Could someone please advise the best/easiest route from CDG to Le Mans via train? My father will be travelling alone and doesn't speak French (this will be his first time in Europe). He's arriving at CDG at 9:35 AM and needs a train to Le Mans. He's meeting up with friends in Le Mans, so he'll be fine once he gets to his destination. Any help would be appreciated!

Topping this for you.

Eventually, he'll need to make his way to the Paris Montparnasse railway station. He can do that from the airport either in a taxi or a shuttle or by taking the RER Line B to St. Michel and changing there to Metro Line #4 as I recall.

There are TGV services from Montparnasse which will get him to LeMans in 54 minutes; some regional services can take as long as 2.5 hours.

If he is the least bit concerned I would urge him to take the taxi to Montparnasse.

www.sncf.com lists a weekday train direct from CDG to Le Mans at 1:38 in the afternoon. Arriving Le Mans 3:38. (Use Roissy as your start point. It comes back with "Aeroport CDG Terminal 2" results.)

While a 4 hour layover is not always the most fun at CDG (my longest was 5 and it was dull.) It will be by far the easiest for a first time, non-French speaker.

That amount of time will let his plane be late by an hour, slow passport control, slower baggage claim & customs and still have plenty of time to make the train.

No Paris, no taxi and no hassling with Montparnasse train station either.

The CDG (Roissy) train station is located one floor under the Sheraton Hotel. If he gets lost, he can always ask for the Sheraton.

We've taken that train...goes to Rennes, first stopping at Le Mans...great way to go..no hassle at all. Dad will be fine!

Stu T.

Thank you so much for the help! I think I'll recommend he stay at the airport and wait for the afternoon train.

You can access many more LeMans TGVs without going into Paris and the hassle of reaching Montparnasse station by taking more frequent TGVs from CDG to Paris-Massy TGV station and transfer there to LeMans TGVs - making all your mandatory TGV reservations at CDG before taking off so you need not go into Paris and transfer at Montparnasse. (At Massy you join the Montparnasse-Le Mans TGVs).

I honestly do not understand why someone would recommend that a person spend up to FIVE hours hanging around an airport waiting for a train just because they "don't speak French."

Thousands of people take taxis from CDG who don't speak French and I also don;t understand the so-called "hassle" of Montparnasse..get the taxi, get out at the station, go to the ticket window..buy ONE tocket and get to the destination in less than an hour...

OK...I'm done ranting.