Morninglory

We will be arriving Paris CDG on Sat. April 18. Want to take the train to Strasbourg then on Monday, April 20 we want to take the train to Colmar and pick up a car in Colmar that afternoon. On Friday, April 24 drop off car at rental place then take the train to Paris CDG early Saturday morning. Does this sound like a good plan to you seasoned travelers? There are 2 of us and we don't speak French, only English. If this sounds like a good plan what is the best way to buy our tickets and do we need a rail pass? Also, how long does it take to get to the train station from CGD at the beginning of the trip?

RonZ

Hourly trains to Strasbourg from Paris Gare de Est take less than 2.5 hours. The simplest way to get there mould be by a Taxi Parisien, the metered fare plus 1 per bag. Probably about 45 mins. depending on traffic. Public transportation one takes the RER [suburban train] to Gare du Nord, then the Metro [underground] or city bus or the roughly 500 meter walk.

Tickets can be purchased here, or at the station [no rail pass]:

https://www.capitainetrain.com/search/

A train 3+ hours after landing would be a pretty safe risk, figuring a couple of hours to get to town.

We arrange Europcar rentals through Autoeurope, using a toll free number.

PalenQ

No to a railpass - not nearl enough train trips - go to www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com - same trains competing ticket services - latter is reportedly easier to use for Americans - discounted tickets are train-specific and cannot be refunded nor changed I believe - and since discounted tickets are sold in limited numbers they must be booked in stone weeks/months in advance to guarantee - full fare tickets are fully flexible and whenlanding you do not really know when you will be able to take the train so maybe a full-fare ticket to start that you can change if your plane is late and a discounted one for the return.

For lots of great info on French trains - www.seat61.com (great info on discounted tickets); www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

I would consider picking up a car at CDG airport and driving to Strasbourg - could stop in nearby Reims the first night when jet lag may set in - tour a Champagne factory the next day and easily drive to Strasbourg and return car in Strasbourg and blast back to Paris.

The TGV train station in CDG is in terminal 2 and easy to find - if you land in termina 1 take the people mover to terminal 2 - not that many if any trains go direct from CDG to Strasbourg so you may have to go into Paris' Gare de l'Est for hourly trains - allow about an hour all told to get there via RER (metro) from CDG terminal 2.

PalenQ

There are a few direct trains from CDG Airport TGV station to Strasbourg - much MUCH easier than schlepping into Paris with bags to catch the trains from there - one leavea bout 10am and another about 2:30 pm - see schedules:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/que...fasScrollDir=1

ira

ditto PQ

ira

PS

>...we don't speak French, only English.

Upon approaching a person you say, "Bonjour Monsieur/Madame" before asking anything of them.

You then ask, "Parlez vous Anglais, S'il vous plait"?

Odds are the answer will be, "Yes, a little".

You then say "Thank you" before going on in English.

The French, especially in the cities, are much friendlier than they were back in the old days.

Enjoy your visit.

We were very pleased with our stay at
http://www.hotel-gutenberg.com/uk/ho...e-officiel.php

kerouac

Take a train from CDG to Strasbourg.

kerouac

It should also be mentioned that you could probably get an add-on air fare from CDG to SXB for a very small amount. Then you could rent the car at Strasbourg airport.

PalenQ

The French, especially in the cities, are much friendlier than they were back in the old days.> Yes in cities outside of Paris but IME NOT in gay Paree itself - especially wait staff and bureaucrats manning information offices, etc. Parisian are IME rude just like New Yokers are rude or whatever you call it - brusque.

Christina

no kidding, I have French friends who even say Parisians are rude to them.

Andrew

I did this last April though I did it in an afternoon and skipped the rental car. I landed at CDG, took the TGV train to Strasbourg, explored the town, for a few hours, then took a local train on to Colmar. I speak almost no French but I had been to France before so knew I'd have no trouble.

My flight was scheduled to land about 75 minutes before my train was scheduled to leave, but our flight arrived early (plus CDG wasn't busy that morning when we arrived - took me all of seven minutes to get from the plane past baggage claim), so I had plenty of time to make the train. Expect CDG to be busier than that when you arrive. It was a bit of a walk but not too bad. It may have taken me 20 minutes because I took my time, stopped at the ATM, etc. In a rush I could have done it probably in 15 minutes or even less. It was easy to find - just follow the signs in the airport for TGV and/or the train symbol.

I bought my TGV ticket from the official SNCF website a month or two before departure:

http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/

Choose "France" as the country where you will pick up the tickets, then choose the option to print your tickets at home - that's what I did. Then bring a printed copy of your ticket with you to France. Note that some people (non-Europeans) seem to have trouble with credit cards on the SNCF website. I've purchased from them twice. Two years ago I used my Amex card (worked first time). Last year I tried my Chase Visa card and it was declined; I tried my credit union Visa card and it was accepted the first time.

Note that TGV fares get expensive if you don't buy them ahead of time. I see at the moment that for April 18 there are still some PREM tickets for 33 euros at 12:52 but the earlier train at 10:26 is already sold out of PREM tickets (now 62 euros per ticket).

You can buy tickets from Strasbourg to Colmar at the Strasbourg train station after you arrive. I think they are local trains and buying tickets in advance won't save you any money (and the trains can't sell out if they are not reserved).

Iwan2go

Fyi, if you fly Air France you can get a ticket all the way through to the Strasbourg rail station. When you land at CDG, you go downstairs and get the train ticket from the AF people. Then you don't need to worry about missing the train if your plane is late ( the ticket says they'll put you on the next available train). Just go on AF and when you enter Strasbourg there's an option of the train station.

Morninglory

Thanks for all the helpful information.

PalenQ

Please report back with what you decided and after the fact!

PalenQ

If you have a choice some of those TGV trains I believe are Duplex trains or double-deckers and the views from up top are far far superior to the one down in steerage where the windows are often below the windlbocks on the sides of the tracks and you see nearly nothing much of the time - if you have a choice choose the upper level!

soogies

Saving for me