Hello. We arrive in Charles de Gaulle about 7:30 am and need to take a train to Amsterdam. About how long will it take on the train? We would like to go first class since we will have our luggage and will be exhausted. Should I reserve our tickets and seats before we leave the US? What route will we take? Thanks so much.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9110 posts
Journey by train will take between 4 to 5.5 hours depending on the connection. You take the TGV train from the airport to Brussels-Zuid station. From Brussels you can take either the Thalys high-speed train, or a regular inter-city train direct to Amsterdam Centraal station. Since your looking to travel first class, I think you'll be more comfortable on the Thalys train. There is a TGV from the airport to Brussels at 10:10am that connects to a Thalys to Amsterdam at 1:50pm. You can get cheap non-refundable/changeable tickets if you book in advance via:
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Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
There are two routes from which you can choose.
With a 07:30 arrival at CDG, you would have time to take the RER B from CDG to Gare du Nord in Paris and take a Thalys train from there to Amsterdam, departing at 10:25 and arriving at 13:43. The fare on the RER B is 8.50 EUR and the ride takes around 35 minutes.
Or you can stay at CDG and take a TGV from there to Brussels, departing at 10:10 and arriving at 11:52. Connect there to an IC train departing at 12:18 and arriving at Amsterdam at 15:06.
For detailed timetables, go to the German Rail site. Enter Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle TGV as your departure point and Amsterdam Centraal as your arrival point. After you get summary timetables, click on the arrow to the left of the departure time(s) of your choice to see the connecting points.
All seats on Thalys trains and TGVs are reserved and the reservation is included in the price of the ticket. No reservations are possible on IC trains. If you wait and buy your tickets at the station, you will pay full price--and Thalys trains are especially expensive. However, if you book well in advance, you can get discount fares on both Thalys trains and TGVs. However, discount fare tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable so you need to build in plenty of connection time in case your plane is late. There are no discount fares on IC trains.
If you give me your travel date, I'll help you with the booking process.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I was writing my post while Michael was writing his. The Thalys train he mentioned that leaves Brussels at 13:50 leaves Paris at 12:25. If you can get a discount fare on that train, then you'll have lots time to get from CDG to Gare du Nord and you won't risk eating the cost of the tickets if you book discount fare tickets on the 10:25 Thalys train and end up missing it.