RER from CDG to Notre Dame
 

We have an afternoon stay in Paris before taking the TGV to the Loire Valley. We've been to Paris before but want to make the most of our brief afternoon there. What RER do we take from CDG to Notre Dame, what stop is the closest, and then, how do we get back to CDG. Also, how long will one way take. Thanks for the input. Sandy

www.ratp.fr/ (There is a "Route Finder option to the left side of the main page.)

You can take RER B and get off at the St. Michel/Notre Dame station. From there it is obviously just a short walk. Do the exact same thing in reverse to return to the airport.

The St. Michel Notre Dame station on RER line B is the closest one, and if I read the map right. And B is the RER line from CDG goes right to that station.
The cathedral is a short walk from the station across the bridge.
(I say short in so far as any walk in an RER station is short.)
Time wise, about 45-50 minutes to get there.

You might look at taking a TGV from Paris rather than going back to CDG. TGV's run from Paris Austerlitz (right bank, 12th (?) arrondissement) to Tours. Could save you a bit of back tracking and give you a little more time.

Oops. I double checked. Gare Austerlitz is in the 13th on the left. Gare Lyon is in the 12th on the right bank.

TGVs run from Paris to Tours and St Pierre des Corps - the mainline suburban Tours station from Paris' Gare Montparnasse and not Austerlitz. There are non-TGV trains from Austerlitz that take much longer than the one hour Montparnasse-St-Pierre-des-Corps station. CDG- from arrivals hall take lift down one floor, following signs for RER-Gare TGV Navette or 'Paris by Rail' (navette is the word for the free shuttle buses that go from Terminal One, where most trans-atlantic flights land, to the RER (Paris Metro) and TGV (SNCF) mainline rail station with trains direct from the airport to St. Pierre des Corps should you not want to go into Paris at all. The RER station and TGV stations are in separate locations, though you can catch the RER from the TGV station. The navettes run every few minutes. Buy your ticket at the RER station for your destination, one fare of about $10 for any metro station in central Paris. Not all RER B trains will go to the Notre Dame St. Michel RER station, some terminate at the Gare du Nord. Check the overboards indicating where the trains are going before boarding. If you have a railpass, you can use it to go from the airport to Gare du Nord, but not beyond. In this case, of course, you must use a day on your pass and ask for a free contremarque de passage, a metro ticket to trip the turnstiles to let you into and out of the system. Beware that the State Department has issued warnings about theft on this specific train, so watch your bags! If getting off at the Gare du Nord, be further on guard as this is a den of pickpockets and flim-flam artists.

zut alors