ParisByTrain.com

[mig]

I have a Eurail Select pass (France, Benelux, Germany) and need to get to Cologne for Photokina.

I get into CDG at 7:20am and it looks like I might have a couple of options:

1. Spend €8+ for the local RER to Gare du Nord and hop on a TGV to Cologne either a 0-change 11:55 that gets at 15:45 (or a 1-change 10:25 that gets in at 14:15).

OR

2. Get the TGV at CDG 9:55 that changes at Brussels (ICE) and gets in at 14:15.

A couple of questions are:

Can I get the Eurail pass validated at CDG that early in the morning on a Saturday? (I would expect I would be able to for sure at Gare du Nord)

I will be traveling with a duffle on wheels and a small camera back pack so I have a slight bit of luggage, is it easier to make the transfer (with luggage) at Gare du Nord or Brussels?

Getting in at 14:00 vs. 16:00 isn't terribly critical as I will have been flying from the states for 9 hours. I would rather have a nice train ride.

Thanks.

[ben]

Hi Mig,

The train station ticket office for "Grandes Lignes" at CDG Terminal 2 is open every day from 06h10, thus you'll be able to validate your Eurail pass there on Saturday morning.

The transfer at Gare du Nord will have you ascending from Sublevel 4 to street level, with about 500m of walking. It should take about 8-10 minutes to make your way from the depths of the RER B platform up to the level of the Grandes Lignes trains. I can't say whether this is easier than Brussels, as I'm not familiar with that station. I would say that the train station at CDG Terminal 2 is less chaotic and easier to navigate than Gare du Nord, which is quite large and busy.

Regardless of whether you choose to take the TGV from CDG or Gare du Nord, I would recommend validating your Eurail Pass at CDG as the lineups for the ticket office there are generally smaller.

If you'd like to simply take it easy, I'd suggest staying at CDG Terminal 2 and catching the 9:55 train. You could relax at one of the many Illy coffee bars and enjoy some croissaints or other baked pastries while waiting for your train (although I do suggest you sort out the ticket stuff/seat reservation before relaxing). Here are maps for the terminals at Aéroport Charles de Gaulle showing shops and eateries.

Best regards,

Ben

[MiG]

Wow, what a useful reply! Thank you!

I was leaning towards not having to go to Gare du Nord. I have been there just to look around the last time I visited Paris and saw how busy it can be.

Now I just have to find a reservation system that isn't going to charge me an arm and a leg to reserve a seat. (I have a Eurail pass and the Raileurope.com site wants 32 US + 18 US shipping.)


Thanks again!

[ben]

Hi Mig,

I'm not sure whether the following groups will be able to help you reserve your tickets on your Railpass without fees, but I think it's worth a shot:

RailEurope.co.uk - SNCF's partner in the UK. Maybe they'll be able to book tickets for you without the fee.

TGV-Europe.com - TGV-Europe.com is the pan-European site for high speed trains by SNCF and their partners. This link should take you to their "Contact Us" page in English. Send them a message and see if they can help you book your train tickets via your pass.

Cologne SNCF boutique - This is a physical office for SNCF located in Cologne. Try to find their contact information and send them a message or try them on the phone. (I'm hoping they speak English. Germans in general are pretty good with English as their second language).

Best of luck!

Ben

[fudge_brownie]

I am not sure if this will help or not as you have a Eurail Pass, but here is a method I used to book tickets on SNCF while in the United States. My recollection is that you cannot print a ticket when using the SNCF web site while in the US, this means any ticket you purchase must be picked up at a SNCF ticket office. You will not be able to use the self service machine as it is based on your credit card and North American cards lack the smart card feature of European cards to make this happen.

If you are looking for savings of 30-50 euros in booking fees consider this option.

This is a very convulated process and I am not sure I could do it without these specific directions. The directions are good, allow some time to complete the process and it saves all the fees that the raileurope web site charges. The origin of this method is a "sticky" on a tripadvisor.com forum.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1871 ... .Sncf.html

[miG]

Thanks for all of the info...

The best laid plans... it turns out that the train I wanted to take was sold out of reservations for Eurail pass so I am now consigned to taking the RER to Gare du Nord and catching the direct Paris to Cologne train.

Thanks again for all of the advice, it has taken the worry out of my trip--at least for this part of it!