Paris -Charles de Gaulle to Le Puy

[Amy Mello]

I'm traveling in 2 weeks to start walking my walk from Le Puy.

I have not been able to reserve a train from Charles de Gaulle to Le Puy - although I can see there is a train option. Can anyone share the link to the booking sites? SCNF seems to indicate there are no trains and the Bahn site seems to show schedules, but offers no way to book a ticket.

I arrive at CDG at 7:40 and I'm hoping to reserve the noon train to Lyon (I assume 8:31 is cutting it to close)

Is there a separate site for booking trains that I am missing?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you

 

[mspath]

The problem with reserving may be that there are presently periodic strikes on the French railroad service throughout the country.

Since when all is working correctly there are several trains to Lyon througjout the day you might just buy your ticket when you arrive at Paris/CDG.

However for peace of mind
try this website with your date
www.voyages-sncf.com.

Good luck and Bon voyage!

 

[Amy Mello]

Thanks. It also looks like a glitch on SCNF may be a browser error. However, its now unclear to me that Americans can book through that site anyway.

Was nervous that costs would increase severely if I waited till day of to buy the ticket, but it might my best option.

Thanks!

 

[mspath]

I believe that you as a non-resident can book your ticket on that voyages-SNCF site but you pay finally for your ticket with your credit card when you arrive at the station in Paris.

 

[whariwharangi]

Try booking a ticket from Paris CDG to Lyon Part Dieu and then another ticket from Lyon Part Dieu to Le Puy. (You might try St Etienne as transfer point as TGV service continues there for some trains.)

The service from Lyon to Le Puy will likely be TER service and you can't make a reservation on it.

The SNCF site doesn't like transfers from one train to another ... which is necessary for the trip.

 

[MM HILL]

I am travelling the same route on Sept 1, and will buy tickets in June, using a website introduced by my friend who has walked 2 Camino:
https://www.captaintrain.com/en

 

[NavyBlue]

Hi,

I arrive at CDG at 7:40 and I'm hoping to reserve the noon train to Lyon (I assume 8:31 is cutting it to close)

Yes, too close, definitely !

The sncf site shows various proposals, from Paris to Le Puy-en-Velay.
An example for the 6th of June :



I would recommend the 12h59 one, with a transfer ("corresp."/"correspondance") in Saint-Etienne (not Lyon). As said above, there are no reservations from Saint-Etienne to Le Puy (TER).

No clues about payment from abroad.

Beware of the current social problems in France. The unions, opposing to a new labour related bill, have announced strikes for every wednesday and thursday. Doesn't mean no trains, but some of them will be cancelled.

 

[galliano]

You can actually take the TGV from Paris CDG airport. There is one train leaving at 11.58 with changes in Lyon and St.Etienne.
The transfer in St.Etienne is just 6 minutes, but it can boe done. (I have)
Next train leaves CDG at 13.58 with only a change in Lyon.

 

[galliano]

http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/?prex...ans=1&ef_id=VSO57QAAATOilNkC:20160523084344:s

This is the link I use when ordering tickets on the SNCF site

 

[newfydog]

incidentally, you can now drop off a rental car in lePuy. When we did the chemin we needed to leave it in St Etienne, but for the Stevenson it was possible to drop off in LePuy.

We usually rent a car and spend time with friends in Paris and do some other travelling before starting.

 

[TMcA]

I have used Captain Train for the last two years because I had trouble paying for my tickets from the US using the SNCF site (which I had previously used from 2013-2014). Captain Train will give you an email confirmation with instructions on how to obtain your tickets from one of the yellow ticket machines in the CDG train station. Bring that email with you - it contains the code to withdraw your tickets. Customer service at Captain Train is very good. You will obtain a prompt reply, in English, to any inquiry you might make. If they charge a service fee, it is worth the small extra expense.

Bon chemin!

 

[AlwynWellington]

On Saturday, 2 April I arrived at CDG about the same time. This seemed a very popular arrival time for Terminal 2 (?) and the queues at passport control seemed endless. So do allow more than 1 hour.

I had booked my ticket to Lyon beforehand through my travel agent and cost the same in Euros as if I had purchased on the day of travel.

As I wished to look around the terminal buildings I had booked for about midday.

And I was staying in Lyon two nights to have a look around and didn't want to be rushed.

Travel to Le Puy was by TER (middle distance trains) from the same station as arrival from CDG. My choice was middle of the afternoon.

In summary it would be possible to arrive at CDG before 8 am, take a TV to Lyon later that morning and an afternoon train to Le Puy, subject to day of week and unplanned events not preventing.

 

[billmclaughlin]

I've also had good experiences with Captain Train. I note this as well:

"Prices are those charged by the carriers, with no added service charge; Captain Train receives a commission from the carrier on each ticket sale."

 

[mla1]

I also use Captain Train to buy train tickets in europe - also because of the difficulty of using a canadian visa card on the SNCF site.
But also because the app makes it very easy to buy tickets when you have only your phone and a wonky internet connection and it is nighttime and you are borrowing the internet from the closed cafe/bar across the street from your wifi-less albergue....

I have also bought train tickets on the Loco2 site:
https://loco2.com/

And for all train information a very good resource is the excellent website called Man in Seat 61:
http://www.seat61.com/

 

[Amy Mello]

This site is such an amazing resource. Thank you all for the help.

I had never heard of Captain Train and its great. But looking at the prices, it actually may be more economical (gas and all) for us to rent a car - which I would not have thought possible.

We're deciding now if we'll feel up to a drive after our flight or we'll book a train and both just enjoy the view.

Thank you again everyone.

 

[NavyBlue]

A safety rule in the company I worked for : "No long distance driving after a night transatlantic flight". Makes sense.

About potential savings if you rent a car : 6+ hour drive, 16 euros for highway toll, 50 euros for gas, 190 to 240 euros for renting a car in CDG and dropping it in Le Puy on the same day (sources : www.viamichelin.fr and www.hertz.fr).