Paris is one of the world's great cities and you are certain to love it.
This is a fortunate fact because Paris' Charles de Gaulle international airport, I am deeply afraid to say, is definitely the western world's worst airport.
A confusing circular mess of escalators, 'satellite' arrival/departure areas, spaces far too small for the number of passengers and cranky staff make it a place that is meant to be escaped as quickly as possible.Which, unfortunately, is difficult given the frighten lack of planning that has made it that mess that it is.
That said - don't stress! It's not like someone is going to steal your bags or that you'll get lost in the terminal and deported back to Australia - you'll be totally fine and Paris is just outside the airport doors. But be prepared to be patient!
Arriving at Paris Charles de Gaulle
Don't despair - Paris gets much better once you get out of the airport. I have sometimes believed that customs/immigration at Charles de Gaulle aren't that tough because anyone capable of finding their way out of the airport is intelligent enough to respect the country they're in.
- When you arrive at CDG from an international flight outside the EU you'll most likely arrive at one of the satellite 'terminals'. After disembarking you'll have to take a long moving walkway to the main terminal, where you'll find youself in a most likely long, cramped queue for a small number of immigration booths. There is no magic solution here but to be patient. Listen carefully because on occasions they do call Australian citizens into the special queues for EU citizens (I guess Aussies aren't considered a risk to the French) but this is pretty rare.Sometimes the international queues at immigration actually move quicker than the queue for EU citizens. Go figure.
- After immigration you'll take one or more escalators that criss-cross the centre of the the circular terminal. Some architect probably thought these were cutting edge and clever. In fact they are have come to represent just how impractical the airport can be.
- Find your baggage retrieval belt (good luck) and wait amongst the throng of people for your bags. It will most likely be very crowded here. Grab your bags and pass through customs (which is almost non-existant in France - there is no specific form/paperwork you have to submit to customs and I've never been stopped there. Goodness knows what customs officials actually do all day...)
- Congratulations - you have passed the first test!
The second challenge: Getting to Paris
The next step is to get from Charles de Gaulle to Paris itself.
Once you pass through Customs and into the main terminal, you are looking for the train to Paris. This might be indicated by:
- 'Paris by train'
- RER
- or 'CGDVal'
Normally you will need to take a lift down to a lower level in order to take the 'CDGVal' (an automatic shuttle train) to 'RER' station - it may also be marked as 'Paris by train'. The RER is one of Paris' trains.
Once you arrive at the station you'll need to buy a ticket to Paris (this costs up to about 10 euros one way) then take the RER line B to Paris. There is no central station in Paris, so the stations in the middle of Paris (close to Notre Dame catherdral) are Chatelet-Les Halles and St Michel. Depending on where you are trying to get to in Paris (make sure you have a map with you) it might be best to get out at Gare du Nord (the 'North train station') and change for a metro.
There are two types of trains to Paris - express trains and all stations, usually running about each 10-15 minutes.
Your ticket from Charles de Gaulle to Paris allows you unlimited changes within the Paris metropolitan metro/RER system until you exit a station, so it is really an excellent way to get anywhere in the city.
- Paris Metro Map
Taxis - not the best option
Unless you have an absolute mountain of luggage, it is generally not advisable to take a taxi from CDG to the centre of Paris. A taxi will cost a minimum of about 60 euros to the city (or more, depending on where you're going) and Paris is notorious for having long delays on the 'peripherique' - the ring road around the city.
The exception to this rule is if you are arriving early in the morning or later in the evening on a weekend, otherwise you'll often find yourself waiting longer in a cab than you would have waited on the train (of course the train doesn't drop you off at the door).
Departing from Paris
When departing from Paris by plane there is just one piece of advice to follow: be early!
Delays on the metro and RER systems in Paris occur regularly, traffic on weekdays on the ring road can be very heavy and due to the poor design, Charles de Gaulle airport's terminals get choked with people at the check-in counters.
Check-in counters generally open 3 hours before an international flight (for long haul) and it's best to be there just before they open to avoid delays.
Before leaving to go to the airport, a few things you should check are:
- Your departure airport - Paris has two: CDG in the north-east and Orly in the south-west. Very few international flights leave from Orly, but you should still check your ticket to be sure.
- Check your departure terminal: Charles de Gaulle has several terminals that aren't particularly close to one another. Check before getting on the train what terminal you need to disembark at.
- Be early!!
Outgoing security screening takes place after immigration once you have taken the long moving walkway out to the satellites. Be early through security as well as it doesn't move quickly and there are often delays of 20 minutes or more to get through any time sooner than 1-1.5 hours before departure.
There is very little to do at Charles de Gaulle - there are few shops and restaurants and little or no sort of distractions. It was built as a functional airport which, ironically enough, isn't particularly functional. If you want to buy books and magazines, it's generally best to do this in advance in Paris.
Orly Airport - a few brief words
Paris' Antony-Orly airport is located in the south-west of the city, also on the RER line B.The airport serves mostly domestic flights and flights within Europe. There is a very long bus that connects Orly and Charles de Gaulle if you need to take it (not a free bus), although the train is probably the more convenient way to connect between the two airports if you have to.
To get to Orly, take the RER line B to station 'Antony' and then take the automatic shuttle train 'Orly-VAL' to either the East or West terminal depending on where you are flying out of. The terminals are closer at Orly than at CDG, so if you stuff it up it tends to be less serious. Orly also can get quite busy in peaks times but lacks the general chaos of Charles de Gaulle. If you have the choice of flying into Orly from elsewhere in Europe, and it's less expensive, it can be a less stressful option of arriving in Paris.
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