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ou may think that getting to Paris would be easy… you open your browser, look for the flights and corresponding prices…
This is where the confusion starts. There are 3 major airports that allow you to get to the capital of France. Four! – if you are a businessman having a private jet.
Le Bourget Airport is for special cases – general aviation as it is called. Meaning – owning a private jet! It was the first one to operate, and today has 100 years and counting. Knowing how the city has grown, we can safely say that it is within the borders, just after the Saint-Denis district, or next to Bourget district hotels and hostels. Apart from the Paris Air Show – you can simply forget about it.
Orly was the next thing. Located a bit further away from the city in 1932, but in the suburbs and connected by the MTR now. It literally survived the war – since it was the favorite place for the bombs dropped by the Alliance. It was mostly the German Luftwaffe’s fault – since it was stationed there. Until 1974 it was the major airport of the capital. Then his bigger brother was built, and a lot of flights transferred there. It doesn’t make much of the difference – Orly is as busy as de Gaulle airport. There are some cheaper flights that arrive here, but not that many.
Charles de Gaulle Airport was supposed to be the one for north of Paris. It is an easy distinction – Orly at the South – 30 minutes to the city, but also for those who would drive down to Orleans. De Gaulle – for the northern districts, Normandie, sometimes even Bruxelle! Also, not far from Paris – a little bit over 30 minutes. It is growing every day. It is very curiously built because the planes cross the speedway on the way in or out. Watching a flying giant take off, or pass right above your head is a great experience.
The last airport may be the most important for many since there are many cheap flight operators that have chosen it as their main port of business. Beauvais-Tille Airport is not really that far from Paris – it is about a 60-90 minute drive with the bus. Bus and car being the only options… that is true. But then the price of the plane ticket is sometimes worth it. Waiting it is quite boring – the airport is small and there are not that many facilities inside. Be prepared for that and take a good book with you.
We will talk about them one by one. Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports are well connected to Paris, meaning having RER/MTR, busses, and taxis at your disposal. They may be more expensive in the terms of buying plane tickets. Beauvais – Tille is the easiest one, having only the coach connection. But also the most desirable when it goes to prices.
For further information about public transport, train and bus maps, tickets, and multipack tickets – direct yourself to the next article in the Light Visit to Paris section.
PARIS – ORLY AIRPORT (ORY)
Although most international flights moved to De Gaulle Airport Orly has second place. You get planes from all over the world here, although you can see a lot of domestic flights.
It is very well connected with Paris. It is only 10 km, almost in the straight line to the Peripherique du Sud (the city’s Ring Road) – 15 km to the Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of Paris.
Trains
Connecting with the vast Paris MTR/RER system may be your top priority. You may have a day ticket, you may be a resident or visit local friends who know the secrets, or it may be a whole package linked to the attractions.
Whatever it is, you have three main options to look for on the signs – ORLYVal, C Go Paris Shuttle, and Tram.
ORLYVal
It takes you to Anthony RER, where you interchange for RER B line of the Paris network. It also interconnects the terminals.
The travel time is around 35 minutes (or more – depending on where exactly you want to go).
You will be going to Paris 1-2 zones (this is where the majority of monuments is). Depending on the zones crossed you pay a certain amount of money. There are also Visit Paris multiday tickets, that let you travel between the 5 zones and from/to the airport.
Prices
Regular, one-way ticket: 12,10 € (to Paris zone 1-2)
Paris Visite 1 day: 25,25 €
Paris Visite 2 days: 38,35 €
*Children pay the half price but they need to be between 4 and 10 years old (under 4 is free)
Watch out for the times. It runs between 6 – 23:35, every 5 minutes in the rush hours, 7-30 minutes for the rest of the day.
C Go Paris
A bus connection between the airport and RER C station, which is 10 minutes away. Probably, if the airport was smaller, there would be a pedestrian connection. But there is not, and you need to take a bus that goes every 15 minutes.
From the Port de Rungis-Aéroport d’Orly MTR/RER station you get to the heart of Paris in 35 minutes.
The cost to get to the city depends on the zones crossed and you add the bus.
Prices
A single ticket for the bus: 1,90€
RER: 5,70€ (to city center)
Paris Visite tickets for bus+RER: look above
*Children pay the half price but they need to be between 4 and 10 years old (under 4 is free)
C Go Paris runs between 4:43 – 23:16, RER from 5:15 to 00:30.
Tram 7 is a similar connection to the bus – you take the tram and go to the station where you can switch for the RER line C, other busses and trams, or the pink MTR 7.
It will be explained more in the Move Around article, but Paris has a very frequent metro called MTR and less frequent but still not that bad – RER. RERs usually travel further away and you can call them the suburbs’ metro.
It will take you much longer to get to Orly like that. Form Villeneuf metro station to the airport is around 40 minutes, and this may be called only half of your journey because you still need to travel to wherever your hotel is! Unless it is really close… I suppose now it is easier to understand why OrlyVal is so popular.
There is one huge advantage though – the Tram stops 3 minutes from the terminal…
Prices are not that bad either. If you are stationed in Zone 1-2, you can limit the price to less than 6€.
Prices
A single ticket for the tram: 1,90€
MTR: 3,80€ (Villejuif is zone 3)
Paris Visite tickets: above
*Children pay the half price but they need to be between 4 and 10 years old (under 4 is free)
The line operates from 5:30 to 00:30 – so it is almost parallel to the MTR/RER, goes every 6 minutes in peak hours.
As usual – advantages and disadvantages – pick the one that feels the most suitable for you.
Busses
Your best friend here would be the Orlybus, which travels between the airport and the Denfert-Rochereau (connection with MTR).
30 minutes of road time is quite ok. The last stop is in district 14, so you can be lucky enough not to have too much traffic. Its working hours are between 05:35 and 00:30.
Orlybus prices:
Airport rate: 8,70€
*Upon showing Paris Visite ticket – free
The regular bus has the number 183 – ticket price 1,90€. It is going to Porte Choisy (district 13). Again – the idea is to get you within the limits of Zone 1-2.
There is also an express bus to Train Station SNCF Moissy and a bus to Disneyland or Charles de Gaulle airport. You can find out more here.
Night busses
If you are unlucky enough to arrive in the middle of the night your night busses will take you mostly to Train Station SNCF Gare de Lyon or Châtelet (N22).
There are 4 busses depending on the terminal you arrived at. The price is 6€ for each one.
The travel time is between 60 – 100 minutes, and they go roughly every hour.
Other means of transport
Not to go into too many details. Taxis and Uber will take you anywhere of course. The price will depend on the distance unless it is within the zone 1-2. Rent a car and the self-pickup – all are there.
Taxi price
No river crossing (S part): 32€
River crossing (N part): 37€
*for zones 1 and 2
Just remember to look for the corresponding icons on the information panels. They will help you navigate through all 4 terminals of the Orly Airport.
CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT (CDG)
Although younger in years of existence – this airport was built to withstand most of the international flight coming to Paris.
It is situated north of the city, about 20 km from the heart of the city in a straight line. In fact, it is about 30 km for a car to arrive at the feet of Notre Dame. It’s further but then it is easier to get away from it and travel to the North of the country or even Holland.
There is convenient terminal transportation called CDGVal – it is a metro taking you between T1-T3. Walkways are quite useful as well, but if you are interested in the bus shuttle services, check this link, because there is quite a few of them.
Trains
Apart from the SNCF (name of french train network) service which takes you everywhere from here, you get a RER line taking you straight to Paris. Direct yourself to the belly of Terminal 2 – look for signs for RER or “Grand lignes/Trains/SNCF”. Follow the signs and the walkways, airport shuttles can help you as well.
On arrival there, you will find counters giving you some information or selling tickets. Automatic machines can serve you RER tickets as well. They provide the easiest way to get a ticket to Paris, although you will need a credit card or cash.
De Gaulle Airport is in the metro zone 5 and the first good place to interchange is the Gare du Nord MTR/RER/SNCF station (Zone 1). It basically means…
Prices
RER ticket: 11,40€
Paris Visite tickets: look above
*Children pay the half price but they need to be between 4 and 10 years old (under 4 is free)
It is about half an hour to Châtelet MTR which is right next to the Ile de la Cîté and Notre Dame Cathedral. If you have your hotel somewhere in the south it would, obviously, be longer.
RER goes every 10-15 minutes and runs between 5:30 and 00:30. Then you have night shuttles and taxis.
The busses
The trains seem the best to me but maybe you would want to take the bus. A dedicated line going to De Gaulle Airport from the heart of Paris is called the Roissy Bus.
The starting point is at the Opéra Garnier of Paris (the vicinity of many hotels). Corner of “rue Scribe” and “rue Auber”
It is around 60 minutes to the airport, although watch out for high traffic. It is quite frequent – every 15-30 minutes (depending on the time of the day). Goes between 5:15 and 00:30 (from the city to the airport) or 6 to 00:30 (airport to the city).
Price Roissy Bus
Regular, one-way ticket: 13,70 €
*Children pay half price but they need to be between 4 and 9 years old (under 4 is free)
There are other lines – 350 takes you to Port the la Chapelle, 351 to Paris Nation MTR, etc. There are even busses going to the suburbs. It is cheaper but takes more time. Depending on where you will sleep, you will have to consult the maps here.
There are also lines to Disneyland and Asterix Parks. They both have hotel resorts nearby, so maybe you would need them. Check here.
When everything else is closed you have night busses N140 and N143. They are both going to Gare de l’Est. The first one is slower – about 100 minutes; N143 will take you to Paris in about an hour. They go every hour (more or less). The price is fixed for both – 7,60€.
Taxi
As with Orly, so in here, there is a division for the left and the right side of the river Seine. Then, if you need to go somewhere else, or it is the night – the fare will change.
The airport bewares of the fake taxis. You can find the certified ones and the telephones here.
Taxi prices
No river crossing (N part): 53€
River crossing (S part): 58€
*for zones 1 and 2
Uber prices are similar. Rent a car is the same as everywhere else. Just follow the right signs.
BEAUVAIS – TILLE AIRPORT (BVA)
Last but not least Beauvais became quite a popular airport thanks to the low-cost flights. At one point everyone was there, taking a bus to Paris.
It is significantly smaller, so you don’t waste time to get out of there. And then – you can just sleep on the bus and wake up in the magical city of Paris.
As said in the beginning – no RER there.
Paris – Beauvais Shuttle Bus
Nothing easier than hop on a bus and arrive in Paris right. It takes you directly, with no stops, to Porte Maillot, where you can switch for the city’s public transport.
Times of the busses are linked to the flights and it is best to check everything online, while you buy the tickets.
The bus ride is 75 minutes, and it is best to reserve a place online, here.
Prices
Regular ticket ADT: 29€
Regular ticket Chd: 19,80€
*Children between 4 and 11 years old
Train from Beauvais
If it happens that the wait time for the shuttle is too long, or you have other plans there is always Plan B.
Taking a bus to Beauvais city nearby. It will be either the Coralis Shuttle or the bus nr 6. You will get the tickets with the bus driver.
In Beauvais, you will need to get to the SNCF station (check the trains), but both busses stop there.
Here you have a plan of the lines.
Prices
Bus ticket: 4€
Train Ticket: from 15€
*Children pay the half price but they need to be between 4 and 10 years old (under 4 is free)
At the train station – buy the ticket for the first train to Paris – you will arrive at the Gare du Nord station there, which is well connected by public transportation. The time it takes to Paris is about 1h15 minutes.
Taxi – the last resort
If you find yourself in trouble you can always take a taxi. But the price would be around 200€ (more during the night). The travel time is at least 1h15 minutes depending on the starting point in Paris. Remember about the traffic because it can go up to 2h and more if you are really unlucky.