My AirFrance flight arrives at CDG at 6:50 a.m. April 21. How much time should I allot for customs, baggage claim, and getting Passe Sanitaire before catching train from CDG to Avignon?
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I already have a seat reserved for April 21,leaving CDG at 11:57 a.m., arriving at Avignon TGV at 3:28, with a train change in Paris Marne-la-Valle Chessy at 12:48. I assume I will have enough time to make the connection, but I have no idea where this station is. Is it very far from where my first train lets me off? I am not a fast walker. However, this one-way ticket costs only 41,50 euros, so perhaps I should stick with it. What do you think?
Posted by
Moncton NB
1117 posts
I have no info from the Covid era, but typically I would want to have 90 minutes after landing before catching a train. Its a big airport. You should also specify what terminal you land at as the train station is in Terminal 2.
The Marne-la-Vallee-Chessy station is the station for Disneyland. It is in the Paris suburbs. It will be a very easy connection.
Posted by
Panguitch, Utah
2707 posts
I would allow no less than 4 hours for the connection, which you have.
Immigration alone can take 60 to 90 minutes. The TGVs depart from the lowest level of terminal 2. It doesn't typically take more than 10 to 15 minutes to walk there from the customs exits. There are two pharmacies at terminal 2 at which QR codes can be issued for your CDC card information. Cost is 36€ each.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5439 posts
Assuming your plane is on time, you should have ample time (over 5 hours) to do everything, even with changing terminals. And Marne-la-Vallee is such a small station, it should only take a couple of minutes to walk to the track for your connecting train. Just look for the signs to see which track it is.
And worse comes to worst, there will be later trains you could still take. €41 isn't a very big loss.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
The SNCF and associated train services are eager to give you information on-line. Here are three sources for your travel from CdG to Avignon. The first is a detailed map for the transfer station you asked about. The TGV to Avignon has its own station outside the city, as explained in the second link. The third shows ways to get to the city centre – taxi, shuttle bus, shuttle train. The last is the quickest and travels to the old city train station just outside the main gate through the city walls.
One word of caution: The train company just put out word that it is rebranding some of its services, hopefully making the names easier for anglos to understand.
https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gare/frmlv/marne-vallee-chessy/plan-de-la-gare
https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gare/fravg/avignon-tgv
https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Avignon-TGV-Station/Avignon-Centre
The city tourist bureau is located about half way between the city gate and the central plaza. I've found that office to be very helpful about the region as well as the city. https://avignon-tourisme.com/
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7891 posts
It happened that our CDG TGV departure coincided with an hour or so lockdown because of an abandoned piece of luggage being found. I mention this not because it happens every day, but because it is the sort of thing that can happen more often than a track-washout or a vicious rainstorm. (I once had an eight-hour delay for a Eurostar return from London to Brussels because a pedestrian was killed on a track segment in France. Luckily, they held the last train for Antwerp and beyond.)
The CDG platforms were re-opened just in time for our train to Strasbourg, which was roughly on time. But it was a stressful wait behind a piece of police tape at the entrance to the stairway passage.
Posted by
OP
Burlington, North Carolina
59 posts
Thank you all for your good advice. It will be very useful. I’ve decided to stick with my original train reservations, now that I know how easy it should be to make the train connection at Marne-la-Valle Chessy.
—frequent traveler who still gets nervous about connections