THR

Hi all,

Struggling to find a good option to get from Paris to Barcelona. Our flight (SQ366) arrives at 7.30am, and I am not sure if i can make the 10.07 (~ 2 1/2 hours) from CDG to Gare De Lyon to catch the TGV to Barcelona.

I'd prefer train but not sure if that is sufficient time (most posts say you need 4 or so hours).

The alternative is a 9.50 Air France flight; but even that might be tight (T1 to T2F); less tight than the train, I imagine, but still have to collect bags, transfer terminals, and check in and clear security again.

The other options are unfortunately 3-4 hours later, for both train and plane, and after a long flight, I'd rather not wait.

Appreciate any advice on whether these connection times are somewhat achievable?

Happy to taxi or catch fastest means from CDG --> Gare De Lyon.

Regards,

Kelvin

Whathello

T1 to T2f is not problem. There is a shuttle that links the terminals.

For internal flight I still use the rule if one hour arriving st airport before fly time. You have 2 h 20 so 1 h 20
Of course things can go amiss but still.

For the train. You are at Cdg so you take RER B to Châtelet and switch to RER A. 10 min wait at CDG 20 min cdg Châtelet.
5 min to find RER A. Then 5 min wait and 20 min to Gare de Lyon.
2 min from RER A to the tracks.

Finding your train takes 2 to 5 min. If in hall 1 you are already there if hall 3 yes 3-4 more min.

Total : 62 min to be at gdl. 10 min to find the RER B from T1.
10 min to deplane. 15 min to go through customs. 10 more min to retrieve luggage.

Normal time : 107 min.
You have 2 h 30 min so you have 43 min for coffee. At Gdl.

Disclaimer. If you have bad luck you miss it i take no responsibility. ;-)

PalenQ

Son landed at CDG recently and it took an hour to go thru Passport control -only few kiosks open (same thing happened to him last year!) so may not be common but can't count on breezing thru Immigration.

And of course planes can be late - some land in mid airport due to lack of gates I guess and can take long time to even get to terminals.

Quoibonjour has given normal times but abnormal is what you should be concerned about.

If have discounted train tickets you are out with no refund or change I believe if you miss it and then have to buy a full-fare ticket- ouch! Plus an all-day train ride after an all-night flight -why not just stay in hotel opposite Gare du Lyon -recuperate - and enjoy the lovely scenery of France from the train?

StuDudley

>>The other options are unfortunately 3-4 hours later<<

Later than your 7:30 arrival time? 3-4 hrs is perfect. Three hours might even be tight for train departure.

I suggest that you "temper" Whathello's time estimates. He is a very frequent traveler to Paris, speaks & reads French - so naturally he knows how to navigate through arrival passport control (he may not do this too much), and all these RERs - with all the train changes he mentioned. And I suspect that he does not travel with checked luggage when visiting Paris. I would never allow just one hour between CDG arrival & CDG departure. You'll have to:
- Go through passport control for non-Europeans
- Collect your checked luggage
- Get to Terminal 2 at whatever hall you are departing from (what if you get off at the wrong hall?)
- Get boarding pass & check in your luggage
- Go through Security again
- Board plane
All in 1 hour????

Stu Dudley

THR

4 hours later than the first two options. Next train is 14.07 and plane about the same. So it makes for a long stopover at CDG.

For reference, we can use EU enter, courtesy of our parental heritage and UK passports, if that has a bearing.

StuDudley

I would take a taxi to the Gare de Lyon. Have lunch at the "eye popping" Train Bleu at the gare. Then take the train to Barcelona.

Stu Dudley

PalenQ

UK passports do not qualify for EU entry I believe because UK ain't part of Schengen Agreement that has kind of erased borders between most EU countries so I think you will have to go to the non-EU line.

If you are not familiar with train fares and want to book discounted tickets much cheaper than walk-up or fully flexible full fares check out www.voyages-sncf.com for specials and book you own online ticket.

But discounted tickets are train-specific and non-changeable non-refundable I believe so yes leave plenty of fudge factor time between plane and train- www.seat61.com is the best source for info on booking your own tickets online - for general info also check www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Still though after an all-night trans-Atlantic I presume flight and then waiting to 2 pm for a several-hour train ride don't sound like much fun - really consider staying in Paris and looking around a bit then grab the earliest Barcelona TGV from Gare du Lyon.

Christina

I'm not sure why you'd prefer the train since that will eat up the entire rest of your day. I could (maybe) see that if you were in Paris and not already at the airport.

You could make that train, despite the horror stories, I got through passport and luggage collection at CDG in only about an hour total in July. In fact, I had booked a TGV for about 3 hrs or more after arrival and was sorry because I could have made one that was only about 1.5 hrs after my arrival time, as I was even down to the TGV station before that one left. I couldn't change because it was completely sold out, which surprised me (I had bought a flexible ticket).

so you never know.

Personally, I don't understand at all why you didn't book that all on one ticket as AF is a partner with Singapore Airlines, your bags would have been transferred, I imagine. I don't know where you are coming from, though, supposedly SQ366 is a flight to Rome. Do you really mean SQ336? I don't really know the rules for luggage transfer when arriving from Singapore and going to Spain, though. I don't understand why you are flying into Paris if you want to go to BCN. You should have booked a ticket to BCN and you could have easily gotten there in the morning with a transfer in Zurich or Milan or Germany.

Well, if you haven't booked this ticket yet, I'd just choose a different itinerary and fly into BCN, not Paris. AF's other flights are not 3-4 hours later, I think there is one at 12:35 pm, isn't there? I'd definitely choose that over a 14:07 train to BCN which is at least another 6 hr trip and thus you won't get there until about 8 pm. Why not book a ticket to BCN to begin with? You can get there about 10-12 hrs earlier than that.

If I had to choose, I'd choose an AF flight.

Whathello

When I am back from China I have checked luggage. Well not last time I am a very light traveler.

However custom clearance occur only when deplaning after you are in Schengen area : no check regardless of nationality.

Yet French have reinforced checks so I may be wrong.

PalenQ

The other options are unfortunately 3-4 hours later, for both train and plane, and after a long flight, I'd rather not wait.>

there is a 12:07 Paris - Barcelona connection front Gare du Lyon though has one change - 10:07 is direct sans changing.

THR

Thank you all for your advice and assistance. I now agree that flying is a better option than the train given we are flying into CDG.

For those that suggested a different routing, unfortunately that is not possible. We just need to try and minimise any discomfort in our transit time

I doubt SQ will check baggage all the way through as we will be on separate PNRs, but I will check with them. It would of course be useful if they did!

Also, we have always used the EU lines, and never had an issue before, on our British passports.

thursdaysd

"UK passports do not qualify for EU entry I believe"

You believe wrong. At least until after Brexit.

Man_in_seat_61

I'd see something of Paris, have lunch at the amazing Train Bleu restaurant inside the Gare de Lyon ( www.le-train-bleu.com - check out the photos!).

Then catch the 14:07 TGV to Barcelona, an adventure in itself, see the video (opposite direction, but same journey) at https://www.seat61.com/Paris-to-Barc...tm#Video-guide

True, you'd get there sooner by catching yet another flight, then probably do very little in your hotel room the rest of the afternoon, but this would be a much more interesting experience.

THR

Ooo, the actual man in seat 61 responded. I feel very honoured.

I shall check out the restaurant and reflect on my options

PalenQ

fying makes overall better sense to me- after all night flight dinner at iconic Train Bleu then several hour train ride - does not sound like fun -better to get to Barcelona in a few hours and really relax - sleeply on long train ride sounds like no fun to me.

I'm all for trains but in this case you'd have to have train blinders on to recommend such a travail IMO.

jamikins

UK passport holders definitely go through the EU passport queue (for now...)

Christina

well, you aren't going to be "seeing something of Paris" going into Gare de Lyon from CDG to get a train to Barcelona. This won't be a sightseeing trip. And Train Bleu is a very expensive restaurant.

And why would one "do very little in a hotel room" versus hanging out on trains and in train stations for the "interesting experience". I don't "do very little in my hotel room" after arriving in a city at any time, unless it were 10 pm or something, and one could get there by 3 pm if flying (into center city from BCN). The train doesn't arrive by 6 pm, either, so it isn't just a matter of not doing anything the rest of the afternoon, it doesn't get there until 8 pm.

well, as I said, AF does have a flight at 12:30 pm (AF 1648) which arrives at 14:10 pm in BCN. BCN isn't that far outside the city, it's an easy taxi ride or the airport express bus that is cheap and doesn't take long. I don't know why the OP can't see the flight, maybe it's full or isn't available on the particular flight date in question.

I'll admit I don't consider a 6 hr train ride to be "interesting" as I've taken zillions of trains and staying captive in any mode of transportation for a total of 20 hours or more (as that flight will have been 14 hrs from SIN)a day or more including the train ride would be more than I could take.

THR

I can see the flight - but it just means waiting around at CDG for five hours, or an additional three hours after our arrival (7.30am). There is a 9.50am AF but I am not sure if we will make it.

THR

So, in the end, it does appear we might be able to interline our luggage SQ --> AF, and we have bought flexi tickets for the 9.50am flight to BCN.

Thanks everyone for your helpful contributions!