Arrival in Paris

If you fly to Paris, you will most likely land in the main international airport: Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle (CDG), situated in the North East of Paris.

• There are 3 terminals and a 4th terminal is under project. Terminals are connected with CDGVal shuttle which is a free metro-rail. There are also buses.

Paris CDG Airport - inside the Terminals - ©Eric Salard

• There is a TGV train station under Terminal 2 that connects directly with Provence, the Riviera, the Loire Valley or Bordeaux. 
• Why is Paris airport's name so complicated?
  They call it Paris airport but it is located in the nearby city of “Roissy” – this is why we say “Paris-Roissy”. Then, it bears Charles de Gaulle’s name. He was the French President from 1959 until 1969, famous for its actions during the second World Way. He foresaw that Paris needed a new gigantic airport and started the work in 1962. Today CDG is the second airport in Europe and the 8th in the world.

• Paris also has 2 other airports: Paris Orly and Paris Beauvais mostly used for domestic or European low cost flights. If you get a cheap flight to Paris with European connections, you might arrive to one of these airports, be careful. Transfers from Orly are easy but from Beauvais this is more complicated to get to Paris downtown.

An advice: pay attention to your airport of arrival if purchasing cheap flights to Paris.

• From CDG airport to Paris downtown, there are many options and one will suit you best: public transportation, shuttles or even taxis can be used. 
• On a trip to France, we will be pleased to reserve your favorite mean of transportation prior to your arrival, so you are relaxed after the overnight flight.
• If you don't stay in Paris, there is a TGV train station under Terminal 2 that connects directly with Provence, the Riviera, the Loire Valley or Bordeaux. 

Another way to arrive in Paris - if you are already in Europe - could be by the high speed TGV train to one of the many train stations of Paris. The European capitals and main cities, such as London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt or Barcelona, are all connected by TGV trains and only a few hours away.

Saint Lazare train station in Paris  ©Benjamin Bard 

There are 4 major train station in Paris:

•  Gare de Lyon: It might be confusing with the city of Lyon…but "Gare de Lyon" is in Paris. For your information the name of the train station in the city of Lyon are Lyon Part Dieu and Lyon Perrache. Gare de Lyon connects to the South East of France (Lyon, Provence, the Riviera, Italy)
• Gare Montparnasse: connecting to the South West: Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Spain
• Gare du Nord: connecting towards North: Lille, London, Belgium, Netherlands
• Gare Saint Lazare: connecting to Normandy & Brittany

Once you get to one of these stations you are in the center of the city: you can take a metro or a taxi to get to your hotel in Paris.

On your way out of France, for instance from Paris to London, don’t hesitate to use the Eurostar train on the Channel Tunnel, which will take you to London in about 2 and a half hour (overall  much faster than taking a low cost flight, with the check in time, etc).