Steffen

Hello,

We are planning a 8 day trip which entails flying into CDG and staying in Paris for 3 nights and Amboise for 5 nights.

My question is this: What order would be better to do this in? That is, should we take the train straight to Amboise, then do the 3 days in Paris at the end of the trip or do the reverse? I know that getting to Amboise from CDG will take longer than just getting into Paris, but we will have to make the Amboise-Paris trek once anyway so I am asking if there is logistically a reason to do one or other first (i.e. train connections ect. )
Thanks for any tips!

ira

Hi steffen,

If this is your first visit to Paris, I suggest going to Amboise first so that you won't be disappointed.

mamc

I agree with Ira. If you have never been to Paris, you might want to increase your time in Paris, also. Amboise and the Loire region are lovely. Paris is....Paris.

StCirq

I would fly into CDG and get right on the TGV to Tours, then drive to Amboise and do Paris at the end of the trip. I'm assuming you'll have a car in the Loire valley.

I'm not sure if there are PREM fares available to Tours, but it's worth checking the SNCF website.

indytravel

I agree with StCirq.

The logistics of getting to Amboise upon arrival are less daunting then getting from Amboise to CDG airport on time for your flight out. Especially if you have an early departure.

Travelnut

We just did a similar visit. We arrived in Paris and stayed two nights, took train to Amboise and spent two nights (picked up our car the morning after we arrived), drove to Chinon for two nights, turned in the car and trained back to Paris for two nights. That in effect allows 1.5 days on front end and 1.5 days on back end for Paris sight-seeing. (we've been before so nothing critical in our plans to see).

Steffen

Hello,

Thanks so far to all that have responded.

I should have been more specific.

We have been to Paris many, many times. We are only spending a few nights there this trip because we cannot come to France (Amboise) and be so close without coming back to our favorite city at all. That would be an insult to Paris!

I am most interested in the nuts and bolts of the trip from CDG to Amboise to weigh which end of the trip to do that route.

Is the SNCF site the best one to use to purchase point to point tickets ( I do not use RailEurope anymore)?

So having modified my question, what do you think? Is Amboise easy enough to get to from CDG via train after a overseas flight or should we do Paris first, then go from Amboise to CDG at the end of our trip?

Thanks again!

StCirq

Yes, the SNCF site is a far better choice than RailEurope. There may be discounted PREM fares direct from CDG to Tours or from the train statio in Paris to Tours (check on the upper left of the home oage at www.sncf.com).

As someone mentioned, going directly to Amboise from the airport is probably easier than doing Paris at the beginning of the trip and then either going back to Paris for a final night or going from Amboise to CDG to catch a flight.

111op

I'm not the expert, but I just checked on SNCF and CDG to Tours will take 1h 45 minutes for the fastest connections. To Amboise, about 2h and 30 minutes.

Now, the TGV to Tours from Montparnasse is under an hour.

So a quick calculation suggests to me that it won't make much of a difference in time whether you leave from CDG or head to Paris city proper to catch your train. Further, from Paris city proper, you've the option of a slow train to Amboise.

I suspect that for the best times and connections, you may have to head to Paris proper anyway. But that's a guess. I doubt that one way is much more time consuming than the other. If you're thinking that heading to Amboise directly from the airport will save you a couple of hours, I think that that will be a rather optimistic projection.

Anyway, have fun!

111op

To clarify a little, what I meant is that you'll probably have to go to the city proper anyway. I guess the question is whether you go to Amboise directly anyway. But if you're heading to the city already, then an argument can be made for spending the night there before going to Amboise (granted, you'll need to check out of your hotel and pack, and that takes time).

timjstark

Topper

audreyleigh99

Whatever logistics you decide on for your trip to Amboise (and I can't help you out on that since I haven't been yet), make sure that you check both the PREM and the "discovering together" fares on the SNCF website - I actually found the discovering together fares to be cheaper than PREM (we will be traveling from Paris to Amboise in early April). PREM fares you can apparently only check on the french language site, but discovering together fares should pop up on the English language version if you make sure to enter that two passengers are going on the trip when looking for fares.

Ronda

When we stayed at Chenonceaux in 2001, we got up very early and caught the TGV from Tours to Paris and then took a taxi to the airport. We already had our reservations, but the hotel owner told us there was a direct TGV to CDG from Tours we could have taken if our flight was later. It was very stressful worrying if we would make our flight but worked out just fine.

Steffen

Thanks for the replies!