Paris - Getting There
Paris is fortunate to have several air and land connections with the other major European capitals. The Eurostar rail network connects Paris with London and Belgium, in roughly an hour. There are three major airports in Paris offering domestics and international flights. It is also relatively easy to drive between Paris and France's other major towns, as well as other countries in Europe.
Arriving in Paris Air - Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
Arriving by Air - Paris Orly Airport (ORY)
Arriving by Air - Beauvais Airport (BVA)
Arrivng by Rail
Arriving by Road
Arriving in Paris by Air
Three international airports serve Paris: Roissy Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais. The largest and busiest, Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is located 23 kilometres north-east of Paris; Orly is 15 kms south-west of Paris and Beauvais 56 kms north west of the city.
For more detailed information on Paris' Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport see our dedicated airports section.
Train/metro: The RER B metro line provides four services an hour from CDG to Paris between 5am and 12pm, a journey of around 25 minutes to Gare du Nord train station and 45 minutes to Denfert Rochereau. Fares from around €50.
Bus: 1. Roissybus offer regular services to Paris Place de l'Opéra – a journey time of around 45 minutes. Fares from around €8.
2. Bus lines 350 (for Gare de l'Est) and 351 (Nation) link Paris to airport terminals 1 and 2, operating every day (note: no nighttime services).
Shuttle: Air France offers shuttle services to Paris from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports; and between the two airports themselves. Departures every 15-20 minutes between 5.40am and 11pmm with stops at Porte Maillot, Etoile/Place Charles de Gaulle and Gare Montparnasse.
Taxis & Limousines: Taxis to Paris take between 30-45 minutes to central Paris except in the busy 8am to 9.30am period A1 freeway. Fares from around €40. Chaffeured limousine prices from around €100.
Car: For Paris from CDG airport, take the A1 motorway or Porte de Bagnolet by branching off to Paris Est. If heading to the airport, take the A1 motorway (Autoroute du Nord) by Porte de la Chapelle. Journey times between 20-60 minutes dependent on traffic.
For more detailed information on Paris' Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport see our dedicated airports section.
Train/metro: The regular Orlyval light rail service connects passengers via the RER/metro station Antony to Châtelet Les Halles, Charles de Gaulle airport and La Défense – a journey times between 35 and 50 minutes.
Bus: Orlybus services connect passengers to the city’s Denfert-Rochereau Métro/RER stop every 15 minutes, taking around 30 minutes to Paris. Regular Jetbus services link Orly airport to Villejuif-Louis Aragon Metro station (line 7). Nightbuses (Noctambus) are also provided.
Shuttle: Air France shuttles leave every 15-20 minutes between 5.40am and 11pm, stopping at Porte d’Orleans, Gare Montparnasse, Duroc and Gare des Invalides – a journey time of 25 minutes. Shuttles also connect with Roissy CDG Airport.
Taxi: Taxis and limousines are available from outside the terminal building – fares from around €35 to central Paris.
Car: Use the A6 motorway or Route National 7 via Porte d’Italie.
For more detailed information on Paris' Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport see our dedicated airports section.
Train: Taxis operate to Beauvais train station (fares from €10) – from there trains run to Paris Gare du Nord, a journey time of around an hour.
Bus: Departures every 20 minutes to Paris Porte Maillot metro station – a journey of around one hour. Tickets must be purchased in advance from the bus ticket point outside the airport.
Taxi: Taxis to Paris cost around €120, more at night.
Several train stations connect Paris to the rest of Europe by train. The stations are located in different arrondissements, which travelers are advised to bear in mind when choosing a hotel and planning for transport within the city.
Gare du Nord, (10th arrondissement), Métro: Gare du Nord - TGV trains to and from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Cologne, Germany (Thalys), and the United Kingdom (Eurostar) and regular trains from Northern Europe.
Gare d'Austerlitz, (13th), Métro: Gare d'Austerlitz - regular trains to and from the center and southwest of France (Orléans, Limoges, Toulouse the long way), Spain and Portugal and arrival of majority of the night trains.
Gare de l'Est, (10th), Métro: Gare de l'Est - ICE/TGV to and from Saarbrücken, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart in Germany and Basel and Zurich in Switzerland.
Gare de Lyon, (12th), Métro: Gare de Lyon - regular and TGV trains to and from Southern and eastern France: French Alps, Marseille, Lyon, Dijon, Switzerland: Geneva, Lausanne and Italy.
Gare St Lazare, (8th) Métro: St-Lazare - trains to and from Basse-Normandie, Haute-Normandie.
Gare Montparnasse, (15th), Métro: Montparnasse-Bienvenüe - TGV and regular trains to and from the west and south-west of France (Brest, Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse the fastest way and Spain).
All SNCF, Eurostar and Thalys tickets can be bought in railway stations, city offices and travel agencies (no surcharge). The SNCF website is very convenient to book and buy tickets up to two months in advance. There are significant discounts if you book early. To get the best rates you should book at least four weeks ahead. Round trip tickets (aller-retour) with an overnight stay can be cheaper than a single one-way ticket (aller simple). A very limited selection of last minute trips are published on the SNCF website every Tuesday, with discounts of more than 50%.
Several autoroutes (expressway, motorway) link Paris with the rest of France: A1 and A3 to the north, A5 and A6 to the south, A4 to the east and A13 and A10 to the west. Not surprisingly traffic jams are significantly worse during French school holidays.
The multi-lane highway around Paris, called the Périphérique, is probably preferable to driving through the center. Another beltway nearing completion, La Francilienne, loops around Paris about 10 km further out from the Périphérique.
It is advised not to drive in the Paris Metro Area. It is better to drive to a metro station with a parking lot and then use the metro to continue your trip throughout Paris. Traffic the Paris tends to be heavy, especially at rush hour. The city's convoluted street system makes it very confusing, and traffic will almost never allow one to stop or slow down to get one's bearings.
If you are unfamiliar with the streets and still insist on driving in the city, make sure you have a navigator in the passenger seat with you.