looking at RR options from Vichy

1. Vichy to Lyon and then TGV to CDG for 115E for 2 - simplest driving etc - I don't think I want to drive 2 hrs from Vichy to downtown Lyon to catch the train to save a few euro's!!

2. Vichy to Paris Gare de lyon for 34E for 2 plus RER to CDG for 17E I think for 2 for 51E or so so quite a bit cheaper!!

I can't figure out how to get from Gare Lyon to CDG on the RER - seems like only out of Gare de Nord does the RER run to CDG so have to go from Lyon to Nord I quess

HELP on how difficult it is to do the RER TO CDG from Gare Lyon - thanks Dale

{Edited to facilitate searches}

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TourMama,

It's quite easy. Take the A Line of the RER from the Gare de Lyon to Chatelet. At Chatelet, get off, walk across the platform and take the B Line to Roissy Charles de Gaulle.

Trackside boards show all of the RER stops, so you can verify that you're in the right place. There are local and express trains to Charles de Gaulle. At Chatelet, they run on the same track.

Alternatively, you can take an Air France bus. The stop is in front of the Gare de Lyon on Boulevard Diderot (not the elevated parking lot and driveway just outside the doors, where cabs stop). But I prefer the RER, to avoid standing on the street and the uncertainty of the time the bus comes by.

Dave

Dale, are you doing all that traveling in one day? From Vichy all the way to CDG? Your plane better be late in the afternoon. Dave is exactly right about the TGV from Gare de Lyon to CDG, of course.

thanks all - Ken we are staying near the airport that Friday night and our Sat flight home which is not till 1:35 pm so plenty of time. We could have done an early Sat TGV from Lyon with close to 3 hrs before flight time but got a bit nervous at that and we need to wind down I think and repack etc!!!

I did get 34E PREM for 2 tickets from Vichy to Gare du Lyon and have mapped the RER or maybe use the AF bus to CDG so should be fine - good training for later french trips I hope!!

The important is to know in which terminal is your plane as CDG has 3 terminals which are a bit far from one another. The TGV train and RER are arriving on terminal 2. If your plane is in terminal 1 or 3 you have to take a bus from terminal 2 to 1 or 3.
In general, if you don't leave from terminal 2, the best and easier (no changes) is to take the CDG bus which deserves all the terminals. It is a little bit longer in time (count one hour from gare de Lyon) but once you are in the bus (no changes, nothing to worry about, just relax).

There is now a "people-mover" train that links the TGV stations and the airport terminals at CDG. You don't have to take a bus. It's much faster and easier.

Dale, it sounds like you have a good plan.

Much easier is exit Gare de Lyon and take the 91 bus in direction gare Montparnasse. Exit at Port Royal/Observatoire and you are at the RER B station that goes direct to CDG. I think that Chatelet is too big and messy. It's a 10/15 min bus ride to the RER B at the stop Port Royal/Observatoire of the 91 bus.

I do not know, but isn't it possible to get a TGV train direct from Lyon to CDG??????

Tom, no, no direct TGVs from Gare de Lyon to CDG. I think the RER to Châtelet is the way to go. Taking the bus to Denfert/Rochereau might work, but buses with luggage are hard. And then what if there is a traffic jam. The Châtelet station is huge, but it's probably the best option.

ckenb - I think TominVB was commenting about taking the train direct from Lyon (not Gare de) - he apparently missed the original poster's explanation

quote:

1. Vichy to Lyon and then TGV to CDG for 115E for 2 - simplest driving etc - I don't think I want to drive 2 hrs from Vichy to downtown Lyon to catch the train to save a few euro's!!

Judy

Chatelet is a big station, but via RER coming from the Gare de Lyon and going to Charles de Gaulle airport you're only going to see 20 some feet of it. Get off the train, walk across the platform, get on the train. That's the change.

Dave