Dresden to Paris by train

Unfortunately, trains may not go east and west out of Dresden. Rick's German rail map shows you might have to go up to Berlin by train to transfer to a train that goes thru Cologne and over to Paris. Sounds as if it's too far and too difficult of a train trip.
An easier way to get to Paris would be to take the train down to Prague (100 miles) where you could catch an inexpensive flight on EasyJet.com to Paris De Gaulle Airport.
Another option would be to take the train 120 miles up to Berlin where you could catch an inexpensive flight into Paris Orly Airport.

I had a brief look at the bahn.de website, and it appears the quickest trip to Paris is a departure at 07:19, arriving Paris Est at 16:50 (time 9H:31M with 2 changes in Leipzig and Frankfurt). That's a long trip by train, but you'd see lots of scenery.

The method I'd probably use would be to travel from Dresden to Berlin by train and then use an easyJet flight from there to Paris / ORY. There's a direct (no changes) rail departure from Dresden at 09:07, arriving Berlin Hbf at 11:15. That allows lots of time to get to the airport to connect with a flight that departs at 16:10, arriving 18:10. Travel from ORY into Paris is relatively easy via the OrlyVal people mover and then RER "B" to the city (there are other methods as well). In either case it's going to be pretty much a full travel day.

A third option would be to stop for a night or two in an intermediate location, in order to split the journey up. One possibility is Wurzburg, which is an easy five hours or so from Dresden (using a departure at 08:19). From Wurzburg to Paris will be another six hours or so (using a 06:55 departure).

Good luck with your planning!

So even so such a long train ride is still faster than the plane especially when you count in the time at Orly and the time getting in to Paris from the airport.

Given the time it will take to get from Dresden to Paris (by any method), I'd really try to break up the trip. In addition to Berlin, Frankfurt, and Wurzburg already mentioned by you or others on this thread, there are a lot of places in between worth a stopover or overnight. I haven't investigated train links, but just looking at a map I see Leipzig, Erfurt, Nuremberg, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, and Nancy.

Since some of these are likely to involve a considerable detour, look at train schedules at the Bahn (German Rail) website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, following Rick's tutorial: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules. Once you know how long it will take to get to and from various cities, see if any of them are of interest to you or your daughters.

Hi,

If you decide not to break up the ride and head straight for Paris from Dresden, it can be done in a day with 2 transfers, one in Leipzig and the other in Frankfurt. Take the early morning train Dresden to Leipzig, then Leipzig to Frankfurt Hbf on the ICE so that you can catch the Frankfurt Hbf to Paris Est by 13:00. You get into Paris by 1650. I vote with your daughters going straight to Paris.

The 7:19 departure allows generous transfer time, which is a good idea in case of any train delay. You often don't have many options if you miss a reserved train, such as the last leg from Frankfurt to Paris. However, if you purchase this travel day all as one ticket on the DB site, then I believe they will allow you on the next train in case of any significant delay. You still must not dawdle at the connection points; be at the door of the train with your luggage before the train stops, so you're not stuck at the end of a line.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have looked at several options and it seemed that some trains gave you less than 15 min. to make train changes. To someone from another country, in an unfamiliar train station, that seemed like an impossible transfer! I would like to see as much of Germany as possible; it seems this trip will have too many destinations for my daughters if I did it my way.

Hi,

If you are transferring trains in Germany, the time limit of 15 mins is sufficient time to get to the transfer train. Most of the time the transfer time is much less than 15 mins. You step on it when you get off. When you see people lining up 2 mins prior to the train's arrival, you do the same, get the luggage off the rack and proceed to the exit. Listen to the announcements. It also depends how far apart the platforms are, ie, going from platform 5 to 7, or 5 to 16?

Leipzig and Frankfurt have huge train stations, but the platforms are all on one level, so the transfers are easy. It's not like an airport - there's no security check when changing trains, so you just get off one and on the other.

The key, as posted above, is being ready to get off the train when you pull into the station. About 5-10 minutes before pulling into major stations like Leipzig and Frankfurt, you'll see lots of people getting up, gathering their bags, and lining up at the doors. You should do the same.

There will be big boards like at an airport, showing the trains departing and their platforms. Even if you know which platform you want (it can be found on the Bahn website), it never hurts to double check.

Here's Rick's tutorial on how to use the Bahn website, including how to find platforms by clicking the relevant arrow: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules

And here's his How to Ride the Rails video, which gives a good introduction: http://tinyurl.com/ac82c92