voyager61

Help! We're trying to get from CDG to Dijon on May 18 with the least hassle and travel time possible. When we enter May 18 into the RailEurope website, all we see from CDG to Dijon is one TGV train departing around 7:30 p.m.,...and we are getting in to the airport at 8:30 a.m. There are several regular trains from Paris central (Bercy) that take 3 hours for the trip, but no TGV departures listed for Dijon on that date. Are we reading the schedules incorrectly? Or are those our only options? Any assistance with figuring this out would be appreciated. Thank you!

StCirq

First of all, don't use Rail Europe. Use www.voyages-sncf.com. Second, there are no direct trains from CDG to Dijon. I suspect you'll have to go through Lyon, so use that as your destination and then book another leg. Third, wait until exactly 3 months out from May 18 to book the tickets to get the best prices (PREM tickets).

StuDudley

Take the 9:28 or 11:00 TGV to Lyon, and then take one of the many trains to Dijon.

Stu Dudley

Michael

I would think that it is faster to go to the gare de Lyon in Pris and grab any number of TGVs for Lyon. I plugged in Jan. 21 and found 7 TGVs going from Paris to Lyon between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. I think that the OP has to wait until 90 days before departure to see how many TGV go between these two cities. I can't believe that May would have fewer scheduled TGVs than January.

Christina

Lots of places in France don't have trains from CDG.

try using www.bahn.de for finding more complete schedules than Raileurope.

Of course, you can't find correct schedules this far ahead of time for trains, most likely.

grandmere

I'd go to the Gare de Lyon and take the train to Dijon, not Lyon, as Michael suggests.

cocofromdijon

I agree with grandmere if you don't want to wait for the 11h16 TGV going to Dijon (arr 13h18). I didn't make a search so I don't know if it appears now but I can tell you that many of my guests take this one. The next and last one is usually at 7.40pm, so StCirq there are 2 direct trains to Dijon

StCirq

I did search it and came up with the notice that there are no trains for that route on that date. Maybe that will change.

tucsonbabe

We ran into the same thing last May when we going to Dijon from CDG to stay at Coco's apartment. The 11:16 AM to Dijon was not running on the day we arrived in CDG. It turns out it was a bank holiday or some such thing.
I checked 2011 French holidays and May 18th does not come up, however if the it is not scheduled it probably will not run for whatever the reason.
The easiest way to get to Dijon from CDG when the direct train is not running is to take the Air France shuttle bus to Gare de Lyon and take one of the non stops to Dijon from there.

Michael

<i>Dijon, not Lyon, as Michael suggests</i>

I meant Dijon. That is what I looked up.

Alan_CT

The TGV from Gare de Lyon to Dijon takes about two hours and there are several departure times. If your flight is on time you should be able to catch one of the morning ones.

Buying through SNCF, which takes a little effort, saves money. You should be able to print out the tickets.

voyager61

Thanks very much to all of you...it sounds like there is some slight hope that an 11:16 a.m. departure from CDG to Dijon might be placed on the schedule before we have to book February 18...if not our best option is the Air France bus to Gare de Lyon and taking a TGV from there. We get in at 8:35...would booking an 11:24 TGV from Gare de Lyon be too optimistic? The shuttle bus leaves every half hour and takes 50 to 60 minutes to get from the airport to the train station.

StuDudley

Assuming that you are arriving on an international flight, and have checked bags, I would not expect you to be standing at the Air France pick-up spot till 10:00. If you wait 30 mins, and it takes 1 hr to get there - then you'll be at the Gare at 11:30. I will assume that you have printed your tickets at home - if not, add 30 mins to wait in line & retrieve your tickets. I would plan on it taking 15 mins to find the location of your TGV departure (left side of the gare as you face the tracks, I believe), and then walk there. So - if you have printed tickets, you'll be ready to board the 11:24 at 11:45. I think if you take a taxi you could shave 30-45 mins off this estimate (wait time plus drive time).

BTW, you can first purchase tickets on Feb 17 at 6:05PM Eastern time in the US (12:05 AM on Feb 18 in France).

Stu Dudley

Alan_CT

Sadly, must agree with Stu's timetable; baggage claim at Roissy can be maddeningly slow. And yes, it could take 15 minutes or more to get to your train's departure point; last time for us it was outside of the station and gates are changed constantly to accommodate real-time arrivals so you can't anticipate.

But if current schedules hold up there should be at least two afternoon TGVs from Gare de Lyon to Dijon, giving you plenty of time.

If you book on voyages-sncf.com you can print out your tickets when you book them, 90 days of less in advance - big time saver.

trautmak

This thread has been very helpful to me also. We are planning to arrive via American Airlines on Saturday March 5 at 6:30 AM and travel to Dijon by train. It seems like the best thing to do is take the Air France bus to Gare de Lyon and then get a refundable fare of 35e (in case plane is delayed) for the 10:28 train to Dijon. We then go to Lyon and can take the train directly from there to the Roissy airport on Sunday March 13 (also 35e but non-refundable).

It looks like the box above the schedule of trains marked "Recevoir par e-mail" is how you get to receive your tickets via email. Are there any other things I should know about buying the train tickets online? When you use the blue side bar to reserve your tickets, the only option for country "Sélectionnez le pays de réception ou de retrait des billets" is France. Is that a problem?

Thanks again.
Kristin

cocofromdijon

trautmak I can see the usual direct TGV to Roissy at 7.43am (1h50 trip)from Dijon on the 6th March. It should be there also on the 13th if you check tomorrow. 20€!
It is a shame to have to go down to Lyon and add 2 more hours to your trip. And I dont get why the direct train from Roissy at 11am is not scheduled anymore. What a waste of time and money!

trautmak

Thanks Coco, I think I confused you. We will be staying a few nights in Dijon (beginning March 5) and then a few nights in Lyon - that is why we are taking the train from Lyon to The airport.

cocofromdijon

Oops sorry! No regret then...at least on the way back to Roissy.

trautmak

I just found an alternate site for train reservations in English that gives the same prices as voyages-sncf.com.

http://www.tgv-europe.com

I think this should work.

Kristin

kagoo

Bumping this up.

We will be traveling from Paris to Dijon in May. I am trying to figure out how to buy train tickets departing from, and returning to, the Gare de Lyon.

The voyages-sncf.com site reroutes me to Rail Europe. And the only choice of departure station is Bercy. No Gare de Lyon.

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but what?

Merci!!!!!