Paris CHG airport - anyone know it well?

[castille]

Is it insane of me to consider getting a train that arrives at the airport 1 hour and 20 minutes before my flight leaves?

oops CDG airport

mildmannered janitor right - leave longer as the organisation there is dire... esp in the older terminal where there is no logic at all to checkin/security procedure (and if you are on easyjet/ba that is where you'll be..)

Check the terminal. Your plane may be leaving from right by the train.

Look it up on their website.

DH nearly missed our honeymoon plane because he was parking the car and the buses took ages to come.

From my experience (in 2005) it's a horrible, dirty, old airport that hasn't been updated since the 1970's. There isn't really anywhere comfortable to relax and few shops. I wouldn't spend any more time there than I had to!

Nope, train arrives at T2 and plane leaves from T1 so I'd need to get the free metro thingy which apparently takes 8 minutes

Can do online check-in as only hand baggage

Alternative is a silly early train that gets in over 4.5 hours before flight

Still insane?

Are you alone (ie without kids?).

I would probably risk it myself...

Is it a Eurostar you're getting?

Surely the RERs get in more frequently than that?

rers go every few minutes (dont get teh stopping ones those as they take forever)

Yes alone

Not Eurostar, TGV from Brittany direct to airport. There are only 2 or 3 a day. Alternative is TGV to Montparnasse and big hassle of crossing Paris + RER = no way

Having travelled a lot, I can safely say that CDG is the worst airport I have ever been to. I missed a connection back to Gatwick and I had 2.5 hours to spare, it is an organisational nightmare (IMO)!

Word of warning: not quite the same but we did a flight London-CDG-San Francisco and had an hour for the transfer and it all went tits up and we missed our connection.

CDG is a big airport and the little bus thing that trundles round the terminals takes FOREVER. The staff were not helpful at all.

You have no idea how long check in and security will take.

Regarding having to hang around there for any length of time (which we did, as we waited for the next plane we could take) it's actually quite a nice airport in terms of facilities, nicer than Heathrow, I think.

TGVs are reliable (usually) and I won't need a bus, there's a free monorail thing that whizzes you around.

BUT just checked and train arrives 12.37, check-in closes 13.00

Like that it looks insane

Bugger, now what?

That IS insane. I thought you had an hour and a half before check-in.

NOT do-able - remember the security checks (even with no baggage).

CDG is horrific- nothing is signed. I used to fly there 5 or 6 times a year, have perfect directional sense and even I had problems.

Sounds a bit tight. The new monorail is quite cool but it does take a good 8 minutes as it stops at various car parks on the way.

And that is once you have managed to find it!

tempting (bar + book!)

actually just remembered that the last time I was there (age 19) I nearly missed my flight, so lost was I

had better summon inlaws for 5am babysitting duty (snigger)

Dh and I hae finally got T2 sussed. The trains are at the top end between the two halves - ignore all other signposts. There are lots of signpsots but sometimes thay are a bit suss and can mislead you.

Can't remember where the monorail is, but just follwed the signposts for T1. (wnet there tot he last time to find the lost prpoerty office)