ljbjeh

We will arrive via Air France at CDG at 6:30 a.m. and want to catch a 9:24 a.m. departure from Gare d'Austerlitz. Especially given the fact that we will face rush hour traffic, what are the odds of us making the train?

Also, a guide book mentioned an Air France shuttle from CDG to Gare de Lyon. Is anybody familar with that? With the stations being so close to one another, this might be better than a regular taxi.

Thanks

Christina

I've taken the Air France coach but to another stop, not Gare de Lyon--it's the same bus I was on (it goes on to Montparnasse). They do have one and it is documented on their web site. I also have their brochure on it, and it's also on the airport's web site.

It is their route number 4 and Gare de Lyon is the first stop before; it runs 7 am - 9 pm every 30 min. and costs 11.50 euro one-way (50 pct discount for kids lt 12, infants free). It stops at 20 bd Diderot. You get it at Exit C2 or B1 in Terminal 2, Exit 34 in Terminal 1, arrivals level in Terminal F.

StCirq

You've got more than enough time to catch a 9:24 train. I taxi to the Gare d'Austerlitz with some frequency, and it's usually about an hour's drive in rush hour traffic.

Michael

The RER to St. Michel takes about 25 minutes. There is a connection there to the RER C for a one stop transfer to the gare d'Austerlitz. No worries about traffic.

Huitres

Your travel time is entirely do-able. I just returned from Paris, France last night. I had to make several connections between the RERs and the Metro stations to catch my trains out of Paris. For example, to get to Gare de Lyon from the 7th Arr. where I was staying, I allowed myself 1 hour which was plenty of time.

I experienced no delays arriving at CDG, so you should be able to leave there around 7:00 am, and get into the city around 8:00-8:15 am. From CDG, you can catch the RER-B into the Ile de France (Paris central) and that costs approx ~8 euros. It takes 45 minutes to get into town and you should take that to St. Michel/Notre Dame. From there you can switch to another Metro to take you directly to Gare d'Austerlitz. There is an Air France bus that drives into the city, but to my knowledge, only went to Les Invalides/Napoleon's tomb area (other posters will know more specifics about this). I saw the Air France stop but it was too far from my hotel, which is why I opted for the RERs and the Metros.