World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Aéroports de Paris – ADP (website: www.adp.fr) is responsible for the two major airports in Paris: Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly.

Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
Tel: (01) 4862 2280.
Website: www.adp.fr

The city’s main airport is located 23km (14 miles) northeast of the city. There are three terminals: CDG 1 serves international flights; CDG 2 serves national and international flights; and T9 has charter flights only (national and international). CDG 1 and CDG 2 are linked by free shuttle buses. Air France coaches and RER line B (see below) link Charles de Gaulle airport to Orly airport (journey time – approximately 50 minutes).

Major airlines: France’s national carrier is Air France (tel: (0820) 320 820 (within France) or (01) 4299 2101 (outside France); website: www.airfrance.com). Other airlines include Air Canada, Alitalia, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and US Airways.

Airport facilities: Facilities include bars, restaurants and boutiques, post offices, newsagents, chemists, banks, ATMs, bureaux de change, insurance facilities and car parks. There is no left-luggage facility. Car hire companies at the airport include Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National Citer and Sixt.

Business facilities: Eight fully equipped meeting rooms, three offices and one VIP lounge are located within the Roissy Charles de Gaulle 1 Business Centre (tel: (01) 4862 2290; fax: (01) 4862 6129), accessible from the departures level near gate 34, by taking the escalators to the shopping level.

Transport to the city: The RER line B (tel: (08) 9268 7714) runs every eight minutes daily 0456-0014, departing from the TGV station of CDG 2 to the Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles, St-Michel and Denfert-Rochereau, where there are métro stations (journey time – approximately 30-45 minutes). Tickets cost ¬7.75.

Two bus services, SNCF bus de nuit (tel: (08) 1002 0202), run from the airport to the city centre when the train line is closed. One service takes passengers to Gare du Nord and Châtelet, the other to Gare du Nord, Châtelet, Gare de Lyon and Gare d’Austerlitz (journey time – approximately 45-60 minutes).

The Roissybus service operated by RAPT (tel: (08) 9268 7714) departs from the three terminals to rue Scribe, métro Opéra (journey time – approximately 60 minutes). The service operates daily 0600-2300 and costs ¬8.30. RAPT bus services 350 to Gare de l’Est and 351 to Nation also serve Terminals 1 and 2 (cost ¬1.40).

Air France coaches (tel: (08) 9235 0820) depart every 15 minutes from CDG 1 and CDG 2 – running daily 0550-2300 to Place Charles de Gaulle (journey time – approximately 40 minutes); a ticket costs ¬10. Buses also depart every 30 minutes daily 0700-2100 to Paris-Montparnasse, rue du Commandant Mouchotte, Gare de Lyon and boulevard Diderot (journey time – approximately 50 minutes); a ticket costs ¬11.50.

The Blue Shuttle (tel: (01) 3011 1300; fax: (01) 3011 1309; e-mail: thebluevans@wanadoo.fr; website: www.bluvan.fr) is a door-to-door airport minibus service that is often cheaper than a taxi. Places must be reserved at least two days in advance (journey time – approximately 75 minutes). Ticket prices vary according to the number of passengers and the time of booking, the cheapest rate is ¬14.50 return per person, which is only available if booked at least three weeks ahead. The lowest fare available for a single passenger is ¬22 return.

A taxi to the city centre costs approximately ¬38-¬43 (journey time – 45-60 minutes). The airport’s chauffeur-driven limousine service (tel: (01) 4071 8462) costs ¬105.

Paris-Orly Airport (ORY)
Tel: (01) 4975 5252.
Website: www.adp.fr.

Orly is located 14km (9 miles) south of the city, on the A6 motorway. There are two terminals linked by shuttle (navette). Orly Sud handles mainly international flights, while Orly Ouest handles mainly domestic flights.

Major airlines: The national carrier is Air France (tel: (0820) 820 320 (within France) or (01) 4299 2101 (outside France); website: www.airfrance.com). Other airlines include Air Algerie, Air Littoral, Corsair, El Al, Iberia, KLM, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, TAP and Tunis Air.

Airport facilities: These include bars, restaurants, boutiques, banks, foreign exchange, dry cleaners, supermarket, pharmacy, post office and a hairdresser. There is no left-luggage facility. Car hire companies at the airport include Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National Citer and Sixt.

Business facilities: The fully equipped Orly West Business Centre (tel: (01) 4975 1233; fax: (01) 4975 0163) has 17 meeting rooms, seven offices and a VIP business lounge in the west terminal. Access is from the departure level, by an escalator located at the entrance to hall three.

Transport to the city: A combination service of RER line C (tel: (08) 9268 7714) and the ADP shuttle bus (navette) departs from both terminals and stops at the Gare d’Austerlitz, St-Michel, Invalides and Porte Maillot (journey time – approximately 35 minutes). The service operates daily 0545-2315 and tickets cost ¬5.25 (includes travel on RER, ADP shuttle and métro services).

Orlyval (tel: (08) 3668 7714) is the Val train shuttle link to the RER line B station of Anthony, which has métro connections to Denfert-Rochereau, St-Michel and Châtelet-Les Halles (journey time – approximately 30 minutes). Trains run every 10 minutes 0600-2300; tickets to Anthony cost ¬7, journeys to other stations in Paris cost ¬8.85. Note that some passengers have complained that there are no contingency plans when the Orlyval breaks down with passengers left to fight it out for taxis to the airport.

Frequent RATP buses (tel: (08) 9268 4114 (information in English) or (08) 9268 7714; website: www.ratp.fr) stop at place Denfert-Rochereau. The ‘Orlybus’ runs to Denfert-Rochereau RER and métro station daily 0600-2330 (journey time – 25 minutes), costing ¬5.80. The ‘Jetbus’ runs to métro Villejuif-Louis Aragon (journey time – approximately 15 minutes), costing ¬5.15.

Air France coaches (tel: (08) 9235 0820) operate daily 0600-2330, stopping at the Porte d’Orléans, Gare Montparnasse, Duroc and Gare des Invalides (journey time – approximately 30 minutes). Tickets cost ¬7.50.

The Blue Shuttle (see Roissy Airport above) costs around ¬20 for a trip into the city centre (journey time – approximately 1 hour). Taxis from the airport to the centre of Paris also cost around ¬35 (journey time – approximately 35 minutes). The Airport Limousine service (tel: (01) 4071 8462) provides chauffeur-driven cars; the price is fixed at ¬90.

Approximate flight times to Paris: From London is 1 hour 10 minutes; from New York is 7 hours; from Los Angeles is 10 hours 30 minutes; from Toronto is 7 hours and 20 minutes and from Sydney is 23 hours 25 minutes.

Arrival/departure tax: None.