I'm planning a trip from Paris to visit the Chateau at Pierrefonds outside of Compiegne. But I'm not sure as to what trains and buses I should take. I'm trying to make this a half-day trip. Can it be done? Any advice?
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
I found the local bus site at http://www.oise-mobilite.fr but as usual it is in French only and not that easy to use. It appears that you need to take route 27 from Compiegne to the stop Pierrefonds-Mairie from where the Chateau looks walkable on Google Maps. The bus is not very frequent - timetable at <a href="http://www.oise-mobilite.fr/ftp/FR_Lignes/L27%20COMPIEGNE%20-%20PIERREFONDS.pdf">http://www.oise-mobilite.fr/ftp/FR_Lignes/L27%20COMPIEGNE%20-%20PIERREFONDS.pdf</a>. The buses leave from Compiegne railway station (Gare SNCF) at 0835 or 1130 Mon-Sat (no Sunday service). The fare appears to be two euro each way. Compiegne is served by the Gare du Nord in Paris. It looks as if there is currently a weekday train at 1037 which gets you there at 1117. If that connection is too tight unfortunately the previous train is at 0837. Both of these trains are Corail (non-TGV express services) which means that you may get a discount if you book online in advance. Note that this is all by web searching - maybe someone who's been there can give you more tips.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
NB: the buses back from Pierrefonds - Mairie to the station at Compiegne are at 1649 (1644 on Sat) and 1735. The trip is about 25-30 minutes.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
The train fare is €13.40 each way and there is no discount for buying tickets in advance. There is an earlier bus that leaves Pierrefonds at 14:07, but the first train you could take to Paris doesn't depart Compiegne until 16:09. If you leave on a later bus, the first train you can take departs at 18:08. There's another train at 18:22. A one-way bus ticket costs €2.00 and a roundtrip ticket costs €3.50. According to its Web site, the chateau is closed on Mondays between 5 September and 30 April. During that time period it is open 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:30. It's open seven days a week between 2 May and 4 September and the hours are 09:30-18:00.
Posted by
OP
Austin, TX, United States
7 posts
Thank you so much everyone! I was a bit worried about the transportation since this city is a bit off the beaten path but I'm excited to have worked out these logistics! Thanks again! I appreciate it!