paulg

OK, I have a very specific question about timing and using the TGV.

On 4/11, my wife and 4 yr old daughter will be flying out of CDG at 9:50AM. After that, I will be taking a 10:24AM TGV down to Grenoble (direct train).

Our hotel is near the Ecole Militaire station. As of now, my plan is to (1) take my wife and daughter to CDG from Ecole Militaire to get them there around 8AM, (2) return to the hotel at Ecole Militaire to pick up my bags, (3) get back on the Metro and get over to Gare de Lyon to catch my train. If this is too ambitious, the alternate is just to take all of our bags at once to CDG, then I'll head to Gare de Lyon from CDG without going back to the hotel. So my questions are:
1) Is my 1-2-3 plan possible given the times? Is 8AM early enough at CDG and how much time do I need at Gare de Lyon (depends on status of my ticket I'm sure)?
2) Is it advisable to buy the TGV ticket in advance knowing that I have to get that specific 10:24 train to make a business meeting? If so, I'm having trouble seeing exactly how to do that. Online there does not seem to be an option to buy from the US. Am I missing something? When I go through the booking procedure and it asks for country in which you are receiving the tix, there is no US. If I leave it France assuming I will pick up the ticket at the station, it asks for my home address in France. Sorry for sounding stupid, but I must be missing something.

Thanks!

ira

Hi paul,

>Is it advisable to buy the TGV ticket in advance knowing that I have to get that specific 10:24 train to make a business meeting?<

Absolutely.

There is also a train leaving Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle TGV at 10:10 arriving in Grenoble at 13:50 via Lyon Part Dieu.

Will this train work for you?

paulg

That would definitely work. But this just goes to show how much trouble I have had with the TGV website. I wasn't even aware that there were trains to Grenoble from CDG. The only trains I can get to pull up on the website are from Gare de Lyon. Can you give me some pointers? Also, what about my question about "country in which I will receive or collect my tickets?" Do I just put France and then not enter an address? thx

Christina

Yes, you should just put "France" as the country to receive or pick up the tickets, and do it at the train station because they won't send them to the US. Besides, you are talking about a few days away!!!

There is no need to put in your address and it doesn't require that. I have bought tickets on the web site and you are not required to put in an address. Be careful about reading the online forms and what is required and what is not. YOu have to select the option to pick up your tickets, not have them mailed.

ira

Hi paul,

I found the train at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
the best site for European train schedules.

Buy your tickets at www.sncf.com, the French national rail system.

Sue4

I had trouble finding the CDG trains when I first started using the SNCF site.
Type in "Airport CDG 2 TGV" in the departure section, then your arrival destination. The site is sometimes difficult to use, but keep trying!
You can also pick up your tickets in advance in France. There is a SNCF "boutique" office close to Invalides, or pick up at any train station. Good luck.

paulg

Thanks to everyone for the tips. SNCF is definitely a finicky site. When I input departure point as "Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle TGV" from ira, it tells me I can't book it because it requires more than three changes. However, "Airport CDG 2 TGV" from Sue4 works fine and pulls up 2 trains that will work for me. Now I just have to decide if the 45E price from GdL compared to the 83E from CDG is worth the hassle.