Hello, I'm just trying to clarify last minute details before we leave Jan.31st for Paris. I'm pretty sure we will be doing the roissy bus and metro on arrival but on departure tues Feb.16th I like to go train to eliminate traffic problems during the morning rush. so about taking RERB out to the airport.....I notice the train splits off to mitry-claye or aeroport cdg. Do you get on the properly marked train in city center paris or do you have to transfer at another stop along the way? RATP suggests getting on RERB at the St Michel Notre Dame stop. our flight is at 10:40 AM. thanks for any help...lynda

You get on the proper train in Paris center. There will be a TV type screen at the RER platforms. It will list the names of the trains on it and where they go. Just look for the trains that go to Charles de Gaulle. Our train for example was coded ENZO on the screen and then the same code was on the front of the train. Some trains will have many stops, some are more direct. Just take the first one you can. Leave plenty of time. You can buy your tickets from the Metro stop that morning and they will be good for the metro and the RER. It is about 8€ apiece.

You don't have to transfer. The train will be marked and there is also an electronic board on the platform that will tell you the destination of the RER train arriving. Is your hotel in the area of St Michel? (I often hop on the RER at Gare du Nord, too.)

When you are in the RER station, waiting on the track, watch the signboard that lights up with the stops the next train will make. If it doesn't light up "Aeroport T-1" or "T-2", then don't get on that one. The trains run about every 10-15 minutes.

For a flight at 10:40 you want to be at the check-in by 8:00 - 8:15am..the train takes about 40 minutes, then you need to get to your gate...so catch a train around 7:10am or so (I don't like to cut it close).

You can get a printable timetable that shows the times and train "names" at:
www.ratp.fr
click on "Horaires" and RER-B,
all the hours of the line, direction Aeroport, and 'Lundi..'for weekday, the other choice for weekend.

thanks so much ya'll! It is much more clear to me now. I figured it must be about like you described. Our apartment is right by ecole militaire so we will be doing a transfer or 2 to get on the RER.
On the RATF site ,as I'm sure all you paris travelers already know, they will lay out your suggested route and depending on whether we leave at 6:20 or 6:40 they suggest different connections along the way. We are in the get-an-early-start school of travel so I know we will leave plenty early. thanks again..lynda

Line 8 from Ecole Militaire goes to Opera, where you could catch the Roissybus for about 8€; it departs from rue Scribe, one street over (west?) from Opera Garnier.
http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglai...hp?partenaire=

You buy the ticket on the bus from the driver; it's my understanding that the transportation passes cover it, also (if they are for zones 1-5).

Here's another way to get to Ecole Militaire without having to drag your luggage theough the metro. Take the Air France bus to Etoile, then walk to the next street past the Champs-Elysses, Avenue Marceau, and board the 92 city bus, getting off at the Ecole Militaire stop [or another stop if there is one closer to your apartment].