Purchasing train tickets at CDG

[Kevwindy]

Our travel plans to Paris are up in the air - airline employee and never know for sure which flight I will be on - so I will not be able to make a train reservation from CDG to SJPDP. We are going to be traveling on a Wednesday. Is it reasonable to expect to be able to walk up and buy tickets and still have availability on the train? It sounds like maybe the night trains are the ones that you really need reservations for?

Thanks

 

[whariwharangi]

There are several trains daily from Paris stations CDG, Gare Montparnasse, or Gare Massy to Bayonne daily. You should have no difficulty purchasing a ticket and reserve a seat just prior to boarding. The only caveat is if you travel on or near a holiday. Otherwise the worst case scenario is you wait till next train.

The night (intercites) trains go from Gare d'Austerlitz and gets as far as Toulouse before you transfer to TGV and TER services to Bayonne.

You can't reserve a seat on a TER train such as the train from Bayonne to SJPdP.

 

[Felipe]

There is a train ticket office in CDG. Clerks speak English and are used to foreigners.
In Wednesday, getting a ticket for a train is not generally a problem. To Bayonne, they leave from Montparnasse "gare" or station. Remember, there are many stations in Paris.
Overnight TGV trains require reservation. I see a Wednesday overnight train leaving Paris Austerlitz at 21:52, with a connection at Dax 07:41 and arriving at Bayonne at 08:26. Then, a 11:10 train to SJPP, arriving an hour later. Quite convenient.
I took this train many years ago, in my first walk to Roncesvalles (only it was a direct one to B.). They are quite comfortable, I arrived in time to visit the cathedral, have a stroll in the pedestrian street of Bayonne, a cafe au lait and a pain chocolat for breakfast. Very laid back, after the bustle and noise of Paris.
If this is your option, you can take from CDG "Le Bus Direct" (formerly Cars Air France) to Gare de Lyon, and walk 15 minutes to Austerlitz, the other side of the Seine. Store your backpack in the lockers ("consignes") outside the station and presto, you are set for a nice day walk in this marvelous city.
Buen camino!

 

[kayagee66]

There is a train ticket office in CDG. Clerks speak English and are used to foreigners.
In Wednesday, getting a ticket for a train is not generally a problem. To Bayonne, they leave from Montmartre "gare" or station. Remember, there are many stations in Paris.

Montparnasse

 

[Felipe]

Montparnasse

Oh...yes, obviously. Seemed I was thinking about restaurants, music and a nice stroll by the old cobblestone streets.
Thanks, I am correcting the reference-

 

[kayagee66]

Oh...yes, obviously. Seemed I was thinking about restaurants, music and a nice stroll by the old cobblestone streets.
Thanks, I am correcting the reference-

Yeah. Montmartre is a better stroll than Montparnasse.

 

[purplesage]

Our travel plans to Paris are up in the air - airline employee and never know for sure which flight I will be on - so I will not be able to make a train reservation from CDG to SJPDP. We are going to be traveling on a Wednesday. Is it reasonable to expect to be able to walk up and buy tickets and still have availability on the train? It sounds like maybe the night trains are the ones that you really need reservations for?

Thanks

Yes, you can. Buen Camino , Caesar