Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport: A Traveler's Guide
Cet article n'est pas encore disponible dans ton langue, il est donc affiché en anglais. Nous travaillons à le traduire prochainement.
Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is spread across three widely separated terminal complexes — Terminal 1, the sprawling Terminal 2 (split into satellites 2A through 2G, mostly Air France and SkyTeam), and Terminal 3, used by some low-cost carriers. They're linked by the free CDGVAL shuttle train, which can take 15-30 minutes door to door once you count walking and waiting — a real factor if you're connecting between, say, 2A and 2G.
Arrival basics. EU/Schengen travelers with biometric passports can generally use the automated PARAFE e-gates; everyone else queues for manned immigration booths, which can back up substantially during the mid-morning and early-evening arrival peaks from long-haul flights. Customs follows the standard EU green/red/blue channel system. If you're just transiting within Schengen, you won't clear immigration at all; connecting onward outside Schengen means an extra passport check.
Getting into the city. The RER B suburban train is the fastest and most predictable way into central Paris — about 40-50 minutes to Gare du Nord or Châtelet-Les Halles for a flat fare of roughly €11.80. It runs from around 5am to midnight and serves all three terminals via free shuttle links where needed. The RoissyBus runs directly to Opéra in about 60-75 minutes for around €16.60, useful if you're near that end of town or wary of RER pickpocketing (real, if overstated). A taxi into Paris runs a government-fixed flat fare — roughly €56 to the Right Bank and €65 to the Left Bank — which is worth knowing so you're not surprised by a meter.
Practical tips. Currency exchange and ATMs are plentiful but exchange rates at the arrivals-hall bureaux are poor; withdraw euros from a bank ATM instead if you can. SIM/eSIM counters (Orange, SFR, Free) are past security in most terminals, but pre-ordering an eSIM before you fly saves time. The single sharpest planning point at CDG: because the terminals are so spread out, treat any connection under 90 minutes — even on the same airline alliance — as genuinely tight, especially if it involves a Terminal 1/3 to Terminal 2 shuttle plus a fresh security screening.