Schedules, Maps & Passes on Paris Trains, RER, & Metro
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I’ll be out of the office for a few days in Lyon on some consulting work. I won’t be able to respond to questions on the ParisByTrain.com forums with the timeliness that I’d prefer, but rest assured, I’ll get back to you by Friday or shortly thereafter.
Have a great week everyone.
Travel from CDG to Disneyland Paris can be done in two ways by train:
TGV trains from CDG to Disneyland take only 12 minutes to complete the journey. Ticket prices for CDG to Disneyland vary from 15€ to 30€ for first class tickets (more legroom, wider seats). Tickets can be purchased ahead of time: see Buying TGV Tickets for more information. CDG to Disneyland tickets can also be purchased upon arrival at the Terminal 2 train station. A related article, CDG Terminal 2 to Paris, has some photos of CDG Terminal 2 that should help you get your bearings in this station.
RER trains from CDG to Disneyland always connect at Chatelet Les Halles underground station in central Paris. Ticket prices for RER train travel from CDG to Paris, then Paris to Disneyland at Marne La Vallée station cost 14,85€ as of January 2009, requiring two tickets to complete the journey. Travel time is roughly 80 minutes, station to station.
See the articles Paris to CDG and Paris to Disneyland for more information on taking RER trains from CDG to Disneyland.
High speed TGV trains from CDG to DisneyLand Paris take just 11 minutes to travel between Charles de Gaulle Airport TGV station and the DisneyLand Paris park gates. TGV train ticket prices vary from 15€ to 24€ each and can be purchased ahead of time from:
CDG to DisneyLand Paris trains leave from a train station located inside of Terminal 2 at CDG Airport. For instructions on getting to the CDG Terminal 2 train station see the article CDG Terminal 2 to Paris photo guide. (Note that the TGV train station is located opposite of the RER train station, which is described in the previously mentioned article. The picture above is the CDG Terminal 2 TGV train station.)
Ticket purchases for the TGV train from CDG to DisneyLand Paris can also be made directly at the airport train station from the Grandes Lignes section of the ticket office. CDG to DisneyLand Paris train tickets can also be purchased from yellow ticket vending machines available throughout the station. But, keep in mind that most North American credit cards without embedded smart chips nor PIN number protection will not work with these machines. These TGV ticket vending machines will appear similar to the ones shown in the photo below.
Trains from CDG to DisneyLand Paris leave the airport with a frequency anywhere between 15 to 60 minutes apart. The first TGV train leaves CDG at 06:54 and arrives at DisneyLand Paris 12 minutes later. The last TGV train from CDG to DisneyLand Paris departs at 21:55 in the evening, seven days a week.
Search for exact TGV train times CDG to DisneyLand Paris at RailEurope.com or RailEurope.co.uk depending on your location.
The train to DisneyLand Paris from London is a Eurostar high speed train with travel time of 2 hours 55 minutes. Tickets start at £59 return.
The train to Disney Paris leaves once a day at 08:35 from London St. Pancras International Train station (King’s Cross Tube station) and arrives at DisneyLand Paris park gates at 12:30 (Paris time, which is one hour ahead of London time).
Search for London-Disney Paris ticket availability at Eurostar.com.
More information: Eurostar train to DisneyLand Paris.
If you plan on visiting Paris before making a trip out to DisneyLand Paris, there is also city train service to Paris Disneyland. The train to DisneyLand from Paris is the RER A commuter train which offers non-reserved seating train service between Paris city centre and DisneyLand at Marne La Vallée–Chessy train station. Ticket price is 6,45€ one way or 12,90€ return.
Schedules, maps, tickets/passes and more information can be found here: Paris RER to DisneyLand.
Trains to DisneyLand Paris also leave directly from CDG Airport arriving at Paris Disney park gates in less than 15 minutes with ticket prices less than 15€ one way.
More information: TGV Trains from CDG to DisneyLand Paris.
I recently met Gail Bosclair of Perfectly Paris which offers Paris vacation apartment rentals in the Montmartre area.
Visitors to Paris these days are getting savvy to the idea of renting out apartments for a few days to a week at a time. They end up paying less than they would for a hotel while getting a real taste of what it’s like to live in a beautiful area of Paris like Montmartre, which has spectacular views over the city.
She’s got some really beautiful Paris apartments under management. I encourage you to check out her properties.
France TGV Map showing high speed train lines in deep purple and light purple (click to enlarge).
This TGV Map shows the main TGV destinations in France:
The principal France TGV routes shown on the TGV map include:
Téoz train lines, in yellow, are regular speed (110 km/h) intercity trains. TGV train lines in purple (both light and dark), are high speed train lines, known as LGV (lignes à grandes vitesses) on which TGV trains operate at 300-320km/h depending on style of train. New double decker (duplex) TGV trains travel at 320km/h (199mph) at full speed while the older single level TGV trains operate at 300km/h (186mph).
Many edge destinations such as Nice, Toulon, Montpellier have a portion of the TGV route run at regular speed on non-TGV specific train lines (which are less straight). These parts of the TGV route are run at non-high speed which is about 110km/h.
The Paris RER is 5 express train lines connecting Paris city centre to surrounding suburbs. Within Paris the RER acts as an express underground or subway train. Beyond the centre, the Paris RER is a ground level commuter train connecting outlying buroughs and popular destinations such as CDG Airport and Euro Disney to the heart of Paris.
The Paris RER is 5 train lines:
The public transit authority of Paris (RATP) offers multiple RER maps that can be downloaded here:
Paris RER trains operate as a scheduled service, unlike the Paris Metro.
Here are some examples of first and last RER trains to popular destinations:
CDG Airport Terminal 2 to Paris, Gare du Nord station
Paris, Gare du Nord to CDG Airport Terminal 2
Paris, Chatelet les Halles station to Euro Disneyland (Marne La Vallée station)
Euro Disneyland to Paris, Chatelet Les Halles
Full RER Timetables for download and print can be found here:
Paris RER schedules can be confusing to read. Here are some instructions on reading RER timetables.
Paris RER trains use two different types of tickets depending on which part of the RER network you will be traveling. When taking an RER train strictly within central Paris Zone 1 (visible in the first RER Map), you can use a basic Paris Metro ticket for travel on the RER. Travel beyond Paris Zone 1 on the RER requires a special ticket: a Billet Ile-de-France.
Billet Ile-de-France Paris RER tickets are similar to the one shown here:
Paris RER ticket prices are determined station to station for travel beyond Zone 1 and range from 1.60€ to upwards of 11€. Some example trip RER fares:
Tickets for the Paris RER can be purchased at any RER or Metro station ticket window or ticket vending machine. Metro station ticket machines will appear like the following:
(photo courtesy of squarejer)
(Metro ticket vending machines may also be white or purple in colour).
RER and large train station (gare, like Gare du Nord) ticket vending machines may appear like the following:
These machines are known as Billetterie Ile-de-France and can also be blue in colour.
Do not attempt to purchase Paris RER tickets from yellow ticket machines which only sell/exchange TGV train tickets:
Paris RER passes include the following:
Paris RER travel passes are subject to fare zones, 1 through 6, which determine the price of the multi-use pass or ticket. The above transit fares are valid for travel not only on the RER, but also on the Metro and Buses within the fare zone you have purchased.
The Ticket Mobilis day ticket looks like this:
This particular day ticket is valid for zones 1 & 2 (the minimum possible), which as of January 2009 costs 5,80€. Note the writing on the top left hand corner? To be valid for travel those fields should be filled in with: date of use in format dd/mm/yy (Valable le), lastname (NOM), and firstname (Prénom).
The Carte Paris Visite consists of a black folding card and a coupon like ticket which looks like this:
The Carte Paris Visite card is available in only two zone choices: 1-3 or 1-6. (If you want coverage for either CDG or Orly Airports, you’ll need the 1-6 zone card). Carte Paris Visite can be purchased with either 1, 2, 3 or 5 day validity. Prices are as follows:
(Price sheet courtesy of RATP).
Remember to fill in the requested information on both the ticket coupon and the black paper card before using the Carte Paris Visite. These two pieces must be kept together to be valid for travel.
Paris RER week passes are known as Passe Navigo Découverte (a physical card) that must be purchased along with a week long “subscription”, known as Carte Orange, which provides unlimited travel within certain zones (1-2 up to 1-6 zones of validity). The physical Passe Navigo card itself costs 5€. Carte Orange week subscriptions are priced as follows:
Hebdo means weekly. Mensuel means monthly.
For example, a Passe Navigo Découverte loaded with 1-5 zones of travel would cost 38€ in total: 5€ for the plastic Navigo Découverte card and 33€ for the 1-5 zone Carte Orange week subscription, which covers popular destinations like CDG Airport and Paris Disneyland, both in Zone 5.
This week pass system works strictly from Monday start of service, till Sunday end of service, not an arbitrary seven day period. If you arrive in Paris on Thursday, you will not even be able to purchase a Carte Orange week subscription. Starting on Friday, passes for the following week (valid starting Monday morning) will be on sale.
The Passe Navigo Découverte radio frequency (RF) card is roughly the size of a credit card and has no identifying information on it:
Each plastic RF card also comes with a paper identification card which is meant to hold your hand written name and a face photo of the traveler (measuring 3cm tall by 2.5cm wide). (Do use your full first and last name for this card. The example below has the last name edited to protect the privacy of the traveler).
The paper identification card has a sticky plastic fold-over sheet which holds your photo in place. You must already have a photo with you when purchasing the Passe Navigo Découverte at Metro or RER ticket windows. The photo can be black & white or colour, professionally done or home printed or even photo copied and reduced from a driver’s license and trimmed to the required 3cm x 2.5cm size. Automated, coin operated photo booths can often be found in larger Metro, RER and train stations within Paris, charging roughly 4€ for 4 photos. Paris transit authority workers often have scissors handy for trimming your photo for use on the Passe Navigo.
Some restrictions apply to the use of the above passes:
Paris RER stations are marked with signs like the following:
(Photo courtesy of Gregory Deryckère).
Here’s an example of an RER station entrance at Auber station on the RER A line near Galeries Lafayette in Paris’ 8th district:
(Photo courtesy of Google Maps which is a great way to visualize your route. Google Maps with Street View, allows you to virtually tour the streets of Paris).
Paris RER stations are often shared with Metro lines such as at Paris’ largest underground station, Chatelet Les Halles. In the following photo at the top left corner is a sign showing RER A and RER D joining five Paris Metro lines within one Paris station - Chatelet Les Halles:
RER stations in Paris can also be found within large train stations (gare) such as Gare du Nord. Here is an example of a combined RER & Metro station sign at Gare du Nord:
Inside of an RER station, access to the train platforms is restricted by the use of turnstiles and double door gates such as this entrance into the fare paid zone within Chatelet Les Halles:
Things to note in the above RER station turnstile/barrier photo:
(photo courtesy of RATP).Once past the turnstiles you need to make your way to the correct Paris RER platform where you’ll be able to board the train. Within RER stations, signs will note lines along with direction of travel, which is denoted by the final or terminus station for the line. Here is an example Paris RER A sign:
Things to note in the above photo:
On the train platform you will find overhead station panels such as this:
Things to note about the above RER station panel:
Paris RER train doors do not open automatically. Whether you’re getting on or getting off, you’ll need to activate the train car doors through a button located on the handle near the middle of the double doors (unless someone pushes the button first).
On board the RER train itself, there will often be folding seats near the doors themselves, which should be used only when there is room to do so. Obviously at rush hour, these seats should remain up to allow as many passengers board the train as possible.
Above the doors of each RER train car are RER line maps showing all stops along the current RER line. At times these maps can be active, showing a flashing light beside a station name designating it as the next stop, with lit station names showing the path of travel, dark station names showing stations already passed. At other times, the maps will be simple stickers showing all stations and connecting Metro lines and large train stations along the route.
Upon arriving at your desired RER station, you need to alight the train car (remembering to open the door using the button) and make your way past the turnstiles and barriers. RER stations often require the use of tickets and passes while exiting RER stations, using the same turnstile barriers as when entering, but in reverse. This is a measure against travelers paying less than the appropriate fare for their travel. There is little preventing passengers from buying a lower cost fare, boarding a RER train and riding it beyond the fare’s validity. Forcing riders to use their tickets or passes to exit RER stations and random checks by ticket controllers, doling out penalty fares of around 35€ per infraction, are the few measures against improper use of the RER.
Many Paris RER stations have multiple exits (sorties) which can be up to ten minutes walk apart (such as at Chatelet Les Halles). Exit maps can be found near station exits which help you get your bearings before leaving the station. Exits will be marked in blue and often have a number and exit number associated with them:
If you have questions about the Paris RER informaton presented here, don’t hesitate to ask for help on the Paris By Train forums where I or some other knowledgeable traveler will get back to you with an answer.
If there is a subject which I haven’t discussed in this article that you think is appropriate, please let me know via the forums.
Grand Palais in Paris along avenue Champs-Elysées on New Year’s Eve 2008. Paris city events planners know how to light their buildings.
Avenue Champs-Elysées on New Year’s Eve looking with trees lit from Concorde all the way to the Arc de Triomphe.
Glass bottles of any type are now banned (”interdit“). There’ll be packs of heavily armored police folks at all major Paris Metro stations along the Champs-Elysées searching bags. People still manage to bring bottles on the avenue by simply walking from farther out stations. This measure is to avoid mountains of broken glass along the street which presents a hazard to people who’ve been well “champagned”.
This photo was taken near station Champs-Elysées Clemenceau.
Eiffel Tower on New Year’s Eve. Photo was taken from Pont Alexandre III between the Grand Palais and Les Invalides / Napoleon’s Tomb.
