Paris to Bordeaux Suggestions

[wesdaniel]

Hoping for some advice from someone familiar with travel in France. It's weird - I've been to Korea, Taiwan, Thailand... several Asian countries and had no trepidation at all. For some reason, this trip has got me feeling anxiety.

I'm going on an 8-day river cruise through Bordeaux next year for my 5-year wedding anniversary. This will be my first time in Europe.

One of my concerns is travel from Paris to Bordeaux and back. I could fly, but, I just don't think that's what I want to do. I'm thinking a train is a better option as (hopefully) I'd be able to see some sights along the way and take in more of the ambiance of being in France.

It seems that there are nonstop trains from Paris to Bordeaux, but, how difficult is it to find the train station from CDG? Is it like "slap you in the face" obvious (like getting on BART from SFO) or am I going to have to work to find it?

Do I need to buy a ticket in advance? Or are there trains aplenty?

TIA!