bkhaley

I am doing my first international flight from JFK to CDG on Air France and am having worries. I am landing in Paris but am then taking the Eurostar to London. Between the trips are where my questions come in. One, how long will it take me to get from my plane to get my bags? I only fly in and out of small airports (Roanoke Regional in Virginia, USA), so flying into a big airport like CDG is a new experience for me. Question two, will I be able to get from the airport and checked in at Gare du Nord in 2 hours? I need lots of help! Any advice on de Gaulle will be very helpful!

parisnow

Absolutely not unless you want to resemble those old OJ commercials running through the airport. Very common for flights to be delayed at either your departure or landing airport. Another 20 minutes on runway. Sometimes at CDG they park the plane away from the airport and have these buses pick you up on the runway causing another delay. Baggage claim? Depends on how fast they unload the plane. Five minutes to 1/2 hour wait. Keep your fingers cross that their is no strike of some sort in France. Everyday occurrance. 20 minute (speeding driver) to 40 minute drive from airport to Paris. Find platform for train station. I have only done the Eurostar from London to Paris. They required you to check in a minimum of 30 minutes before departure. I am sure it is the same for Paris to London route.

As to your question. Once off the plane, I can usually make it through immigration ect and pick up baggage at CDG in 1/2 the amount of time as it takes me at O'hare. Approximately 30 minutes average if all goes well.

rkkwan

Big variables:

- Whether your plane departs from the US on-time

- Whether your plane gets a jetway at CDG, or a remote stand and you have to bus to terminal

Small variables:

- Immigration and baggage claim shouldn't be too bad.

Pretty constant:

RER runs about every 5 minutes, and take 31 minutes to get to Gare du Nord. It's a short walk to the Eurostar check-in.

Keep in mind that you need to check-in 30 minutes before your train.

Another thing is that depending on your arrival time at CDG, it may be better to take the TGV to Lille, and then pick up the Eurostar from there. I don't know how the tickets work and fare difference, but the overall journey time will be shorter.

bkhaley

My flight arrives at 0850AM. Would a 1200 train be possible?

kerouac

A 12h00 train should be fully possible, but a lot depends on your navigational skills. Nothing is difficult, but some people are better at following signs than others. I am amazed at how many people say that CDG is poorly signposted, but I would say that it is more a case of too much information on every sign -- if you can't single out the information that you are looking for (for example "Paris by train&quot, it can get confusing. Otherwise, it is really a snap.

parisnow

12:00 train is probable. If your plane lands at 9:00 am, no delays, you should be in the actual airport by 9:30. CDG is not complicated. My very first international trip was sold to CDG. Was meeting a friend in Paris and had no problem navigating the airport and to Roissy bus no knowing one word of French. The Airfrance magazine on the plane will have a map of the airport in it. Just study that during your flight.

parisnow

oops sorry for typos
solo to CDG
not knowing
my grammer is horrible tonight perhaps it is time for me to retire for the evening.

mulifat

I would not attempt anything earlier than 100pm. If so you are going to be making the start of your long-awaited trip very stressful

Gretchen

NO, not 2 hours by any stretch. And since you are a first time traveller to Europe, you should take a taxi to Gare du Nord. Just follow all your fellow passengers like a herd and go through whatever immigration is required. Then follow them to the baggage claim. After getting your luggage go to the taxi line--do not accept any offer of a taxi from inside the terminal. Take the taxi to Gare du Nord. I agree that 1PM would be the earliest train.
Now, I wonder why you are flying to Paris to get to London. Many times the fare to England is less than Paris.

bardo1

Also, your US credit card will not work in the automatic ticket machines.

Unless you have enough Euro coins on hand, you could easily spend 1/2 hour waiting in line at the ticket window to get your RER ticket...

relliea

bardo1 is right- the lines just for RER tickets can be long at the airport. We traveled to CDG from Oregon last month for the very first time and we originally had a 4 hour window to get to Gare Nord for our Thayls train to Amsterdam. We needed nearly all of that time. Our plane was delayed 45 minutes, then they loaded everyone in buses to get to the terminal, another 20-30 minutes. When we arrived there were only TWO agents at passport control for 3 flights that had landed at the same time. It was complete mayhem. Lucky for us we didn't have to pick up our baggage since we'd carried our 22" rollers & duffles onboard. We didn't know the RER machines wouldn't take US credit cards so after having them rejected we waited another 30 minutes in a line for tickets. Once we got on the RER train Gard Nord everything was fine but manuvering CDG after a long flight is not so easy when you're rummy from no sleep. Plus the French airport personnel weren't exactly the Welcome Wagon when asked for direction.
I say, take a taxi. Good luck.

bkhaley

I am actually going to switch my flight to an earlier flight. I will now arrive in Paris at 0630AM so that should give me enough time to get to Gare du Nord. I am HOPING that the 12 o'clock train would be enough time.
Thanks for all the help. Y'all have been more help than anyone else combined.

janisj

Anything can happen at CDG. Just this last Mar. after waiting in the queue for RER tix for about 5 mins, all the ticket windows closed and everything went dark. Seems there was a security alert of some sort and they shut down the whole system. We <b>RAN&lt;B/&gt; to the taxi rank so had no problem but if we had delayed at all the lines for taxis would have been huge.

Especially since discounted Eurostar tix are non-changeable you'd better allow more time. I'd want 3.5 to 4 hours just so I had some wiggle room.</b>

Gekko

Relax. It's just an airport, and time-wise it'll take what it takes. Follow the crowds and just accept whatever happens.

<b><i>Relax</i></b>.

kerouac

I live near Gare du Nord. When I am on a flight that arrives at CDG at 6:30 a.m., I generally get home before 8 a.m. (but I have a pocketful of change for the RER ticket machine)

Gretchen

Yes, you &quot;live&quot; near Gare du Nord and know Paris and its rail system very well. This is a first time traveller to Europe. I think we need to be realistic in recommending time and travel modes.

kerouac

I certainly agree, Gretchen. That is why I tried to infer that there might be a nuance of difference between mulifat's proposal not to get a train before 1 p.m. and reality.

Gretchen

Well, I have a suggestion if she arrives too early for the 1PM train. Across the street from the Gare is a line of cafes that we visit at least once each trip to eat our fill of the best mussels in Paris fixed any number of ways. We usually try the Maison Blanche and eat out on the terrasse to watch the crowds go by. It is to the left and maybe a block down on the opposite side of the street as you would exit the Gare.

J62

can't you just fly into London?

Gretchen

I sort of thought the same thing. This is an expensive way to get to London.