CDG to Loire by TGV
 

Checked the schedules for CDG to Tours or Orleans by TGV and there only seems to be trains in the morning and then late afternoon, so no departures from around 9 AM to about 5-6 PM.

Is that correct? The day I'm looking at is a Sunday, after landing in CDG around 11:30.

Looking at a week trip, spending 3 days in the Loire and then back to Paris for 2-3 days before flying back. So ideally, I'd rent the car only in the Loire. But if I had to rent a train at CDG and had to return somewhere else before going onto Paris (either in one of the big Loire towns or in Paris itself), I can see it being a costly rental.

Other alternative is to book a flight which arrives at around 6 AM. Flight costs about $100 more and has a longer total flight time, probably a longer layover as well as departing at much earlier.

Just take the Air France bus from CDG to Montparnasse and get a train from there. There's a train about once an hour.

Hi scrb11

I just looked at Sunday 25 July, and there are trains leaving 9:12, 13:17 & 15:42 from CDG Paris. Are you aware that St Pierre des Corps is the station TGV uses for Tours destinations?

I looked on voyages-sncf.com for these results. When I entered Orleans as the destination, there was only one evening train showing; perhaps again there is a station close by the city that the TGV travels through.

I only know about the Tours connections because I have recently made a booking to that destination, and was told by a 'local' that that is the station to aim for!

Perhaps a local resident can offer you more detail, cheers, Di

I have done this trip (about 10 years ago now) and St Pierre des Corps is the station. You will meet others on the train also going to Tours so can confirm where to get off.
The station in Tours is very central to everything and you will easily be able to hire a car ( book now!).
We have never had a problem hiring a car in one city in France and dropping it off in another.
Our last trip to the Loire started with hiring a car in Chartres, which is a short train ride from Paris, and then leaving it in St.Malo as we were taking the ferry to Guernsey.

Orléans is basically a commuter line out of Austerlitz. At rush hour there is a train every 15 minutes; otherwise it is once an hour. No reservations on the TER trains.

Yes I know about St. Pierre Des Corps.

This is for early September and I saw the 9:12 train and I kept clicking "Trens Suivants" and it wouldn't display anything.

When I searched for trains from 11:00, it showed the 17 and 18 trains. I'll search again but Kerouac is right, there are far more trains from Montparnasse and the travel time is only 1 hour, instead of over 3 hours from CDG.

So it may be better to go and spend at least a night in Paris, even though I'd wanted to avoid the transfer expense.

Any suggestions for a hotel near Montparnasse?

scrb11 - Yes, I took the train from Montparnasse and only bought the ticket an hour before we got on. I'm not suggesting you do that! If you smoke, try and hold out for the length of the ride - I booked a smoking compartment as my friend smoked - even she could not abide the ghastly stench and we made our way several carriages along to other seats!

This hotel looks very nice with lots of restaurants/cafe`s around and a feww steps away from the station.
http://www.parishotels.com/Hotel_Ter...rnasse_en.html

There is a direct TGV from CDG to St-Pierre-des-Corps that departs at 13:37 and arrives at 15:21. You can connect to another train leaving St-Pierre-des-Corps at 15:26 and arriving in Tours at 15:31.

When I entered Orleans as the destination, there was only one evening train showing; perhaps again there is a station close by the city that the TGV travels through.>

Well even though Les Aburais is Orleans' equivalent of Tours' St-Pierre-des-Corps station in really being on the mainline and having more trains there is still only one daily train i believe between CDG and Les Aubrais-Orleans.

From CDG it is also possible to take a TGV to Massy and change there to TGV trains coming out of Montparnasse - giving you more options from the airport - going into Paris and to hectic Montparnasse station is time and money consuming.

Tod, there has been no smoking on French trains for several years.

I think it's been five years since they were all smoke free and some TGVs were even before that.

"There is a direct TGV from CDG to St-Pierre-des-Corps that departs at 13:37 and arrives at 15:21."

Apparently this train is available on 9/6 Monday but not 9/5 Sunday. Too bad.

Oops! Since you said you were arriving at CDG on a Sunday, I should have entered Sunday when I checked the timetables.

You certainly could go into Paris, depart from Gare Montparnasse, and still make it to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps in good time. If you're lucky, you might be able to catch the 13:50 TGV. The next one departs at 15:15. Travel time is about an hour.

Do what kerouac suggested and take Air France bus #4 directly from CDG to Gare Montparnasse (one stop at Gare de Lyon). Buses run every 30 minutes and the fare is €16.50. Or take the RER B to Denfert-Rochereau and metro line 4 to Montparnasse-Bienvenue. The fare is €8.70.

I may just go a day later so I arrive Monday instead of Sunday. Was tempted to arrive on Sunday, go to the free museums then go to Tours but not worth it.

However, I'm finding that it's a lot more expensive to take the train from CDG to Tours than from Paris.

The cheapest train ticket from CDG is 36 Euro and that is if I wait until later in the afternoon.

Cheapest train from Montparnasse is about 17-20 Euro.

The same for the return from Tours to Montparnasse.

So much more than Trenitalia for the same kinds of trips. Yes I know it's TGV. But I don't recall it being so expensive when I went about 5-10 years ago.

It may be of small comfort to you, but fast trains in Italy are not the bargain they were only a year or so ago. For example, the fare for Florence-Rome is 16.10 EUR on Regionale trains, 28.00 on IC trains, and 44.00 EUR on EuroStar Alta Velocita trains.

You may encounter problems picking up a rental car on a Sunday - another reason to spend a night in Paris.

Cheapest train from Montparnasse is about 17-20 Euro.

The same for the return from Tours to Montparnasse.

So much more than Trenitalia for the same kinds of trips. Yes I know it's TGV. But I don't recall it being so expensive when I went about 5-10 years ago.>

You think 17-36 euros for such a trip is expensive? Heck you'll pay more for an average meal for two in Paris than that. those are bargain fares and snap them up as full fare will be really expensive.

I did.

I'm going to go from CDG to Montparnasse and then board the 13:50 train. Will get me to Tours earlier and cheaper (even with the transfer from CDG).

When I did this trip years ago (not sure when I did this trip though), I would swear I paid under 20 Euro when I walked up on the morning of the trip for a round-trip fare.

Looks like I can print out my ticket online. Do tickets printed at home still need to be validated? Are there validation machines on the platform?


Any opinions on the best way to transfer to Paris? Flight is scheduled to land at 11:25 and I do have to reclaim a suitcase.

RER to Denfert-Rochereau and then metro?

Does the AF bus have space for luggage?

No, you don't validate PREM tickets. Yes, the AF bus has room for luggage.

The Air France bus is a highway bus and bags go in the luggage bay. I would take the RER & metro. Trains run more frequently than the bus and the ride will be faster than the bus. If you just miss one bus, you'll have to wait 30 minutes for the next one and your connection time is rather tight.

Be aware that a Prem's ticket is non-exchangeable and non-refundable. If your flight is late and you miss your train, your ticket will be worthless. If I were doing this, I'd either book a standard fare ticket on the 13:50 train which I could exchange if necessary or I'd book a Prem's ticket on the 15:15 train.