Transportation from CDG to Arles on the train

I'd wouldn't be surprised if you are still waiting to leave the airport at 9:46, much less traveling in to Gare de Lyon. And what will you do if your plane arrival is late?

If you magically poof yourself from the airplane seat to the rer seat, you ain't going to make it to Lyon in time. In fact, you won't even make the 10:35 departure except in your dreams.

Litishia, It would probably be a good idea to allow at least two hours from the time your flight arrives until departure on the train. I'd suggest travel via TGV directly from the airport, rather than hauling luggage around Paris after a long flight to use Gare de Lyon. The bahn.de website shows numerous departures from the airport station. The most likely possibility appears to be a train departing at 11:42, arriving Arles at 15:50 (travel time 4H:08M, 1 change to Bus in Avignon). You may find it helpful to have a look at This Website which provides an excellent description of the rail stations and layout at CDG. If you're buying your tickets at the airport, there may be a long queue in the ticket office. The automated ticket Kiosks will ONLY accept "chip & PIN" credit cards, but I believe Euro coins can be used also. Happy travels!

You might also consider flying to Marseilles or Lyon and taking the train from either airport (Marseilles has a bus to the train) or a bus from Marseilles airport. Possibly, either option could get you to Arles earlier than 4pm, what a long day!

Actually, unless a different day of the week gives me a different result (not knowing your date/day of travel), the only choices you have for the entire day (without getting creative, perhaps) are 2 trains dp from CDG at 9:28 (apparently 2 different trains going to Nimes...), the one at 13:01, and from Gare de Lyon a 9:46 and a 17:46. Make peace with the 13:01. Is it possible to make it to the CDG TGV train station in time for the 9:28 departure? I suppose anything's possible - you'd absolutely need to have purchased your tickets online - the line at the ticket window is often one hour long...Would I do this? DEFINITELY NOT! And I've traveled by train from CDG several times, and feel very comfortable with the airport layout, how to get to the train station, etc. Consider your layover as time to get your 'sea legs' under you - have coffee, do some walking, eat breakfast, nap a little (watch your bags!), buy some provisions for your Arles train at the store at CDG, read your guidebook, get used to being in France with it's sights and sounds! Have some more coffee...;-) And spend a considerable amount of time with the ParisByTrain.com link that Ken gave you - go through all of the pictures in particular - and you'll be much better prepared!

I recommend that you follow Ken's suggestion and take the 11:42 TGV from CDG to Avignon and the bus from there to Arles.

Thank you for your help and suggestions. I'm sure it was wishful thinking. I have traveled in Paris on the trains before, but not from CDG so was unsure of the timing. Thank you for all the help and suggestions. After this trip, I hope to have my own suggestions for other travelers.

Litishia, One point to add to my previous reply. In checking the trains from CDG, I used an arbitrary date. You'll need to confirm the trains and departure times using your actual travel date (or at least the same day of the week). I doubt that the schedules will change too much over the next few months.