rcd

Has anyone on this forum had any experience cycling out of the Charles de Gaulle airport (Paris's main airport, 30 km or so to the NE)? I know some major airports are hideous places to begin a cycle tour; others, such as Manchester or Belfast, can have you on bike paths and away from (or into) the city in a flash! Does anyone have experience with the Charles de Gaulle?
I know trains are available right at the airport, but only the TGV, which does NOT allow cycles unless boxed or otherwise "housed." I'd like to unbox my bike at the CDG, and ride it to a smaller town from where I can board a regional train that will let me take my assembled bike in the baggage car. Thanks for any news. rcd

supersport

Not exactly what you're asking for, but this guy has good notes on getting to and from CDG airport.

https://www.dansmith.info/cdg/Notes.html

rcd

Thanks for this heads-up. It's a good start, although my main objective is to get AWAY from the congestion surrounding Paris ASAP! But if this site has good info for getting away from the airport itself without being on an 8-lane motorway, it's a start! rcd

balsingh

I have bad memories biking out of Paris, but not from the airport (although I did end up going by the airport on one of the highways, by accident of course). However, try this site, www.mayq.com. It looks very to be very thorough and may just be your ticket out. Also, where are you heading after the airport?

axolotl

I biked into the city from CDG a few times, but not in recent years. The last time I did it, it was not fun and I wouldn't recommend it. (I love riding within the city of Paris, however) The RER (the regional trains which serve greater Paris) do allow bikes outside of rushhour, and RER line B goes directly to CDG airport. I've taken my bike on the RER as recently as 3 years ago, and the rules haven't changed since then. The RATP (www.ratp.fr) website says the following:

L'ouverture du réseau RATP au transport des vélos
Avec votre vélo vous pouvez utiliser les lignes et et l'ensemble des corres-
-pondances entre toutes les lignes du RER.L'entrée et la sortie sont possibles dans toutes les gares. Vous pouvez vous déplacer avec votre vélo toute la journée, excepté pendant les heures de pointe en semaine : de 6h30 à 9 h et de 16 h 30 à 19 h.
Utilisez les voitures marquées du symbole , elles disposent d'une plate-forme destinée à cet effet.
Il vous est également possible de prendre, avec votre vélo, la ligne 1 du métro les dimanches et jours fériés.

Basically, it states that you can take a bike on every RER line and at every station, EXCEPT from 6:30am-9am, and 4:30-7pm, Mon-Fri. Use the cars marked with a bike symbol. You can also take a bike on Metro line 1 on Sundays & holidays.

Where do you want to start biking from? The RER system is quite extensive. If you wish to start riding south of the city, you can take the RER B line right thru Paris and come out south of Paris. If you want to start west or east of Paris, you can transfer from line B to one of the other lines in one of the underground stations in the city. It's a fairly easy system to use.

BRUCE NORTHCUTT

I rode out of CDG once. Never again. Take the train.

For information on airports, try Traveling With Bikes.
https://www.bikeaccess.net/BikeAccess/default.cfm

Csson

I rode out of CDG back in '99, heading west and then south (not wanting to go through downtown Paris). It was possible but it was hard to find the right roads (I remember some walking on grass and such).

I agree with the others, take a train a couple of stations to get somewhere more pleasant.

rcd

I hear ya! My goal is to get somewhere over around Dijon. I have a return ticket from Montpelier 3 or 4 weeks later, and I plan to work my way more or less down the Rhone and a bit east and west of it. So all I want to do is get away from the Charles de Gaulle, and then I can get aboard a train that goes somewhere around Dijon or perhaps Lyon, although I think Lyon is a bit too far south for what I have in mind. No rigid plans -- just the way I like to tour! Your experience with the airport is most welcomed! rcd

axolotl

Take the RER line B from the airport into Paris, to the Chatelet station. At Chatelet, transfer to the RER line A and go just one stop to the Gare de Lyon. Just make sure you get on an "A" train headed east, not west. From the Gare de Lyon, there are trains to Dijon. See www.sncf.com for long distance train information, including whether or not bicycles are permitted.

balsingh

I wish I thought of that when leaving Paris. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that they're restricted hours for bicycles on the metro. As for the SNCF, or rail, bikes are always accepted, all you do is walk your bike onto the platform and find the train car with a bike symbol on it, then you just place your bike into the storage area. If you buy your ticket from the sales office at the station, they might charge you ten euros for the bike, however, they'll tell you what train car to put your bike in, but they'd never know if you never told them, your choice. Just try to load your bike as early and as quickly as you can because they'll most likely be other people trying to load other bikes, in addition to people trying to board and store their luggage in that area. Also, when I did it, I took my panniers off to allow more room for other bikes and to make it easier to load onto the train.

rcd

Thanks axolotl -- do you know if the connections you outline permit unbagged/unboxed bikes? I've looked at the sncf website previously and wasn't able to determine this with enough accuracy to plan anything from this end. I know sometimes it is a matter of schedule and times for whether assembled bikes can travel, but for other train systems (eg, the TGV), it is never possible. Ten years ago when I was trying to get from Orleans to the Charles de Gaulle by train, I had to train it to a station south of Paris, ride through Paris because assembled bikes weren't allowed on the metro/tube/subway, then get on a train at the Gare du Nord, where I could get another train to the CDG airport! I'd rather not repeat that experience (although the ride through Paris on Sunday morning was a piece of cake). Thanks

axolotl

I want to clarify the difference between the Paris Metro (underground/subway) and the RER, which is a regional commuter train system that serves both Paris and its extensive suburbs, including both airports. While it has some stops in the city of Paris, including a stop at each SNCF train (i.e. long distance train) station, it has far fewer stops than the Metro within the city limits. It is mainly a suburban commuter train service. While bikes are allowed on the RER except during weekday rushhours, bikes are NOT allowed on Metro at all, with the sole exception of line #1 on Sundays only.

As far as the SNCF is concerned, it is NOT true that bikes are always accepted. The SNCF website has bike symbols for trains which do accept bikes.


If I understand your question, you're asking about taking a rideable bike on RER and SNCF trains. Absolutely. Indeed, it will be far easier if you can wheel or ride your bike. You should know that there are 2 RER stations at CDG airport, one for Terminal 2 (Air France, Delta, and others), and another stations for Terminal 1 (which I believe has Air Canada and the rest of the "Star Alliance", among others). While you can walk from Terminal 2 to the RER station, you have to take a free shuttle bus from Terminal 1 to the RER station. If you arrive at Terminal 1 and you can ride your bike, you should do that. It will be easier and probably faster. I have no idea if the shuttle bus will take a bike, but it would be far easier to just ride your bike, anyway.

I've never transfered from RER B to RER A at Chatelet. The RER Chatelet station is huge. I think it may be a simple matter of wheeling your bike from one platform to another (the RER to Metro transfer at Chatelet is horrendous and usually requires walking vast distances and lots of stairs, but that fortunately doesn't matter in your case).

If you check the SNCF website, you'll see that most trains from the Gare de Lyon to Dijon are TGVs. For the few non-TGV trains to Dijon, it is as simple as balsingh described; simply find the car with the bike symbol and load your bike yourself. However, I noticed that the TGVs to Dijon also have a bike symbol. I don't know personally if it's the same sort of arrangement, or if it's more restrictive and requires a "housse" (sort of a crazy half-box which covers up the greasy/oily parts of a bike).

BTW, it is possible that there are non-TGV SNCF trains from a station other than the Gare de Lyon. I know that in the case of some other French cities, TGV & non-TGV trains sometimes use different stations in Paris. I simply don't know for Dijon-bound trains.

axolotl

to Dijon, that is.

markf

Why can't you just leave the bike in the box, get on a TGV in the Aerogare, and get off in Dijon? It's true that the SNCF has some size restrictions, but my experience was that as long as my bike was in a box nobody cared if it was a few centimeters over the size limit. One conductor yelled at me until he figured out that I couldn't (wouldn't) understand French, then he left me alone. I dragged my touring bike all over France in a cardboard box that way, including the TGV from Dijon to CdG.

Gordon P

Hi, I don't have my map in front of me, but I remember a small road to the south-east of the airport (behind a hotel)which leads to a bikepath that runs alongside a river which will take you to the heart of Paris. I found the ride from the airport into Paris very easy.
Gordon P

gerv 

https://www.mayq.com/Cycling_out_of_p..._de_Gaulle.htm

CL39

Here what I did for my last four tours arriving at CDG. I took the Air France bus to Lyon station (you can put the boxed bike in the cargo hold) Unboxed and disassembled the bike at train station, put the parts into two very large trash bags taped it up and got on TGV to Lyon/Grenoble. Very easy.
Maybe that could be an option if you do not or cannot cycle out of CDG
or if you arrive during restricted time of RER. (cost around 12 Euros for the bus, gets you there <1 hour)
I believe the size limit on TGV is 120x90cm. It looks like on the train schedule that there is
no non-TGV train going to Dijon.