Hi all, Just wondering if anyone has any advice on catching the TGV to Avignon from a US flight arriving in GDG airport . We already have our train tickets and have a couple of hours between the time our flight lands until our train departs. Are there properly marked signs to assist visitors with finding the proper train. We'd appreciate any help provided.
Thanks Fran
If a couple of hours are two, be ready to move quickly. CDG is huge, sprawling airport. While signage is good it can be a long walk. If you have three hours then you can walk slower.
It is 3 hours. We arrive at 10:55 am and our train leaves at 13:58, Is that enough time....I guess we'd better hope our plane is not late
Odds are you'll be going into Terminal 2. The only train station is just about in the middle of the whole T2 complex. Directions are well-signed. Even if you're at the far end of T2a or T2b, you can walk to the station in ten minutes once you clear the arrival hall.
As Ed said, your plane is likely to arrive at one of the branches of Terminal 2. If you arrive at Terminal 1, take the free 24/7 CDGVAL driverless shuttle train between the terminals. Since you already have your train tickets, you won't have to stand in line at the TGV station and you'll have ample time to catch your train (barring a super long flight delay).
Thanks Ed and Tim
While you are cooling your heels waiting for the train to arrive you can check the little blue train configuration boards to see where your car will be in the train. Its much easier to get into a TGV at the right door. One thing I noticed last week at Mulhouse is that at some stations the train configuration information which shows where each coach will stop is now at the bottom of the normal displays on that platform. My wife saw it as I was hunting the old board. Turns out that by dumb luck I was in the right place for coach 6 anyway.
We're doing the same thing in two weeks, arriving into terminal two, and have allowed three hours. With the tickets we purchased, we can catch any train on that date for our destination of Avignon. That takes some pressure off.
I've never taken the TGV from CDG, but I've noticed the signs at Terminal 2 and it seems like a very short and easy walk.
Here http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/Resources/8102d608-a1c2-42cb-8252-f65f9acba3ae-plangareSNCF.pdf is a schematic guide to the SNCF station (as opposed to the RER commuter trains) provided by SNCF itself. Isn't it pretty? At the bottom you can see the diagram showing the station between 2C and 2E/F. The airport authority maintains a big and frequently useful website http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr Among other things, it indicates where you can find cash machines to get euros as you walk to the SNCF.
Here is its overall map for the terminals so you can get a better sense of your destination http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/Resources/3fdff8fb-5939-4b12-b655-1f99da4f0ac8-plangencdg.jpg