Thalys from Gard Nord. $20 taxi to station. 100-150 bucks for first class ticket. Good food, internet, and sightseeing. You can get the ticket the day of the trip if you must, or call ahead and make a reservation. In my case, the hotel staff made the call and reservation for us at our request.

Train station is at base of the Dom in CGN, which translates to a 10 minute walk to hotel. Plenty of gouge on same at pilotswap.net, or do a search and you should find more on this site.

My number is in VIPS as well...I'm not senior enough to do the trip regularly but I did it once and will pass on what I can. Plenty of hard-core MD11 guys here who know the drill that can help you as well.