Getting to and from the Paris Airports: An Updated Guide

Planning a quick trip to Paris? Always an excellent idea, as Audrey Hepburn so eloquently put it. And if you are flying in from within Europe, the low-cost options are plentiful, which makes it worth thinking about which of the Paris airports you land at, because they are very different distances from the city.

I lived in Paris for years, and made these airport runs more times than I can count, so let me give you the practical, current picture. And “current” matters here more than usual: Paris completely overhauled its ticketing in 2025 and 2026, so a great deal of the advice still floating around online, including on sites that should know better, is now wrong. Here is how it actually works today.

First, the ticket revolution (read this)

Paris has scrapped its old zone-based cardboard tickets. Everything now runs on a Navigo Easy card (a reloadable contactless card costing a couple of euros, sold at every station and at the airports) or through the Île-de-France Mobilités app on your phone.

Crucially for you, there is now one single ticket for all airport rail journeys, called the Ticket Paris Région ↔ Aéroports. It costs 14€ (about 7€ for children 4 to 9, free under 4), and it covers the train to or from either airport, whichever route you take, valid across all Paris zones for two hours of transfers.

The catch that catches everyone out: a standard metro-train-RER ticket (around 2.55€) is not valid to or from the airports, and using one can get you fined. For the airport you need the 14€ airport ticket. Do not try to save with the cheap one; it does not work.

Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG / Roissy)

Charles de Gaulle, still widely called Roissy, is about 25 km north-east of Paris and handles most international and long-haul flights, plus many low-cost carriers.

• RER B (the fastest and best value). The blue RER B trains link CDG to central Paris (Gare du Nord in around 25 to 30 minutes, then on to Châtelet), on the 14€ airport ticket. CDG has two RER stations, one at Terminal 2 (the end of the line) and one at Terminal 1, linked to the terminals by the free automatic CDGVAL shuttle. Trains run frequently from very early until around midnight. If you are in a hurry, take a direct service rather than one stopping everywhere, and make sure the train is going to CDG, not branching off towards Mitry.
• Roissybus runs from the terminals to Opéra in the centre if you prefer a direct coach; check the current fare and whether the 14€ airport ticket covers it before relying on it.
• At night, when the RER has stopped, the Noctilien night buses (N140, N143) run from CDG towards central Paris; check current times and stops.
• Taxi. Paris taxis from the airports charge a fixed, government-set flat fare to central Paris, no meter, no per-bag fees. From CDG this is higher than from Orly (it was recently in the region of 56€ to the Right Bank and 65€ to the Left Bank), so check the official current rate posted at the rank. The fixed fare is the reassuring part: you know the price before you get in.
• Coming soon: a dedicated CDG Express direct train to Gare de l’Est has long been under construction; check whether it has opened by the time you travel.

Paris Orly (ORY)

Orly is my favourite of the two: smaller, closer, south of the city, and handling domestic, European and Mediterranean flights. And getting into town from Orly has been transformed.

• Metro line 14 (the game-changer). Since 2024, the automatic metro line 14 runs directly from Orly into central Paris in about 25 minutes, on the 14€ airport ticket. This is now the simplest option for most travellers, and it is why the old Orlybus was withdrawn in 2025.
• Orlyval + RER B. The little driverless Orlyval shuttle links Orly to Antony station on the RER B, from where you continue into Paris. Same 14€ airport ticket. This is worth it mainly if your destination sits on the RER B line (the Rive Gauche / south).
• Taxi. As at CDG, a fixed flat fare applies. Because Orly is south of the city, the Left Bank is the cheaper side (recently around 36€), with the Right Bank a little more (around 45€). Check the current posted rate. For two or more people sharing, a taxi can work out at roughly the same per head as the train.
• Note: the old Orlybus no longer runs, so ignore any guide that still lists it.

Paris Beauvais (BVA)

Beauvais-Tillé is the one to watch out for. It is about 80 km north of Paris, and it is where Ryanair and Wizz Air often land. The fares can be irresistible, but factor the distance and transfer into your real cost and time.

• The official Aérobus shuttle connects Beauvais to Porte Maillot in Paris; buy tickets online in advance or at the airport (check the current fare, it is in the mid-teens of euros one way). Coaches leave after each arrival, and for the return you should allow well over three hours before your check-in time.
• By train, you can take a shuttle or taxi to Beauvais station and then a TER regional train to Gare du Nord, roughly 1h20 in total. It is fiddly, so the Aérobus is usually simpler.

Private transfers

When I lived in Paris and had an early start or heavy bags, I sometimes booked a private transfer (a driver waiting in arrivals with a name board, or at my door on the Canal Saint-Martin). Pre-booked, it is often not much more than a regular taxi, and on a bleary-eyed arrival it is a genuine comfort. Plenty of reputable services operate at both main airports; book ahead and compare against the fixed taxi fare.

Whichever airport you land at, the golden rule now is simple: get a Navigo Easy card or the app, buy the 14€ airport ticket for the train, and you are sorted. Welcome to Paris.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

• Official airport transport info: the Île-de-France Mobilités airport ticket page
• Once you arrive: where to stay in Paris, by neighbourhood
• My Paris, from the inside: a walk through Montmartre and the best bookshops in Paris