Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Can get to just about anywhere from here . Loads of shops . |
| Disadvantages: |
Big, busy and looking a little dated |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
I have read a few of the previous ops about this Airport and I feel they are a little harsh. Yes the airport is unfeasibly large - it's really like a town - and yes, it's busy, but I don't agree that it's difficult to find your way around there. AS LONG AS YOU PAY ATTENTION AND HAVE A REASONABLY IDEA OF WHERE YOU WANT TO GET TO.
We experienced Charles de Gaulle in Oct 2002. We are a family of 5 and had flown into CDG from Luton and we were taking the TGV train out of CDG to Poitiers to visit my parents. As I had only been to this airport as a child before, I was a little apprehensive about guiding my 'don't speak a word of French' partner and our 3 children aged 10, 8 and 1 1/2 round one of the world's busiest airports. I have a working knowledge of French, but felt that I would feel better if I had some kind of idea what CDG was like, so I logged on to the website. There was a (not very detailed) map of the airport, and in typically French style, a complete rundown of all the shops within the concourse. Despite the lack of detail on the map, it did at least show the location of the TGV station in relation to the terminal we were flying into. Before I go any further I will just give you a brief rundown of the terminals etc:-
Terminal 1 - International arrivals and Departures and loads of shops
Terminal 2 - Air France arrivals and departures, more shops and the TGV station. (high speed tilting trains) Also sited here is the RER train service (high speed metro line).
Terminal T9 - This is the as yet not fully completed new terminal that deals with all charter flights and Easyjet. Few shops and a couple of cafes.
We were flying into Terminal T9 with Easyjet. The baggage reclaim was immediately upon you after doing the disembarkation thing, and our luggage was actually waiting for us. We landed at 8.30am, and due to the fact that we weren't sure how long it would take us to navigate the airport, had opted to pre-book a later TGV rather than the 8.50am train to our destination. However, with the speed of the baggage reclaim we thought we'd try to get the earlier train. We grabbed a luggage trolley and set off. We had to walk down through a tunnel and cross a busy road to get to the bus station. This was not good, firstly from the time point of view and secondly from the 'do French drivers stop at pedestrian crossings?' point of view. The answer to that second point is 'no, not if they can bloody help it, they don't'. However, the bus to terminal 2 was waiting as we got to the bus station so we leapt on, me at the front with the buggy and kids, and my partner Patrick at the back with all the luggage (the only space left). Despite a near miss (Patrick got off at an earlier stop because only I knew where we were going and luckily I spotted him and ushered him back on), we reached the T2 TGV stop very quickly. WARNING - The whole area of the airport and road systems looks a bit like Birmingham and spaghetti junction. You will pass large hotels and see many planes. Try not to look bewildered.
At terminal 2. This terminal is on about 5 or 6 levels. The TGV ticket office is on level 3 and the trains run from the platforms deep in the bowels of the terminal on level 1. Look on the huge information boards outside the ticket offices for your correct train, reading along the destinations for your particular stop. Proceed to the correct level and platform. On your platform you will find several lit information boards that show you EXACTLY where the train stops and where each number carriage will be standing so that you can position yourself just where the door of your carriage will come to rest. Board the train and enjoy the smoothness of the TGV.
As I have already mentioned, we did not have tickets for the earlier train, but fortunately the lady conductor let us on when I explained in bad French, but we had to sit in the smoking carriage as the rest of the train was fully booked. This was OK though, because - shock horror - it was almost empty! French train, hardly any smokers on board, have we misjudged the gallic ones? So to summarize, it took us 20 minutes to get from Terminal T9 to terminal 2, negotiate the TGV info boards, persuade the conductor and get on the train. Charles de Gaulle can't be that difficult to navigate then.
IMPORTANT WARNING. In terminal 2, DO NOT let any members of your travelling party
travel in different lifts from you. They go to different levels. We made this mistake on the return journey when we couldn't all fit in the lift up from the train platform. I travelled in a different lift with the toddler and his buggy, telling the rest of the family to go to level 5. I also pressed the button for level 5 in my lift and was taken to the taxi rank. No sign of my family. Frantic searching on all levels ensued. still no sign. I eventually asked a gendarme (policeman) to put out an announcement and was unhelpfully informed that the airport DON'T PUT OUT PERSONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. Fortunately he did point out to me that there were some more lifts at the other end of the terminal, and I found my family waiting patiently for me at level 5 bus stop. Exactly where they should be. Too many lifts, too many levels. Save time and sanity by waiting for a lift you'll all fit in.
Terminal 1 - A few words about this terminal. We have no experience of flying in or out of this terminal, but we did visit it on the return leg of our journey as we had loads of time to wait for our connecting plane and thought we'd check out the shops. Again, the bus took us swiftly and easily to the terminal. This is the oldest terminal and slightly resembles the Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham. (In that it is circular and very international). There were indeed many, many shops in here, all very expensive, but worth a mooch around. There is a Tabac in there too, which also sells ludicrously over-priced souvenirs of the Eiffel Tower. Some great and inexpensive postcards there though. IMPORTANT POINT FOR PEOPLE TRAVELLING WITH KIDS OR FAST FOOD JUNKIES. Check out the Mc Donalds in the terminal. In the childrens happy meals you get yoghurt drinks and biscuit packs as well as all the usual stuff, and you get this 'sauce de pomme frites' sachets with your fries, which is actually BIG MAC RELISH. The prices pretty much compare with standard (ie non-motorway service station) McD prices.
A few other points that may be helpful as you try to negotiate this airport. If you don't know where you are going or how to get there - ask someone. Look out for British Airways and Easyjet staff, they normally speak good English and can direct you to various desks, bus stops etc. If you have a long time to wait between connections, be aware that the coffee from the various outlets (except MCDonalds is pretty expensive, but the pastry prices aren't too bad. Vive le croissant! The departure lounge from T9 is pretty comfortable and they have a few nice shops in there, but if you want to bring back fags or booze, get them before you go to the airport, its a lot cheaper.
Last Point - if you are remaining in Paris and need to get across to the city proper, use the excellent train service, DO NOT try to drive across Paris. You'll end up in Waterloo.
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