I will be visiting France with my wife in July for 10 days : 4 days in Avignon and 6 days in Paris. I will arrive at CDG Airport at 0825 and have already bought TGV tickets to Avignon, departure at 10:09. The tickets are non-exchangeable. My questions are :

1. How long does it take from CDG Terminal 2B to CDG TGV station? Will it be too rush to get from Terminal 2B to TGV station, even if my fight is on time?

2. I will join local lavender tour at Avignon since I do not want to drive. Any suggestions on the local tours? Many guidebooks suggest “All Provence”. Do you think their tours are good? Would you recommend advance online booking as July is quite peak?

3. In Paris, I will mainly rely on metro and RER and will buy orange card. Would you recommend zone 4 card or zone 2 card, as I will visit Versailles and Disneyland?

4. I will stay at a hotel near George V and will take public transport from Gare de Lyon to the hotel (after visiting Avignon). Would you recommend I take metro to George V or RER to Etoile station? How long will it take from Etoile station to George V on foot? We will have some baggage but seems not too difficult to handle.

1. About 10-15 minutes. Follow this link: http://tinyurl.com/2nhbnu. Then click on "Map TGV/RER station (Terminal 2)". If your plane lands on time and if you get through immigration/passport control expeditiously, you'll make it. If your plane is late, you probably won't.

3. Versailles is in zone 4 and Disneyland is in zone 5. If those are the only places you are going beyond zone 2, then buy a zone 1-2 Carte Orange plus individual tickets for your trips to Versailles and Disneyland. Here is a link that tells about the Versailles "Forfait Loisirs" which combines thransportation to Versailles and return with an admission pass: http://tinyurl.com/3awfry.

4. According to the Journey Planner at www.ratp.fr, it's about an 8-minute walk from Etoile to George V. The total time for the Metro directly to George V or the RER to Etoile plus the walk is about the same.

Thanks a lot TimS.
If unfortunately I could not catch the train at CDG TGV, can I buy another ticket there? Some one said that TGV must be bought online in advance. Is this true?

Seats will probably be available on the next train if you miss the first one to Avignon. But you will have to pay full fare.

>Some one said that TGV must be bought online in advance. Is this true?

No.
The tickets AND reservations must be bought in advance (15 min in advance is still in advance, as long as seats are available). Some of the cheapest fares can only be bought online, but buying just before boarding ensures that no cheap fares will be avilable - full fare seats probably will.

You should make that train okay, but you never know. If you are checking baggage, sometimes it can take up to a half hour to come out, it seems. Then passport control , etc.

When people say it has to be bought in advance, they mean you cannot buy it on the train itself, you must have a ticket when you board (which will include the reservation). I am sure you are mistaken that someone said you could only buy TGV tickets online. Some people don't actually have computers and are still allowed on the TGV.

WilWil,

As others have said, if you miss your 10:09 train, you can buy tickets on the next TGV, but you'll have to pay full fare. The next train leaves CDG at 11:50.