 9 year old and a 12 year old.)
TGV trains from CDG were not as frequent as those from Gare Montparnasse, so that may affect one's decision.

Jphbucks, the early direct departure from CDG is too early, and the next departure would have me spend 4 extra hrs at CDG waiting, then take 3 hrs 55 mins to get to Bordeaux. As mentioned upthread, I’d rather take the RER into Paris, have a non airport breakfast and/or pick up some provisions for the train and subsequent travel at one of the 9 different markets I will pass between Port Royal RER stop and the Montparnasse station. Plus, there are many departures to Bordeaux from Montparnasse, so I gain flexibility should our plane arrive late.

We are minimalist packers, so it’s NBD to walk a kilometer between the two, which will help w jet lag.