TGV train to Zurich at CDG

http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-gb/passagers/home/ Site has blow-up maps, suggestions for getting around the airport for various terminals, etc. Print out the appropriate pages to carry with you. General opinion is that three hours should be enough. But anything can happen. Flexible train tickets cost more so your gambling spirit must make the call.
For background on all train travel, www.seat61.com

Zurich is very expensive. You will likely pay at least 350 CHf for a family room for five. Why not just book a cheap flight from CGD to Milan, instead of spending two days on trains and a night in Zurich?

We are on our way to Venice for a cruise that departs 6/17 so after Milan we'll be taking a trenitalia train to get there. We already considered to fly easyjet directly from CDG to VCE but we want to experience train travel in Switzerland.

Hello! does your family of 5 all want to stay in one room? If so, I highly recommend the Hotel Bristol, which is a short (5-8 minute_ walk from the main Zurich train station. We stayed in the superior family room, which is large, bright, and airy. I checked and it is available on the night of June 14; the charge for 5 persons is 370 CHF. I do not know of any other hotels close by that have family rooms large enough for five. If you are thinking of two rooms for your family, I can make additional suggestions. For the train from Zurich to Milan, you can save a lot (enough to make up for the exp4ensive hotel) by purchasing your tickets in advance (like now) on SBB. I did this for our family of 4 when we traveled zurich into Italy a couple of years ago, and saved almost $500 for the round trip tickets. In your case, going one-way, you can reduce the ticket cost from 86 CHF (regular fare) to 39 CHF (special Offer fare), so 235 CHF savings total. I checked the 9:09 departure and they are available; there is also an 11:09 departure but I didn't check. The train goes via the Gotthard pass and it is quite scenic (unless is is raining). As for what to do in Zurich, it is pleasant to walk along the river down to the lake, or stroll a parallel path two blocks from the river through the Altstadt (Oldtown). If you get there before closing, you can see the Chagall windows at the Frauenmünster (cathedral). You can walk back on th eother side of the river along the Bahnhofstrasse with its upscale shops. If it is warm, there are also a number of places where you can swim in the lake.

American Airlines uses Terminal 2A. Walk from 2A to 2C. After you go all the way through 2C you will come to the TGV/RER station.

Which 12:36 train do you plan to catch? I don't see one at that time from either CDG Roissey or any Paris station. My understanding is that Zuerich trains go fro Gare de Lyon in Paris.

Hi Lola, please go ahead and recommend some more hotels in the neighborhood of the train station that's less expensive but decent, two rooms if needed, even though one is preferable.

Also, Lola, on the SBB site, which option is Zurich Hbf?

I am afraid I don't know of anything less expensive than that 5-person room at Hotel Bristol. Hotel Walhalla, right across from the train station, is considered very moderately priced for Zurich, but they only have 2 and 3-person rooms, nothing larger. So you would need two rooms and the cheapest (prepaid) rate for those rooms on a weeknight would be 464 CHF for the 2 rooms. They also show no availability at all on June 14. Since that is a Friday night, you may be able to find something with lower weekend rates if you look farther from the train station, but then you would have to consider transport back and forth. Also, very few city hotels have 5-person rooms, and if you book two rooms It is always going to be more than 400 CHF unless you stay at the hostel. That is the reality of staying in Zurich, I am afraid. For your train tickets on SBB, the Hauptbahnhof is listed as simply "Zurich." Choose that from the drop-down menu for tickets from Zurich Hbf.