Meeting at CDG
 

My mom (75) and I are going to Burgundy for a month in the fall. On past trips we have travelled together on the same flight from Boston. I now live on the west coast and so I will be leaving from San Francisco (on United) and she from Boston (on Delta/AF) arriving within a couple hours of each other the next morning at CDG.
I have flown to Paris on both airlines and they arrive in different terninals.

I am tying to determine the best way to meet up. Mom arrives a couple of hours before me, likely in terminal 2e. I will likely arrive in terminal 1. I have never had to meet someone else in another terminal so I am not sure if I can get there once I have collected my luggage.

To make things more complicated, my mom has low vision and so she has trouble recognizing unfamiliar sighns and landmarks. She is not timid and can speak a few basic words of French. If I can determine an easily recognizeable spot, she will just wait for me.

I was hoping there would be some very obvious landmark that I could direct her to without confusion. She will not have a cell phone - her large format model doesn't operate in Europe.

TIA

Normally I'd say meet in Paris at your hotel. But not in your Mom's situation. I'd plan on meeting at the Sheraton which is attached to T-2.

I have had to meet business colleagues at CDG numerous times. We always use the cafe which is in the corner of the central area - one escalator down from arrivals - between 2c/2d and 2e/2f. On arrival just follow the signs to the TGV train station which is another level below the cafe area. If the cafe is full there are seats nearby to wait.

Ian

The terminal maps on the airport website can help:
http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/e...assagers/Home/

First, you need to determine the exact arrival terminals.

If your Mom will arrive ahead of you and you will be arriving at Terminal 1, I would recommend that she go to Terminal 1 via the CDGVAL. The signs on arrival are overhead and gigantic. When she emerges at Terminal 1 (on the lowest level), there is a food court and also a lovely outdoor area for relaxing. You could then meet her there when you arrive, and then proceed to Paris.

From Terminal 1, take the free rail shuttle, CDGVAL, to terminal 2. It takes about 10 minutes to go from 1 to 2. The Sheraton lobby or lobby bar would be a good meeting place but you mother will need to make her way there from 2E/F. She should be able to find it as there is only one Sheraton in Terminal 2.

I would also make some contingency plans in the event one of you is delayed.

Definitely have a backup plan. And if it were me, it would be to take a taxi to the hotel. Give her a map of where the hotel is with the address to give to the cab driver.

I agree about taking the taxi to your hotel. It won't be fun for your mom to sit in a hotel lobby or airport cafe for a couple of hours after an overnight flight. Better that she checks into the hotel, freshens up, and lies down for a while to recuperate.

If you choose the taxi to hotel option, make sure she understands not to accept a ride from anyone approaching her within the terminal. She must go to the taxi stand outside the terminal and use an official taxi. There are many signs within the airport directing people to the taxi rank. Very easy to find.

In terminal 2 there is a sign for the Sheraton - a red field with a white international symbol for hotel (bed) and a large white arrow.

The reasons I suggested the Sheraton were because w/ a morning arrival Mom may not be able to check in at their hotel so only able to drop the bags - and because of her vision problems.

Me personally - I'd meet up at the Paris hotel. But I've been to Paris numerous times and don't have any handicaps.

She arrives at T-2 so it will be very easy to get to the Sheraton and anyone at CDG can point her in the right direction. As I understand it, you are probably arriving later at T-1.

But do have a plan B - especially if either flight is significantly delayed.

Thanks everyone...once we meet up we will be fetching our rental car and heading immediately to Dijon! We are not going into Paris at all this trip.
As some have pointed out, of course we will need the exact arrivals terminals to do anything. I am quite certain we will arrive in different terminals based on many arrivals in Paris on these two airlines.

Because her vision is impaired, I was hoping to determine a spot where she could plant herself and just wait for me to come to her. Here in the US if we are arriving on different airlines, I just have her get her bags and sit nearby and then I come to her from wherever I have arrived. That would be ideal. I am more physically able to maneuver through that airport with baggage, language etc. than she is. She has been to Paris numerous times over the years and even arriving alone, but that was when her vision was better.

I am not certain that I could get to the baggage claim area of a different terminal. For example if I claim my baggage at T1, can I then get to the baggage area at T2E without having to pass through any sort of security/controls.

If this is not possible, the Sheraton might be a good option because it is IN T2. She could wait comfortably in the lobby bar. And that couuld be a better plan if there should be a delay.

The night before our departure (4 weeks later) we will stay at the Hilton, which I think is closer to T3.

I have to say I do not find the airport maps particularly helpful for this airport...

You wouldn't be able to get into her baggage claim area. I've always seen security guards posted at the door and not letting anyone in or back in if you have just exited. It's not the nicest place to wait and perhaps she would not be able to stay there after all the bags have been claimed.

Looks like the Sheraton is the best thing to do; at least they will have decent chairs and she can get something to drink and use the rest room while she waits. Anyone would be able to direct her in case she doesn't see the signs or is confused.

There is NOTHING next to the secured baggage claims that I can recall. She should order a wheelchair at departure from Boston and have the wheelchair person take her to the Sheraton with her luggage. She can then have a wonderful breakfast there or have a nice coffee or go to the café near the tgv station as mentioned. either place is a good idea.

I don't think people are allowed into the baggage claim area, either, at CDG without going a roundabout way through the security screening.

I also think the Sheraton sounds like the best bet and it's not terribly far from 2E (in-between 2F and 2D). At least it is clearly identifiable. But it still is a walk from 2E, there isn't really a good place to meet right near 2E to stay for hours. I think this may be a challenge for someone who doesn't know the place and has poor vision, unless she can get help and someone to help her get there. I might be wrong, you know your mother better. But it isn't next to the sheraton (2F is) but across the way. The baggage claim in 2E is on the ground floor, of course, you get bags just after you get out from your gate, in a general hallway (but which is not open to the public). There is a small meeting point there, but I can't imagine sitting there two hours and I"m not even sure it has chairs. This is about the best map I could fine of the arrivals level
http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/R...pi_A4A7E2.pdf?

As in most airports, there isn't really a good place that is comfortable to sit around for hours waiting for people. I think the cafe tables/chairs in the hallways that Ian mentions (which are near some coffee dispensaries) are too complicated and not specific enough. If she needs help, I would think someone could help her get there, if necessary.

The problem with the coffee place at TGV is if she needs to go to the bathroom she will have to lug her cases whereas at the sheraton she can put them with the bellhop and enjoy a more comfortable situation.

She has been VERY resistant to the "wheelchair" idea, not surprisingly. LOL
She will ask for help so the Sheraton is likely the best bet for comfort and ease. Low vision is kind of random, its all about contrast. Amazes me sometimes which things she can and cannot easily see.

Thanks everyone :)

<i>.once we meet up we will be fetching our rental car and heading immediately to Dijon! </i>

Really? After an all night transatlantic flight you are picking up a rental car and driving 4 hours to Dijon? Certainly you are not attempting to drive that entire distance on the morning you arrive in France?