Paris CDG to Garmisch-Partenkirchen after long flight

How about option 5 and spend at least one night in Paris? I find it very hard to plan to move on immediately after landing. What if your plane is delayed and you don’t arrive Paris until 3 pm? You would not only be even more exhausted but train and flight connections could be missed. (Unless you book the US to Paris to Munich as all one itinerary this is a very real potential problem.) You could stay at the airport then take the 4-hour plane-plus-train trip to Garmisch the next morning when you are less groggy.

Go to the Strasbourg area but not on the same day you arrive

Laurel - before the Garmisch plan came up, we had already decided not to include Paris this time. We've been to Paris three times on previous trips.

My only thought about staying at a hotel at the airport is, if our plane gets in as scheduled at 11:00, then what would we do? Don't know anything about areas around the airport. Is it a hassle to take a train in to the city for 4-5 hours, then back to hotel at airport?

Thanks

I'd fly to Munich. It should cost less than E100/ea. Then you can decide to crash there for a while or go down to GP. If money's not an issue you might want to fly into Innsbruck, but there's more flights and cheaper ones into Munich.

If you want to do the Loire I like the idea of starting in GP. Then you can cut down into Austria, across Lichtenstein, Switzerland, and France. With the time you have I'd do that in a heartbeat! The scenery is going to be fantastic! Then up thru Normandy and back out of Paris?

If you have not been to Strasbourg yet, I like variant 3 best. Strasbourg is an excellent stay for a couple of days, and you can book a saver fare ticket for the Strasbourg to Garmisch leg. The difference of about € 70 per ticket already "buys" one night in Strasbourg (book on www.bahn.com, prices start from about € 39, train specific).

We like the Strasbourg idea. Pretty sure we can handle a two hour train ride after our flight ☺️ We were in Strasbourg in 2013 for the Christmas markets, but didn't see much else.

If your train gets in at 11 as planned, you should be through passport control and have your luggage in 90-120 minutes. Certainly you could go into Paris for a few hours.

If you buy an airline ticket in advance and your first flight is late, you could miss the connections. That is why I hesitate on the plan to fly to Munich. You could wait until you have landed and buy a ticket to Munich but there is no guarantee on price or availability. Or maybe buy a refundable and changeable ticket for the ongoing flight in case you are delayed and have to change plans.

Since you've been to Munich, I recommend Option 3. Strasbourg is wonderful!

Yes, Switzerland to Garmisch is a rather awkward journey. TGV for 2 is 190 EUR to Strasbourg, 70 EUR is about the best advance nonrefundable price. You got a great deal on the air, so splurge on taking the first TGV after you have cleared immigration and customs an get to the airport TGV station.

 To amplify Sam's response, direct trains from CdG to Strasbourg run every couple of hours in mid-day. After a trans-Atlantic flight, that train ride would put me to sleep, but it's safer than driving and satisfies your desire to skip Paris.
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