Paris Transportation

Tips Before Your Flight

Pack headache and other medicines in your hand luggage. If you have a cold or have problems with air pressure on airplanes, bring noise-canceling headphones or purchase air-pressure earplugs available at most airports and pharmacies. To pack efficiently ladies, include no more than 2 outfits per day.

Make a copy of your passport, flight itinerary and hotel reservations to leave with someone at home. Carry an extra passport copy with you.

People with long legs should consider purchasing seats with extra legroom for the 6-hour 30-minute (East Coast) to 11-hour (West Coast) non-stop flight to Paris.

Unless you sleep soundly on long flights, do NOT plan to visit a major attraction the day you arrive. Jet Lag is a challenge.

Check the luggage policy for your airline and confirm your flight 48 hours in advance. Exchange Dollars for Euros (€) at U.S. airports for convenience and best exchange rates. Pack a battery charger and European electric plug adapter in your carry-on luggage.

Airports

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is named after General Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970), leader of the Free French Forces during World War II and President of France from 1959 to 1969.

Most international flights to Paris arrive at CDG, Europe’s 3rd busiest airport. CDG Airport is Air France’s international hub and Delta Air Lines’ European hub. The two honor each others’ air miles.

Most Americans arrive at CDG Airport Terminal 2. It’s a massive terminal sectioned as 2A, 2C & 2E on one side and 2B, 2D & 2F on the other side. Both sides have a walkway connection to the onsite Sheraton Hotel and CDG Airport Train Station between sections 2C, 2D, 2E & 2F.

CDG AIRPORT MAP

Travelers reach duty-free stores and border control posts on the 4th floor by tunnels passing under the tarmac to terminal sections where boarding gates are located. WiFi and electric outlets exist within all terminals.

To navigate CDG Airport, follow these French wayfinding signs accordingly:

Exit = Sortie
Restrooms = Toilettes
Baggage Claim = Livraison des bagages
Customs = Douane
Boarding = Embarquement
Train Station = Gare

A taxi stand and Uber & Bolt ride share place is outside every section of CDG Airport Terminal 2. Plan for unexpected delays via automobiles to/from Central Paris due to street and airport tollway traffic.

By taxi, pay €55 to the Right Bank of Paris (above River Seine) or pay €65 to the Left Bank (below River Seine). Those prices to Central Paris are strictly regulated and taxis accept Euros or major credit cards. Uber & Bolt rides to Central Paris are typically €5-15 higher.

On return flight to America, leave Paris 3.5 to 4 hours before your CDG Airport return flight to make it through Luggage Check & Customs with time for the restroom, snacks and relaxation. International flight boarding closes 1 hour before take-off and airlines serve at least one meal during Trans-Atlantic flights.

CDG Airport Train Station serves TGV, Thalys and Eurostar high-speed trains, TER regional trains, and the RER B Line commuter train. NOTE: RER B Line trains stop at CDG Terminal 3, not at Terminal 2.

CDG Airport Train Station includes CDGVAL Automated People Mover to Terminals 3 & 1 (primarily for domestic flights) and to parking lots PX & PR. The CDGVAL ride takes 5 minutes end-to-end between 3 terminals or 8 minutes end-to-end between 3 terminals + 2 parking lots.

By April 2027, CDG Express opens to CDG Airport Train Station. This express train is designed for passengers and luggage between CDG Airport and Gare de l’Est in Central Paris. It will operate from 5am-Midnight and depart every 15 minutes.

Having NO automobile traffic crossing its tracks, CDG Express will arrive in the Right Bank of Paris in a reliable 20 minutes and cost only €25. That compares to 40 to 70 minutes by taxi, Uber or Bolt, depending on 8am–9:30am and 5:30pm–7:30pm Rush Hour traffic and your final destination.

Even if your final destination in the Right Bank requires a short taxi ride from Gare de l’Est, CDG Express + Taxi/Uber/Bolt will be a time-saving option.

Orly International Airport (ORY) is located 8 miles south of Paris. It was the main Paris airport before CDG Airport opened in 1974.

Two-terminal Orly Airport remains the busiest French airport for domestic flights in corridors not served by TGV and some Air France oversea flights to Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, America and Southeast Asia.

ORLY AIRPORT MAP

If you have heavy luggage, take a taxi, Uber or Bolt ride share to/from Orly Arrivals Roadway.

If you have light luggage and want to save money, consider RER B commuter line between Central Paris to Antony Station. That RER B Line station connects to the Orlyval Automated People Mover to both Orly Airport terminals, takes 8 minutes (max.) and costs around €9.

RER B line trains operate every 4 to 7 minutes. RER B Line from Antony Station to Central Paris costs €7 and takes about 25 minutes.

Tickets for the Metro, Trams, and RATP local buses can be bought individually or in packs of 10. We recommend a 10-pack per person for every 5 days you spend in Paris. If you are staying in Paris for more than 2 weeks, consider purchasing a Paris Visite card for unlimited travel on most Public Transport, as well as discounts at museums and other attractions.

Train Stations

Ministry of Culture designates Gare du Nord, Gare de L’Est, Gare du Lyon, Gare Saint-Lazare, and Gare d’Austerlitz stations as historical monuments for their Beaux-Arts architecture. Gare Mantparnesse traded its Beaux-Arts architecture for a modern look decades ago.

Gare d’Austerlitz will join the 5 other stations with plentiful retail & dining options, once its €400 million upgrade project completes in Spring 2027.

See this Map of Paris train stations by Seat61 to understand how they extend from Central Paris. On the map, Red represents TGV High-Speed Rail lines and Black represents TER Regional Rail lines.

Savvy travelers often plan pre-trip meals just outside stations, as some trains do not have good dining options onboard. Map & Guide to Paris Arrondissements by SoloSophie is valuable for those dining purposes.

On your print or virtual train ticket, memorize your Train #, Car # & Seat #. When your train (some are very long) arrives, find your Car # posted in LED lights on the exterior of each car. This is particularly important when catching a bi-level TGV train. You don’t want to enter the wrong TGV bi-level car and then have to lug large luggage up & down steps and through doorways to reach the right car.

ICE, TAV and Lyria high-speed trains to/from outside France are typically single-level trains.

Gare du Nord, opened in 1864, offers connections with TGV & Eurostar high-speed trains, SNCF regional trains, RER commuter trains, Paris Métro trains, shuttle buses, and tour buses. It is the busiest railway station in Europe with 131 million annual passengers.

This station is famous for majestic statues crowning the building along the cornice line. They illustrate destinations outside France, with the ninth figure of Paris in the center. Fourteen more modest statues representing northern French cities are lower on the façade.

Having 44 tracks, this is where you take trains to London, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Dunkirk, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Liege, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Berlin.

As you might expect, there are often traffic jams in front of the station. Visit the Gare du Nord website for more info.

Opened in 1849, Gare de L’Est is a 10-minute walk southeast of Gare du Nord and welcomes 22 million annual passengers via 29 tracks. At Gare de L’Est, visitors have a wide range of restaurants, cafes, and retail shops to consider before traveling.

Travelers choose it to reach Strasbourg in France, plus cities in Switzerland, and Germany. The station has been renovated and expanded many times. RER B Line commuter train also runs between Gare de L’Est and Gare de Nord.

A wide range of restaurants, cafes, and retail shops serve the station, inside and nearby. You can also play piano or listen to others playing piano while waiting for your train.

In 1883, the Gare de l’Est saw the first departure of the famous Orient Express train to Istanbul.

As stated above, CDG Express Train featuring luggage racks, 15-minute train frequency, and 20-minute trip time debuts between CDG Airport and Gare de l’Est in April 2027.

Gare de Lyon handles 63 million passengers each year, making it the 2nd busiest station in France. It is the northern terminus of the Paris–Marseille railway. It is named after the city of Lyon since most of its trains depart for the train stations in Lyon.

The station is served by TGV, Lyria and TAV high-speed trains, TER regional trains, RER commuter trains, and Metro trains. The station is also notable for the ornate Le Train Bleu restaurant, which has served 5-star meals to travelers since 1901.

From Gare de Lyon, high-speed trains depart to French cities such as Lyon, Marseille, Valence, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Nimes, Montpellier, Perpignan, Dijon, Besançon, Mulhouse, and Grenoble. International trains depart to Turin, Milan, Geneva, Zurich, Basil, and Barcelona. Gare de Lyon website

Gare d’Austerlitz is used by 11 million annual passengers and located on the left bank of the Seine in the southeastern part of the city. It originated the Paris–Bordeaux-Toulouse railway.

Since 1926, Gare d’Austerlitz was the first Paris station to only receive electric trains. The station has fewer dining and retail options than the other main stations but is notable for its bridge carrying Metro Line 5 with scenic views from its upper level across the River Seine.

Since the opening of the LGV Atlantique sending TGV trains to Gare Montparnasse, Gare d’Austerlitz has lost TGV service but remains viable for TER regional trains, RER commuter trains, and two Metro lines.

A massive Gare d’Austerlitz mixed-use project completes in 2027 that will modernize its office, retail and green space, plus housing for nearby Sorbonne University students.

Gare Montparnasse serves about 35 million annual passengers. The original station opened in 1840 and relocated in 1969 to a new station just south of the original location in Paris. The station serves TGV trains to Tours, Bordeaux, Rennes, and Nantes in France, and Transilien regional trains. There is also a metro station.

Though TGV Atlantique, TER Line N, and four Metro lines stop at Gare Montparnasse, it is the only Paris train station not directly connected to RER commuter rail.

The station connects to Montparnasse Tower, the second tallest office tower in Greater Paris. On 25 August 1944, the German military governor of Paris in World War II, General von Choltitz, surrendered his garrison to French General Philippe LeClerc at Gare Montparnasse.

Gare Saint-Lazare was the first train station built in Paris, since opening in 1837. Today it is served by TER J & L Lines, RER E Line, four Metro Lines, taxis, Uber & Bolt ride shares, and Hop-On, Hop-Off tour buses.

Though it does not have TGV service, Gare Saint-Lazare is the third busiest train station in France with 59 million annual passengers.

In 1877, Claude Monet rented a studio near Gare Saint-Lazare and exhibited seven impressionist paintings of the station during his time there.

Rapid Transit

Opened in 1900, Paris Metro operated by RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) is the preferred way to travel without luggage between districts (arrondissements) in Central Paris. We don’t recommend visitors driving and parking in Paris since the Metro makes you glad to avoid them.

Continuously expanding and renovating since opening, 14 Metro lines criss-cross the 20 Arrondissements of Paris so that no residence is more than 3 blocks from a station. RATP also runs 11 Trams in the surrounding suburbs that connect with the Paris Metro and RER lines.

The 3 & 6-minute headways between trains and the cleanliness of most Metro station platforms attracts high ridership from young and old. Though Paris Metro is generally safe, it’s probably a good idea for a visiting woman to ride with her man or friends to some lesser-used stations after 10 pm.

It’s easy for rookie Metro riders to mistakenly go to the wrong platform side. To avoid that mistake, note that Metro lines are named by their endpoints.

Study Paris Metro System Map endpoints along with your destination station to know which direction you need to go, then follow wayfinding signs to the correct platform.

Metro System Maps are wall-mounted at each station. Even better pick up a Paris Metro Map at a nearby Carrefour or Monoprix local store then look it over at your hotel. Metro platform displays to alert you minute-by-minute to train arrivals. Metro lines typically intersect 3-5 other lines and transferring is common.

A Paris Metro ticket costs €2.55 and lasts for 2 hours. A Metro ticket also allows you to ride all RER and local buses within city limits.

Tickets can be purchased singly or in a book of 10 (“carnet”), at the ticket offices or machines in Metro stations. Keep your ticket until you have completed your journey, as you may be asked to show it by Metro ticket inspectors or risk paying a fine. They check for fare-evaders.

If staying in Paris for 8-14 days, it’s more cost-effective to purchase 20 or 30 tickets for RATP rides on Metro trains, RER commuter trains, RATP buses, and Metro Montmartre Funicular.

A Metro ticket, valid for Zones 1 & 2 allows you to travel anywhere in Paris, and to the end of each Metro line, even Metro Line 1 to La Défense business district in Zone 3.

Saint Michel-Notre Dame, Tuileries, Anvers, Bir-Hakeim, and Charles de Gaule-Etoile Metro stations are safe in the daytime but are known for pickpockets & scammers. Porte de Villavelette and St. Lazare Metro Station are in sketchy neighborhoods.

RER Lines A & B commuter trains are operated by the RATP, the same agency operating the Metro and local buses. RER Line A is very popular because it runs from La Defense through Central Paris to Paris Disneyland. RER Line B is very popular for its CDG Airport-Central Paris-Orly Airport connection.

RER Lines C, D, E and TER Lines F, H, J, K, L, N, P, R, and U are commuter and regional trains operated by the SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français), the French rail agency whose network blankets the nation.

The popular RER Line C connects Central Paris with Versailles. RER Lines D & E also make a few stops in Zone 1 & 2.

The staggering combination of 14 Metro lines, RER Lines, local buses, and 1 funicular place every Paris Zone 1 & 2 residents within 4 blocks of public transport.

Greater Paris also has 13 Tramways (“Light Rail”) that run outside Central Paris in Zones 2-5. Trams typically connect with Metro at endpoint stations and select RER stations to better serve suburban commuters.

Purchase Metro, RER, Trams, and Bus tickets here. In all RER lines, as long as you remain within Paris city limits, fares are identical to the Metro. RER stations have ticket offices and machines too. The RER ticket also covers your trip and connections within Paris Zones 1 and 2.

When you review Metro and RER maps, note that over 95% of Metro stations are within Paris while RER mostly has suburban stations, PARIS METRO & RER SYSTEM MAP.

Study this Paris Metro, RER & Tram Map before you travel or in your hotel room. To minimize targeting by pickpockets, avoid reading maps or tour books on Trams, Metro, or RER trains. Before landing in Paris, write a few Metro station names & directions on a small sheet of paper easily concealed in your hand.

Given hundreds of Metro and RER stations in Greater Paris, a small percentage of stations are always under renovation.

Older Metro train doors require that you pull the handle upwards since they do not open automatically at stops. Before exiting a Metro station, look at the wall-mounted Metro or RER map and figure out exactly where you are going. Use the Sortie (exit) nearest your destination. If you need assistance, ONLY ask for help from station agents at their information booth.

Though you often see motorcycles and electric bikes on the streets, we do NOT recommend renting them to explore Paris. It is dangerous for a first-time visitor to drive one as motorcycle and electric bike accidents are common. Renting bicycles and electric scooters within a large park, however, can be a pleasant experience.

Street musicians are common on the trains. Do NOT pull out your wallet to give them money or flash fine jewelry.

Tours & Experiences

Double-decker “Hop on, Hop off” tour buses are worth the extra money to conveniently see tourist attractions on your first full day. Open-air seats on the top of the bus provide the best views.

One popular low-cost Hop on, Hop off option is a TOOTBus. Or, you might consider Batobus + BigBus ticket for their combined Hop-On, Hop-Off ticket option of the River Seine and land attractions in Paris. A 48-hour ticket is available to see sights at a more leisurely pace.

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Your Afro-centric itinerary includes general and detailed information about sites and monuments that you wish to visit, maps, suggestions for dining and nightlife, photos to create a personalized guidebook and cherished moments. They research every step of the itinerary.

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