How to get from Paris Airport (CDG) to the city centre (fast & easy)

When travelling to Paris, most people land at Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) northeast of Paris. The good news is that it is easy to get from Charles de Gaulle to the centre of Paris.

There are several different transport options, and I will ensure to get through them in the guide here so you can choose for yourself.

However, my preference is clear: I always take the airport train (called RER B) when I land at the airport and want to get to my hotel in central Paris quickly, easily and cheaply.

So let’s dive into the guide: how to get from Paris Airport to the city centre.

Train – best & cheapest transport

There are two train stations at Charles de Gaulle airport, so you can go directly to the train and be in the centre of Paris in just 25 minutes. The train is called RER B.

There is a station in Terminal 2 and Terminals 1 & 3. If you land in Terminal 3, you must take a (free) shuttle bus to get to the station, but it only takes 6 minutes and runs all the time.

There are easy-to-follow signs throughout the airport, so just follow the signs to the station regardless of which terminal you land in: you’ll end up at the station.

The trains run approximately every 10-15 minutes, and you can take all trains in the direction of Paris – they all stop at the central stations in the centre of Paris.

Train ticket price

It costs €11.40 and €8 for children for a ticket from Charles de Gaulle to Zone 1 in Paris, where 99% of all tourists have booked a hotel or holiday apartment.

If you haven’t booked yet, read my guide to the best areas and where to stay in Paris.

You cannot buy tickets for the train online from home, but there are many ticket machines at the station that accept all international credit cards.

There are also ticket kiosks if you are not comfortable using the machine and would like to speak to a person when you buy the tickets.

Where does the train stop in Paris?

The train stops at several smaller stations in the suburbs of Paris, but when we enter Zone 1, which is central Paris, the train stops at:

• Gare du Nord (best stop if you stay in Montmartre)
• Châtelet-Les-Halles (large junction where you can quickly get around by metro to the rest of the city)
• Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame (best stop for the Marais and the Latin Quarter)
• Luxembourg
• Port Royal
• Denfert-Rochereau
• Cité Universitaire

Here’s a large Paris metro map so you can see how to get to a station close to your hotel:

Check out my guide on the best things to do in Paris and my video about Paris:

How long does the train ride to the city center take?

It takes about 28 minutes from Charles de Gaulle to Gare du Nord, about 28 minutes to Châtelet-Les-Halles and about 35 minutes to Denfert-Rochereau.

You can say a lot about Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, but it is one of the airports in Europe where you can quickly get into the centre at a low price.

You can see timetables for the trip at ratp.fr.

Get ready for your Paris trip with my video about the top things to see and do in the French capital:

Taxi

The following form of transport requires a little less brain activity but is also more expensive.

Regular taxis can be hailed in front of all arrivals halls at Charles de Gaulle, so you can go straight out and hail a taxi to your hotel in the centre.

Taxis in Paris must, by law, use taxi meters, and only official taxis can enter and wait in the taxi queues.

Taxi price from the airport to the city centre

You can expect a price of around 53 euros for a trip to the north side of the Seine (areas like Marais, Montmartre, Opéra and Champs Élysées) and approximately 58 euros for a trip to the south of the Seine (Latin Quarter, Eiffel Tower etc.).

All taxis in Paris must accept card payments.

Pre-booked taxi with private driver

If you don’t want to take the chance with a driver who doesn’t speak English and might try to cheat with the taxi meter, you can also pre-book a private driver from home.

That way, you have already entered your destination, and the driver will be in the arrival hall with a sign with your name. The trip is paid for in advance, so there is nothing to worry about in terms of payment.

I’ve used a service like Welcome Pickups several times in various European cities, and it works well.

The price for a trip by pre-booked taxi with Welcome Pickups from Charles de Gaulle to the Les Tournelles hotel in the Marais is €69.

You can also see the different options for private transfer at GetYourGuide, where this private transfer gets excellent reviews.

Bus – the slow solution

The third option for transport from Charles de Gaulle to the centre of Paris is, of course, by bus.

It is not a form of transport I would recommend – unless you have booked a hotel in the Opéra area and do not want to change from the RER B train and take the metro a few stops.

RoissyBus runs directly from the airport to the Opéra metro station in the centre of Paris.

The price is €15, which can be paid on the bus (note that the train is cheaper and faster).

The bus departs from the following terminals:

• Terminal 1
• Terminal 3
• Terminal 2AC
• Terminal 2D
• Terminal 2EF

The bus runs from the airport to Paris from 6 am to 8:45 pm every 15 minutes. From 20:45 to 00:30, it runs every 20 minutes.

From the Opéra in Paris, the bus starts at 5:15 and runs every 15 minutes until 20-22, when it runs every 20 minutes, and from 22 to 00:30, it runs every 30 minutes.

The trip takes about 1 hour, but remember that a bus is part of the traffic, so the times can fluctuate compared to the dense Parisian rush hour traffic.

Read more about RoissyBus here.

I hope you were able to use this guide to transport from CDG to Paris city centre and you are now ready for your trip to Paris.

Read all travel guides to Paris here.

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Travel ressources & websites I use all the time 👇

• Booking.com has the best offers on hotels and unique places to stay
• GetYourGuide is the best place to book tours & activities with free cancellation
• NordVPN is the only VPN I've ever needed for travel (it just works, everywhere)
• Welcome Pickups is the best & safest place to pre-book airport transfers

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