Eddie2006

Hello everyone (again)

Quick question: Which would be the best route from CDG to Lux Gardens tomorrow?

RER?
Bus?
Taxi?

(We'll have one suitcase each.

Thanks for answering. I know. I'm lame.

Eddie

Michael

Not only lame, but lazy. Just take the RER to Luxembourg.

Eddie2006

I didn't mean to come off as lazy. I'm just finding contradicting info on the best way to get to the Lux area.
I thought I'd ask the experts.

thank you.
Eddie

Robespierre

There is a slight issue with the escalators and stairs at Luxembourg RER for people who have a lot of luggage. For those, I say: ride on to Denfert-Rochereau, where there are elevators to street level. Then take a taxi or bus to the hotel.

PalQ

You'll have two RER trains often waiting at CDG RER station - the one that leaves earlier may get there later so check the overhead sign to see which one goes Sans Arret (non-stop) to the Gare du Nord and then stops at several key stations from their, including Luxembourg. The stopping train from CDG not only takes much longer but a seedy crowd may jam aboard at seedy places like Aulnay-sous-Bois, where during recent immigrant riots in the northern suburbs an RER train was actually attacked. Better to take the non-stop to Gare du Nord - and check overhead boards to see which trains will go to Luxembourg - the light by Luxembourg should be lit or you may have to transfer at Gare du Nord or Chatelet-Les Halles.
If you land at terminal 1, where many transAtlantic flights come in you must take a free "navette" shuttle bus to the RER station a few miles away. Terminal 2, where Air France and a few other transAtlantic flights land has its own RER station.
Keep your ticket until you exit the station as you may need to put it into the automatic exit machines to get the gates to open.

Robespierre

I don't believe there is any provision for trains to pass one another on the CDG-Paris run - each one arrives after the preceding departure.

But some rather seedy types <u>do</u> get on at certain suburban stations. You can consult the timetable directly to find a trip that suits you - the column headings are the names of the trains that are displayed on the overhead signs as well as on the front of the locomotives. KROL is probably your best bet. From 8h55, there's one every 15 minutes.

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/horaires_rer_ligne_b.php

Choose your direction from the first drop-down, and weekday/weekend (Lundi &agrave; vendredi = Mon-Fri) from the second. Press <i>Valider</i>

PalQ

the last time i was taking the RER from CDG i at first boarded the local train because it was due to leave earlier - but then looked at the next platform and though this train left later it did indeed pass the other stopping train whilst it was stopped at Aulnay-sous-Bois. So it does happen or at least did a year ago. In any case you want the non-stop train - and expect to be seranaded by a frumpy looking accordion player en route who wants tips - always on these trains.
The US State Department has in the past also issued a warning of bag snatching on these RER trains so be vigilant and not be distracted by scams.

Christina

The reason why you read different things is because the term &quot;best&quot; is purely subjective, and you'll get the same thing again as you don't define what you mean by that.

Really, I am not big on taking bus/RER from the airport to a hotel, but even I would do it with one suitcase and going to Lux Gardens. Just take the RER.

I do not think there is any issue with stairs etc. at Luxembourg RER. It's one of the easiest stops -- there are no connections there, so it is relatively small, and there is an escalator there to ground level (at least has been when I was there). If you can't handle one suitcase up some stairs, that would be pathetic.

PalQ

Robes: the schedules in your link supports what you say - maybe a train was running late or whatever but it did happen but apparently is not scheduled.

Robespierre

It has always been a complete mystery to me why some posters here wouldn't think twice about flying into CDG, catching the TGV to Lyon, and hiring a taxi to get from the station to their hotel - but when the destination is Paris, doing that is totally out of the question.

I guess Paris makes something go wrong with their wiring.

PalQ

Especially if going to a place like Luxembourg - train is quicker, much cheaper than taxi and easy to use - most French folks i think take the train.

SuzieC

yes but the OP asked &quot;best route&quot;.
Private limo would be best...
Taxi follows up nicely.

kerouac

I love the way people talk about &quot;seedy types&quot; to avoid sounding like racists, which would be a more appropriate description of this sort of statement. I have taken the RER hundreds of times (airline employee, even though I am not based at the airport), including the multistop trains, with no problem ever. Yes, black people and Arabs get on the train, including teenagers. It is called public transport.

Robespierre

I guess if you set your PC filters low enough, anything can be racist. But to get me to be one, you'd have to force me to accept the concept of &quot;race&quot; as a useful taxonomic principle. As it turns out, the seedy types to which I refer are of all colors, religions, and national origins.

The RER between CDG and Gare du Nord is the only segment of that road that has been the subject of U.S. State Department crime vigilance advisories. I don't imagine these are based on speculation. The fact that one individual has never been assaulted is called &quot;anecdotal&quot; evidence. The plural of &quot;anecdote&quot; is &quot;data.&quot;

MorganB

I would favor the express RER as well for comfort reasons. At Luxembourg there is an escalator that takes you all the way up to street level but there isnt one at every exit so follow the signs carefully.

The express does not pass the local. Its first one out of CDG first one to arrive. It's never passed the local. PalQ, maybe you saw an out of service train or something. However, the express only arrives 3 minutes behind the local at Gare du Nord. 3 minutes that are well spent on comfort if you ask me.

kerouac

and the same country saw WMD all over Iraq -- good source of reliable information!

suze

With luggage, I use a taxi.