Is it possible to catch a train from CDG going directly to Tours and where might I find a train scheduel? I would like to rent a car in Tours and drive around the Loire valley but hope to miss the traffic around Paris. Also when leaving France would it be possible to stay overnight in Amboise take the train to CDG and still be able to catch a 10:30am flight. Thanks for the information.

Berry, I don't know for sure, but I think you can get a TGV train from CDG to Tours, I think it goes around Paris a little to the south and then connects to the TGV line going west. Just check the rail schedules on www.sncf.com, put in "roissy" for the departure point and "tours" for arrival, of course. You can also check the Amboise-CDG route. I suppose in theory if there is such a train and it leaves about 6 am, you could maybe get there 8:30. YOu can check schedules on www.raileurope.com also, but they do not list every departure, only the most common ones. If they have what you want, though, what they do have is usually accurate for timing.

Be careful! Do a search; someone posted their story earlier about how they MISSED their flight trying to get from Tours to CDG on the morning of the flight. Their story did not sound like it was an exception, more the rule given the train travel time and the distances that must be covered at the CDG Terminal once the train has arrived.

<BR>The reference library of a city near you may have he Thomas Cook European Timetable. There is a station called St Pierre des Corps 2 miles from central Tours. Tabe 11 says that high speed trains (TGVs) leave Charles de Gaulle railway station at 0740, 0855, 1345, 1912 and 1938, and take 100 minutes to St Pierre des Corps. From there there will be a local train, a bus, or a taxi to the city centre.<BR><BR>You cannot spend your last night at Amboise, but can at Blois. Monday to Saturday, Blois 0545, Paris Austerlitz 0730, Air France bus service from Austerlitz in an hour to Charles de Gaulle airport.<BR><BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR>

Right now, there is a train from CDG to Tours at 12:48 (that may change after daylight savings time), getting in at 15:14. It doesn't look like there is any direct train from Amboise to CDG, so you may have to overnight at the airport (or in town).<BR><BR>I often use http://bahn.hafas.de (the German rail site) to check schedules because it is easier to navigate than SNCF.

Ben, thanks for the info on St. Pierre etc. I was looking at schedules that called for a change, not realizing that that change was only a couple of miles outside of Tours and that you could take a cab and start from there. As usual, you da man.