Departing flight from CDG -- how soon to arrive at the airport?

No Scott, three hours would be better.. The security line can be very long and move slowly,, and its a big airport . I think if you check your ticket it will suggest three hours, mine did.

Agree to allow three hours, two might be cutting it too close.

'train arrives right at the airport' Terminal 2A is as far from the rer station as you can get and still be in the main T2 complex. It's a fifteen minute walk, counting the time to change levels. In a gazillion trips, with two hours I might have made the flight a couple of times. 'sometimes difficult to get around' The terminal is very well-signed, but 2A is in a straight line to the west once you clear the rer area.

'In some airports you need a shuttle bus to get to the train station.
Not the case in CDG.' You must use either the val or a shuttle bus to move between Terminals 1, 2, and 3 or to get to T2G. You must also use the val to get from T1 to the northern rer station.

Have a seat, Paul; Ed's correct (read his post carefully). Scott, here's a link that I hope you find useful; go up three stories ('niveau'), then you'll want to follow the directions to 'T2C', go all the way through that terminal, then you'll arrive at 'T2A' (see the very bottom of the diagram). At times, I've taken a navette (shuttle bus) from the terminal level directly above the gare to T2A; I've also taken the CDGVAL for some reason...??? Everytime I've been at CDG there's been construction inside and/or outside that has required 'unusual maneuverings'...so be prepared for anything LOL! Here's a pictorial link to CDG to Paris from T2; just use it in reverse ;-) Very helpful. And here's a link to the official CDG website with all of their maps. In case you need an au revoir espress... Wow, Ed - I'd swear it's taken us more than 15 minutes to get to T2A...but then again we weren't in our Speedos, knocking women and children to the ground ;-) Definitely three hours!!!

Dang it Eileen, I never should have made that speedo crack. But just in case I was wrong (fat friggin chance) I just pulled a Goggle Earth line from the T2 rer station to the west end of T2A and got 3840 feet - - call it 3900 to humor me. (And, for the record, this is the first time that I've ever reseached a post, before or after.) A marching band, or any military marching unit, takes 30 inch steps and takes exactly 120 of the suckers per minute. Converting to feet, the rate of advance is 300 feet per minute. Now, 3900 divided by 300 is 13 minutes. I allowed a couple of extra minutes to get up the steps. Answer: 15 minutes. Geeze, am I good or what? Huh? Huh? Huh? Applause please. Better yet cookies, and not cod like last time.

You go Ed!!! Well done!

Dragging a suitcase, I'm slower than a military marching band. Can you give me a couple minutes to catch up. But to get back to the original questions--three hours not two.

Thanks for the helpful -- and entertaining -- replies!

LOL!!!!Ed said he was wrong. Did I read that right? I know he retracted it. But it was funny thinking of him sitting by computer in his speedo. Bet Scott won't be back to this site soon.

Actually, I'm looking forward to more replies to my questions on this site!

We all wish Ed would keep his Speedo crack to himself.

Hear, hear, Karen!!!! "Dang it Eileen, I never should have made that speedo crack." That's OK, Ed - they're just so danged tight; sometimes they crack. It happens. (Oh, no - is 'Speedo crack' The New Scourge? I've seen cracks coming out of Speedos...heh-heh) I spent years marching in a military-style band; I still have that 30" stride, much to the chagrin of my fellow walkers. But, trying to get through the thongs throngs of people at CDG can cut into anyone's record-making pace. And if there are more than two in your traveling group, you may move more like a Slinky or Inchworm - the front has to periodically wait for the back to catch up. So, that's 15 minutes plus. Scott, this thread is like a comedy club, without the two-drink minimum ;-) FYI - The infamous Speedo post: "Hell, I'll come right out and say it since I've been mucking around that town since way before CDG and the RER were even thunk of: I couldn't do it ( Eileen here: make a particular train the OP asked about) wearing sneakers and a speedo with a fistfull of euros and leaving wailing women and children in my wake. You, on the other hand, don't have a prayer." Scott, don't forget your Speedo. Bring two; they crack.

What the flip is this place coming to? I've had a couple of months to get used to the concept of Ed in his Speedos with the wailing and all that - one of the best lines I think I've seen posted here or anywhere in many a year. Now I have to imagine Eileen and friends in thongs.... what am I going to do??? Next time I go to Paris I'm having a daytrip to CDG (cause I always go to Paris by train).