Quick Bite Near Gare de Lyon Station Before Lunch

[miltronix]

My wife and I are going straight from the airport to the Gare de Lyon station to catch a train departing at 10:49 on a Monday for Nice. Does anyone have recommendations for a place to grab a quick bite to eat? Our plane arrives at CDG at 5:35 am so we should have a little bit of time. I just want to keep it close to the train station since we'll have some luggage with us.

I've seen people recommend Aux Cadrans but I don't know if it's open for breakfast or Mondays. Can someone save us from having to eat the food on the TGV?

[souphie]

If you want to sit down, your only decent option at that time is indeed with the brasseries across the station like l'Européen or even Le Train Bleu inside the station. Still going to be international breakfast, nothing more.

If it were me, I would just go to the Monop' and the gourmet store across the street on rue de Lyon and gather some nice food.

Later in the day there is also a half decent creperie on rue de Lyon. And if you have time for walking east, there are nice options there, such as Le Café Cartouche or the places in the Village Saint-Emilion (not that food is that good there, but it's so lovely).

And of course on regular meal hours and if you have time, the Gare de Lyon neighborhood has some of the good bistrots in town -- eg Quincy, Biche au Bois...

[mangeur]

Only problem with Monoprix, also my choice, is that they don't open until 8:30am.

[souphie]

True that. Well, almost: Monop' on rue de Lyon opens at 8h30.

Also, if you have time in the morning by Gare de Lyon, why not go all the way to Marché d'Aligre? It's really not that far. Even closer: thursdays and saturdays are market days on av. Ledru Rollin. ETA: none of those will work on q monday. Back to my Monop + Train Bleu/Européen suggestions.

[Parigi]

The OP says he is arriving early Monday morning, admittedly the suckiest time for getting food.

[mangeur]

You are right on target with Monop', Souphie. Considering the time it will take to get through CDG and into town, they should arrive near the opening. Good call.

Maybe coffee and croissant at L'Européen then some serious train food at Monop'..

[rswatkins]

For a quick AM bite to eat, I can't think of any reason not to use Train Bleu: no wasting energy dragging luggage across that hellish parking area in front of the station, and a chance to sit on a comfortable banquette and look at the ceiling.

[mangeur]

Excellent point. I didn't realize that it would be open that early.

[Parigi]

My experience is that it opens sometime after 10, not before.
The coffee was very bad, the non-orange-tasting orange juice came out of a bottle, but that ceiling did make one forgive and forget a lot of things.

[rswatkins]

The bar area opens at 7:30 AM on weekdays.

[Parigi]

Not when I went.

[xigua]

I took the exact 1049 train today to Nice and can confirm that le train bleu is definitely open way before 10. I got there around 945 and the place was already packed. Yes the menu is quite expensive but if one has a lot of luggage it really is the best place to settle breakfast, with gare de Lyon being large and difficult to navigate particularly with construction work going on. Still the train ride is long (in fact I'm still on it) and if you have a pecking nature like, you'd definitely want to pack some snacks, if not a full lunch.

[carlosnbud]

Settle in at the brasserie L'Européen, across the street from the station
at the corner of Rue de Lyon and Blvd. Diderot. It's open all day. You
can park your luggage by the door--chances are there will already be
a few bags there. You can check the web site first--easy to find so I'm
not bothering with the link here.

[mangeur]

Hating to drag my luggage around a neighborhood looking for quality food, and equally disliking being parked with it while my husband does a food crawl, I find the idea of L'Européen tempting. Site says it opens at 6am for breakfast items and begins brasserie service at 11am. Probably not the best food of one's trip, but a warm and dry place to park before taking the train. It always seems to be crowded whenever we've passed by.

I'd still be inclined to pick up something for the long train ride, if only a Paul's sandwich and piece of fruit. Bottle of wine? There used to be a small epicerie behind the station, across Place Henri Frenay, maybe on rue Jean Bouton. Not the greatest selection but easy and close by.

[carlosnbud]

For wine there's a shop just down the block (26 Blvd. Diderot) called Les Domaines
Qui Montent, and another, Vins et Saveurs, two short blocks up the street at 50 Avenue
Ledru Rollin.

[mangeur]

VetS opens at 10, tue through sat; can't find times for LDQM. For Monday morning, Souphie's Monoprix is still the safe bet.

[Parigi]

There is not much near Gare de Lyon. Inside the station the food is even more pathetic.
Your best bet - let's call it least bad bet - is to get sandwiches and pastries at Boulangerie Paul at the CdG airport upon arrival.
Or
There shold be a gourmet store at the airport too. Get a tin of foie gras and a nice bottle of red. Get a baguette from Paul.
Your fabulous train picnic is set.
Deluccacheesemonger and we did just this for our train from Paris to Nice. We had an epicurean blast.

[miltronix]

Sounds like a good idea. Thanks Parigi!

[PhilD]

Aren't the gourmet shops airside at CDG so no use for arriving international (non-shengen) passengers?

[Parigi]

Why no use? Paul is not in the restricted area.

[PhilD]

Agree - but the Gourmet shops referenced in your post are.

[Parigi]

Ah.
It's a tough puzzle. If it were not a Monday, the OP can take RER to gare du nord, cross the street to Marché St Quentin and get everything he could possibly want, then take RER D to Gare de Lyon. Monday morning all the regular markets and food shops are closed.

[BlueOx]

Actually, if you can put together essentials for a train picnic at CDG, you get get the TGV from the airport to Nice via Lyon without stopping in Paris. Check this web site: http://www.bonjourlafrance.com/index....

[miltronix]

I saw this option as well but decided against it since it would arrive 2 hours later than the train from Gare de Lyon.