- We have train tickets to be retrieved at the station. They are from the austerlitz station ? Does anyone know where that is? We are staying in the Eiffle tower area. I hope that will not be complicated.
- We pick up the car in Amboise downtown. Rue de chenonceaux, garage Ford, Amboise. Will we need transportation or is it in walking distance?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
I find Google Maps to be the easiest way to search for in-city landmarks and addresses. All Paris train stations are served by Metro/RER; it's a direct ride on the RER Line C from Champs de Mars/Tour Eiffel stop to Austerlitz station; most guidebooks have a metro map or see www.ratp.fr. A couple of people with luggage might prefer to take a taxi for about €15. Allow 30 minutes, plus time for delays and time in the station.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
If you have to retrieve a French train ticket, you do not have to go to Austerlitz station. You can pick it up at any station, or probably more conveniently, at an SNCF Boutique. These are "ticket stores"; you take a number like in a bakery, and when it's your turn, you sit at a desk and complete your transaction. It's a nicer experience than waiting in line at a station, and the offices are sometimes even air conditioned!
I don't know exactly where your hotel is, but here's a Google map showing the SNCF boutique near the Eiffel Tower. Click "Directions" and put in your hotel, and you'll see if it's close (be sure to choose the walking icon, or you may be given a very roundabout driving route):
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boutique+SNCF/@48.85976,2.307078,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x225b75b0e51be905
Posted by
OP
18 posts
This is great to know. Now that you have helped with that can you tell me approximately what is involved upon entry at CDG like how long will it take. We have no luggage checked. Thank you so much.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
"what is involved upon entry at CDG like how long will it take."
I'm not sure if you're referring to arrival or departure.
If you are arriving at CDG, you get off the plane, then follow rest of your fellow passengers to passport control. How long this takes depends on how many officials are on duty and how many other planes arrived at the same time as yours. In other words, it's totally unpredictable. it could be 15 minutes or over an hour.
If you have no checked luggage, you then proceed to ground transportation. Again, how long it takes to get into Paris depends on what method you are using. If it's anything other than the RER, it also depends on traffic, although another poster reported that the RER is also subject to delays.
For departure from CDG, you should get there three hours before your flight if it is back to the US, and 2 hours if it is within Europe. Again, security can take a short time or a long time, and if there's a holdup, you don't want to miss your flight. You also go through passport control on departure if your flight is back to the US, but that doesn't usually take long (passengers arrive at that line a few at a time, not in bunches like on arrival - particularly when an Airbus 380 lands).