Okay, busy-ness and absentmindedness has left me with not enough time to have Rail Europe mail me TGV tickets from Paris CDG to Avignon. The TGV has been my plan all along, but I didn't notice that the tickets had to come through the mail, rather than electronically.

What are the other options for getting to Avignon, where we arrive at Charles de Gaulle at 10am Monday? I can't tell if we can take a slower train, or how slow it would be. Air France requires a transfer to Orly and is also just really expensive. Ideas? Help? Please please please?

A faster and cheaper way to get a ticket is buying an online ticket directly from the SNCF web site http://voyages-sncf.com - if you can navigate the web site successfully.

If you can get a PREM, you can print it online. (There are many gotchas, so read the 1st thread carefully.) Other tickets may not be printable, but you can get reservation and pay for it online (at least that what I did ) and pick up the ticket in France by providing the same CC used to purchase the ticket.

Read several SNCF related postings such as:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34752919
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35009421
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35013838
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35010240

Greg is correct.

Even if you dont get them in advance and get that advance cheap fare, certainly buying a train ticket at the airport would still be the most expedient thing to do. I sure wouldn't want to transfer over to Orly. I think the regular fare is around 100 euro.

There are no slower trains from CDG to Avignon. I think maybe you don't understand that anyone can buy a ticket on the TGV, Raileurope is just a private agency that sells them with a markup. They don't own the railroad (I know some people think there is a railroad called Eurail or Raileurope, but there isn't -- it's the French national railway).

There should be seats on the TGV at mid-day on a weekday. There is a train at 11:50 am, 2:04 pm and 5:04 pm.

everything Christina says i concur with except

<Raileurope is just a private agency that sells them with a markup. They don't own the railroad>

actually they do own the railway or really the railway owns them - all the same entity as SNCF is the majority stake holder in RailEurope.

And for folks landing in Paris and wishing to be able to take any TGV without advance purchase the new One Day France Railpass would be cheaper than 100 euros i think (www.raileurope.com)

I don't understand why you would need to go from CDG to Orly if you are taking the train rather than flying.
If the TGV schedule at CDG doesn't work for you you could go into Paris and leave from the Gare de Lyon.

If your plane lands on time, you can easily catch the 11:50 TGV.

If by "Monday" you mean 24 September, the PREM'S tickets are gone so there is no real advantage to booking now on the SNCF site. Whether you do that and retrieve the ticket at CDG or wait to buy it there, you'll have to stand in line in either case.

She didn't need to go to Orly to take the train, only for a connecting flight on Air France. Air France does have some flights south that leave from CDG, but I suppose the one she was considering left from Orly.

PalenqueBob
Regarding the One Day Rail Pass, I do not think that one can take any TGV without a reservation. Unless the conditions are different than the longer rail passes, it is neccessary to make an advance reservation for the TGV trains and many other trains even with a rail pass. The pass covers the rail fare but the reservation (minimal fee 7-10euros) gives them the prereserved seat number required to board the TGV.

Also, something I found while using a French Rail pass, the seat reservation allotment (or availability) is different for rail passes holders than it is if holding individual point to point tickets. This was disappointing to me as I knew some trains where available but NOT for rail pass holders. Very frustrating at times. I only recommend rail passes for people who are very flexible in their travel plans.

Oops! In my previous post I meant to refer to tickets for 17 September, not 24 September. In any case, the PREM'S are gone so you'll have to pay full fare.