Paris: CDG airport > Gare du Nord

[Panceltic]

Hello fellow international travellers!

My flight arrives at CDG at 08:40 and I need to catch the 12:13 Eurostar to London from Gare du Nord.

Looking at transfer options, there is RER B (€10.00) and the 350 bus (3 t+ tickets - €5.40).

Would you say I have enough time to take the bus or is it better to take the RER? If I opt for the bus, are t+ tickets sold at the airport?

Many thanks for your advice.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If it was me, I'd use the RER. The forward end of the way up from the RER platforms at Gare du Nord comes up almost exactly where the escalator to the Eurostar concourse is.

 

[theageofthetra]

Use the RER as suggested though keep a very close eye on your valuables. Out of interest wouldn't it have been easier just to fly back from CDG to London?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If he did that he'd have to pay the UK Air Passenger Duty on the combined elements of his flights ( not just the CDG - LHR leg ) even if booked separately.

 

[Panceltic]

Thanks, will use the RER.

I'm flying from Slovenia to Paris and then continuing on to London on the Eurostar. Furthermore, I'm connecting onto a train out of King's Cross so it's a perfect option for me.

 

[Chris999999]

If he did that he'd have to pay the UK Air Passenger Duty on the combined elements of his flights ( not just the CDG - LHR leg ) even if booked separately.

There is no APD on incoming flights.

 

[SHD]

Don't bother with the 350, you would hit quite serious traffic between 9 and 10AM. In addition, the 350 is not a dedicated airport bus for travellers, it calls at many locations in the airport zone (freight terminals, warehouses, office parks); so unless you have a quirky passion for such areas, it would be a waste of your time.

Flying from Slovenia will have you landing at Terminal 1, you will need to use the CDGVal people mover between the terminal and the RER station.
Seems like Adria and Air France now codeshare with HOP! metal that will have you landing at terminal 2D, very close to the RER "Terminal 2" station.

 

[CC 72100]

Use the RER B, try and get a direct train if one is available, even if you have to let the first train go is my advice.

 

[SHD]

Use the RER B, try and get a direct train if one is available, even if you have to let the first train go is my advice.

There are direct trains every 15' between CDG and Gare du Nord at off-peak hours (approx 0930-1630) and after approx. 2130.

 

[Panceltic]

Seems like Adria and Air France now codeshare with HOP! metal that will have you landing at terminal 2D, very close to the RER "Terminal 2" station.

Adria lands at 2D while HOP! lands at 2G (which is quite remote as I understand).

Many thanks to all - I will take the direct RER (if possible) and leave the bus for another time.

 

[SHD]

Adria lands at 2D while HOP! lands at 2G (which is quite remote as I understand).

Many thanks to all - I will take the direct RER (if possible) and leave the bus for another time.

Sorry for that, 2G really is a miserable and remote place.

 

[Panceltic]

Thankfully I'm flying Adria this time!

 

[class387]

Use the RER B, try and get a direct train if one is available, even if you have to let the first train go is my advice.

I second this. The areas served by the slow trains are some of the most horrible I have ever been to and I would avoid them at all costs. The fast trains normally terminate at Massy-Palaiseau and have a operating code of KARI, KALI or KANE (so basically anything starting with KA-).

 

[CC 72100]

I second this. The areas served by the slow trains are some of the most horrible I have ever been to and I would avoid them at all costs. The fast trains normally terminate at Massy-Palaiseau and have a operating code of KARI, KALI or KANE (so basically anything starting with KA-).

I couldn't even remember the codes of my own trains when commuting for 8 months so I don't fancy Panceltic's chances!

Just check the boards, if there is an orange light next to the station then you're booked to stop. It should be said that the non-stop trains are exactly that, they are not 'express' services and you just end up trundling around having a good view of places that you'll be glad the doors don't open at!

 

[SHD]

Although the northern suburbs of Paris are indeed riddled with many problems, although it is certainly true that they are visually unappealing, and although it is true that characters ranging from unsavoury to dangerous might (please note the modal verb here) be present at the stations or on the trains, I wonder what you actually mean when you write "some of the most horrible I have ever been to and I would avoid them at all costs". I mean, have you actually *been* there? Have you visited people there? Did you meet some of the inhabitants and talk to them? Have you lived, worked, loved there? Or did you just travel through these suburbs in the RER? There is quite a difference. I will not deny that this is an area with persistent crime problems, but you almost make it sound like South Bronx in the 1970s, which would be a most grotesque exaggeration.

 

[WestCoast]

I caught a stopper on the RER B last year on two trips, and didn't think much of it really. I'm quite used to inner cities though. Sure the scenery was poor, but it didn't feel particularly intimidating. Maybe it's different at night.

 

[furgus2]

I travelled on a non-stop RER service from CDG to Gare du Nord earlier this year. Not exactly a scenic service but no problem except in trying to disembark. Despite about 3/4 people including myself at the doors ready to get off, people just barged on regardless as we tried to get off

 

[317666]

Yesterday I had time to kill before my Eurostar back to London, so I caught the RER B to Aulnay-sous-Bois and back as there wasn't a train going south for twelve minutes. To me it felt no different to travelling through the more notorious parts of London. If you do end up on a stopper I would just suggest being wary of your surroundings and keeping an eye on your belongings, which is something I tend to do when travelling somewhere I'm not familiar with anyway.

(And I got an unrefurbished MI84 both ways, my favourite RER units )

 

[CC 72100]

MI84 favourite units? I mean I know the MS61s are no more as of April but seriously?

Obviously I'm biased but the MI84s were vile on the A.

 

[pemma]

Out of interest wouldn't it have been easier just to fly back from CDG to London?

One thing to note on some travel insurance policies is missing your flight due to the failure of public transport is included but missing a flight due to another flight being late is excluded unless you've booked them as connecting flights, in which case the airline will cover you.

 

[317666]

MI84 favourite units? I mean I know the MS61s are no more as of April but seriously?

Obviously I'm biased but the MI84s were vile on the A.

Childhood memories of staying in Lognes, MI84s and brand new MI2Ns. The garish interior and general knackered state of them is part of the appeal for me, but I wouldn't want to commute on them to be fair!

 

[CC 72100]

Childhood memories of staying in Lognes, MI84s and brand new MI2Ns. The garish interior and general knackered state of them is part of the appeal for me, but I wouldn't want to commute on them to be fair!

I'm probably biased by being on the 'poor relation' Boissy branch so annoyed to see a double deck train on MLV, for then a MI84 to rock up on ours, when MLV branch seemed to be a 2:1 train ratio in the first place!

The MI2N salmon pink interior looks dated (or at least did in summer '14 when I was last there)

 

[class387]

I don't mind the MI79s (both refurbished and non-refurbished), but the MI84s are horrible in every way possible. The interior on them is worse than a bench-seat Pacer!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I thought the unrefurbished 79s and 84s were identical?

 

[class387]

MI79s have softer leather seats, while MI84s have some sort of fabric that resembles a children's cross-stitch kit.

 

[SHD]

MI79s either have already been refurbished or are being currently refurbished (a few SNCF units) and alas the comfortable vinyl seats are now history.

 

[CC 72100]

Those vile seats with the hard pattern in navy blue were awful, plus they always seemed about 10 metres lower in the middle

 

[SHD]

Those vile seats with the hard pattern in navy blue were awful, plus they always seemed about 10 metres lower in the middle

I guess that's a case of your derrière, your opinion...

 

[Panceltic]

Split ticketing works in Paris, too.

Airport>Parc des Expositions + Parc des Expositions>Paris works out cheaper than a direct ticket. (One wonders why ... )

However probably not worth the hassle because you actually have to exit the station and validate the other ticket.