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Train Arrival CDG -Plane Departure CDG is this too tight?

I'm departing CDG on Sunday, 7/28 at 6:45PM (18:45).

To got to the airport I can take a train that arrives at 12:11 ( 6 hours before my flight) or 4:41 PM (2 hours before my flight).

This will be during the Olympics. Is it safe to book the 4:41 arrival? Or must I book the 12:11 arrival?

Posted by
7278 posts

Olympics or no Olympics, 2 hrs is too tight. Book the train that arrives at 12:11, 6.5 hours before. It will allow for delays etc.

Posted by
10063 posts

Where are you coming from is the more important question ? And where is your CDG flight going ?

Posted by
682 posts

I might be tempted to take train/metro to 6th. Have lunch. Then take RER B to airport which I believe runs hourly with a stop near Luxembourg garden. That way you can arrive 3-4 hours ahead of flight.

Posted by
3935 posts

As others have noted, 2 hours is cutting it too close for a train's scheduled arrival at CDG ahead of a flight and I think so regardless of the flight's destination. It looks like you do not want to take any of the trains that go into Paris and then connect from there to CDG and if that is in fact the case, book the train that arrives at 12:11. If you are willing to go into to Paris then you have more options and could definitely stop for lunch in Paris if you took the 9:25 AM train from Angouleme to Gare Montparnasse. I don't think that it makes sense to take a train to CDG and then turn around take the RER into Paris for lunch when you could just go directly to Paris. The RER runs more frequently than hourly so you could take it to CDG or you could take a taxi (65€ fixed fare from the Left Bank).

Posted by
10063 posts

I was wondering if your flight away from CDG was to the US or somewhere far away, or just within Europe.

Keep in mind that Angouleme is nearly 500 km from CDG-Roissy - so if there is a problem with the trains the day of your departure and you need to get to the airport a different way, it takes about five hours to drive from Angouleme to Paris (because a car can't go nearly as quickly as a train can).

So if it's a high-stakes flight you are talking about (how much it would cost to buy a replacement walk-up ticket), you might want to consider going to Paris the afternoon / evening before. If it's just to elsewhere in Europe, of course, buying a new ticket wouldn't be such a hard hit on the pocketbook.

Posted by
2783 posts

Assuming this is an international flight, It took me over an hour to get through immigration last November and I was in the line for people flying Business... I don't want to think about how long it took the other line. And then was security, the train to the gate etc..

Posted by
8497 posts

Always be in the town of departure the night before a high stakes flight e.g. one you would not be comfortable buying a walk up ticket for. If this is a flight to the US/Canada or Australia or similar -- you absolutely need to be in line to check in 3 hours before the flight. Sometimes it goes fast -- but we have more than once needed every minute.

Trains are often late. We had a Thalys come in from Amsterdam 5 hours late --- I'd never cut it close on a high stakes flight.

Posted by
11759 posts

Is it safe to book the 4:41 arrival?

No.

And if the flight goes to a non-Schengen destination, the answer is NO.

if you have bags to check then the answer probably is H*LL NO

Posted by
5162 posts

Two hours is way, way too tight. As was suggested, try to stay in the departure city the night before. If not possible, then opt for the six hour window. Better to perhaps be bored a few hours, that to have the stress of not making the flight.

Posted by
10574 posts

International flight? Check-in will be at 3:45. During summer crowds, you need the full three hours.
TGV and all other trains have disruptions constantly. Eighty percent of my trips are late, as much as two hours. Be sure you leave wiggle room.

Edit: last night a train from Normandy to Paris arrived six hours late due to electric problems on the line. Always better to be in place the night before, unless paying for a replacement walk up ticket is within your budget