Best Way to Get from Charles de Gaulle to Paris
If your trip to Paris starts with a flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG), then it’s important to figure out how to get from CDG to Paris center.
There are many ways to travel from Charles de Gaulle to Paris, and this quick guide will tell you everything you need to know to choose how to get to Paris from CDG Airport.
The truth is that there’s no best way to get from Charles de Gaulle to Paris: travelers on a budget will look for the cheapest way to go to Paris, whilst families with little kids or people with many suitcases may want to look for the most comfortable option to travel to Paris.
This article gives information and our best tips on how to get from Charles de Gaulle to Paris. After reading this quick guide, you will see that getting from CDG to Paris is straightforward!
If you are looking for information on how to go to Paris from Orly airport (ORY), then head to this post.
READ MORE – Visiting Paris for the First Time? Check out these 10 Paris travel tips
Transportation from CDG to Paris Overview
OPTION | TO | DURATION | PRICE | HOURS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Train Paris CDG Airport | Gare du Nord or Châtelet | 60-57 min | 16,50€ | 4.50 am – 11.50 pm |
Your hotel | 30-40 min | 24/7 | ||
Your hotel | 30-40 min | 24/7 | ||
Taxi at CDG (without pre-booking) | Your hotel | 30-40 min | 55€ Right Bank /60€ Left Bank (flat-rate) | 24/7 |
Roissy Bus | Opéra Garnier | 60 min | 16,50€ | 6.00 am – 0.30 am |
How to Get from Charles de Gaulle to Paris by Private Transportation
Choose a comfortable door-to-door service from Paris Charles de Gaulle to your hotel. No need for GPS, a map, or asking for the hotel address in French!
Save time and money on expensive UBERs or the stress of negotiating the public transport system with heavy bags.
Also, if there is a transportation strike in Paris, your service won’t be affected.
Finally, private transportation is the best way from CDG to Paris for early arrivals or late arrivals when you might feel unsafe at the train or bus station.
How to get from Paris CDG to city by private transportation? Here are all the options worth taking into consideration:
1. Welcome Pickups Paris Airport Transfer
Welcome proposes good transfer services from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Paris with good cars and the best English-speaking drivers. Their flight monitoring means their drivers are always on time.
With Welcome Paris Airport transfers, you can also pre-book some essentials for your stay in Paris, like sim cards or hot spots. Your Welcomer will deliver you these essentials at the airport, so you are all set since you land in Paris!
Book your CDG Airport Transfer with Welcome
2. Shared Paris Airport Transfers
Shared Paris airport transfers, with a maximum of 8 people per transfer, are convenient for getting from CDG to Paris, especially if you are traveling alone. Perhaps you will have to wait a bit for other travelers to arrive, but cars are arranged to transport passengers with similar arrival times.
Shared transfers mean a comfortable door-to-door service for not much more than a train + metro ticket price.
Update: since the pandemic, it has been more difficult to find shared transfers. At the time of updating this article, there are no shared transfers from CDG Airport to Paris center available.
3. Taxi from Charles de Gaulle to Paris
Taxis are another comfortable option for getting from Charles de Gaulle to Paris. Official Taxis are waiting outside the Airport Terminals and have light-up signs, a license plate outside the vehicle, and a taximeter inside the vehicle. If somebody comes to you inside the airport proposing a taxi, ignore him.
Official taxis offer a flat rate from CDG Airport to Paris center. A taxi from Charles de Gaulle to Paris Right Bank costs 55 € per vehicle (1 to 4 people + luggage), while a taxi ride from Paris CDG to Paris Left Bank costs 60 € per vehicle (1 to 4 people + luggage).
There are additional charges for a 5th person and pick up, but there are no charges for transporting pets or wheelchairs. There is no price negotiation with the taxi driver before your departure.
TIP: don’t you know where your hotel is located? Check our Paris by Arrondissements Guide and learn about the districts of Paris.
Taxi Stations are located outside the terminal, on the arrivals level. You will see Taxi marks on the floor, so you can’t get lost!
» Terminal 1 taxis are at exit #24
» Terminal 2:
- Terminal 2A: exit #6;
- Terminal 2C: exit #14;
- Terminal 2D: exit #7;
- Terminal 2E: gate #10;
- Terminal 2F: gate #11;
- Terminal 2G: blue gate
» Terminal 3: taxis are at the exit of the arrivals hall. T3 is very small, so you will see them easily.
Do You Need an Early Airport Transfer? Consider a Hotel Near CDG Airport for Your Last Night in Paris
If your flight is leaving Paris very early in the morning, have a look at the hotels near Charles de Gaulle Airport, at least for your last night in Paris.
Trains to Charles de Gaulle airport only start at 5 am, plus Gare du Nord is not the best place to be that early in the morning. Sleeping in one of the hotels near Charles de Gaulle Airport eliminates the stress of waking up before sunrise or getting a taxi to CDG Airport during rush hour.
Another advantage of CDG Airport hotels is that these hotels have competitive pricing because most tourists opt for a hotel in Paris. In addition, some of these hotels provide a free pick-and-drop airport /hotel if you book it in advance.
Click here for the best hotels near Charles de Gaulle airport
Public Transportation from Charles de Gaulle to Paris
There are some ways to travel from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Paris for a few euros, especially if you are not in a hurry. Here are the most interesting options:
1. Train from CDG to Paris (RER B Paris) – The Fastest
There is no metro from CDG to Paris; you will have to take the RER B train from CDG to Paris center and then take the metro to reach your hotel.
The RER B train from CDG to Paris costs 16,50€ for a journey of 40 min. You can take the RER B train from Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, and the main stations in Paris are Gare du Nord, Chatelet-Les Halles, and Saint Michel-Notre Dame.
If you take the train from Charles de Gaulle to Paris, then you can continue your journey with the Parisian Metro to your final destination with the same ticket. Check out our quick guide to Paris by Metro to learn how to use the Parisian Metro like a pro.
TIP: How to use the Parisian Metro: Map, Metro Paris Tickets & Paris Metro Passes
GOOD TO KNOW: The RER B is operated by SNCF (from Paris CDG to Gare du Nord) and by RATP (from Gare du Nord to the south). Please note that during transportation strikes in Paris, the intersection SNCF – RATP might be interrupted. In this case, take the RER B to Gare du Nord, where the train has its terminus. Then, at Gare du Nord, go downstairs on one floor to continue your journey with the metro (lines 4 and 5) or on two floors to continue your journey with another RER B or RER D. In both cases, you can use the same ticket until the end of your journey.
2. Roissy Bus from Charles de Gaulle to Paris – Comfort on a Budget
Roissy Bus is a CDG shuttle bus that travels from Opéra de Garnier in Paris to Charles de Gaulle Airport and vice-versa. This bus from Charles de Gaulle to Paris can be used with the Navigo Pass (zones 1-5), which is definitely advantageous for locals in Paris.
The Roissy Bus ticket costs 16,50€ for transportation from CDG to Paris or vice-versa. The departure point is at 11 rue Scribe, in Paris 9, and the ride lasts 60-75 minutes, depending on the traffic.
For more information and the bus schedule, check out their site here.
3. Paris RATP Bus – The Cheapest
A couple of RATP buses (=city buses) also offer transportation from Charles de Gaulle to Paris. This is the cheapest way to go to Charles de Gaulle Airport but also the longest and the less comfortable because these buses have many stops on their way and are usually crowded.
» Bus #350 (CDG Airport to Gare de l’Est). The ride from CDG to Paris center takes 60-80 minutes, with a frequency of 15-30 min. Click here to find all the bus stops and schedules.
» Bus #351 (CDG Airport to Place de la Nation). The ride from Charles de Gaulle to Paris center takes 70-90 minutes, with a frequency of 15-30 min. Click here to find all the bus stops and schedules.
You can pay for this bus ride with three single tickets T+ (2,10 € each). If you buy a pack of 10 tickets (‘carnet de 10’ in French, total cost of 16,90 €), you will be paying 1,69 € per single ticket, so the bus ride will cost you 5,07 € in total.
Tickets bought onboard cost 2,50 € each, so if you decide to pay on the bus directly, the total cost will be 7,50 €.
TIP: if you want to use bus #350 from Paris to Charles de Gaulle Airport, it is better to take it at Porte de la Chapelle instead of at the starting point at Gare de l’Est. Porte de la Chapelle is located at the exit of Paris, so you will avoid all the traffic jams (and stress) inside the city, and you will save A LOT of time. You can reach Porte de la Chapelle by metro with one single ticket, and then you can use that same ticket + 2 more tickets to take the bus to the Airport. The bus stop direction Paris Airport is located at the exit of the metro station.
So there you have it, the CDG Paris Airport transportation guide with everything you need to know to travel smoothly from CDG to Paris.
Click here to read more Paris Tips
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- Read about the best day trips from Paris here
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