You’ve just landed at Charles de Gaulle, and you have no real plan for getting into Paris. I’ve been exactly there. Bleary-eyed at Terminal 2, watching everyone else stride off like they know a secret handshake.
Good news. Getting from CDG into the city is easy once you know the routes. There’s the fast cheap train, the fixed-price taxi, the pre-booked transfer that meets you at arrivals with your name on a sign. And the airport bus everyone still asks me about, which… we need to have a little chat about.
I’ve done this run more than once, in every state from smug and organised to jet-lagged and hopeless. So here’s the honest version. What each option really costs in £, € and $, how long it takes when you’re dragging a suitcase, and which one I’d actually pick depending on the day. If you want the bigger picture for the rest of your trip, our France travel guide pulls it all together. But for now, let’s get you off the airport concourse and into Paris.
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How to Get from Charles de Gaulle Aiport to Central Paris: Quick Facts
The quick answer: which option should you actually pick?
If you want me to just tell you, here it is. Travelling light or on a budget? Take the RER B. It’s fast, it’s cheap, and it skips the traffic. Two or more of you with luggage, or arriving late and tired? A fixed-price taxi or a pre-booked transfer is worth every euro, because the cost splits nicely and you go door to door. Everything else is a variation on those two ideas.
Here’s the whole lot at a glance so you can see the trade-offs side by side.
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| Option | Journey time | Rough cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| RER B train | About 35 min | €13-€14 / £11-£12 / $14-$16 | Solo travellers, budgets, light bags |
| Fixed-price taxi | 45-60 min | €56-€65 / £48-£55 / $60-$70 per car | Groups, families, late arrivals |
| Private transfer | 45-60 min | From about €60-€90 / £52-£77 / $65-$98 | First-timers who want zero stress |
| Shared shuttle | 60-90 min | From about €18 / £15 / $20 per person | Solo travellers not in a rush |
| Uber / Bolt | 45-60 min | Varies, often €55-€80 / £47-£69 / $60-$88 | People who already use the apps |
The RER B train: cheapest, fastest, and my usual pick
The RER B is the blue commuter line that runs straight from the airport into the middle of Paris. No changes needed. You get on at CDG and it drops you at proper central stops like Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles and Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, all of which plug into the metro. To Gare du Nord you’re looking at roughly 35 minutes, which is quick when the road option can crawl for an hour.
Trains come every 10 to 20 minutes, from about 5am until close to midnight. Follow the signs for “Paris by train” or the RER logo, buy the airport ticket at the machine or the counter, and you’re away.
Why I lean on it: it skips the traffic entirely, it’s by far the cheapest way in, and on a good run it beats a taxi for time. The honest downsides are stairs, luggage and crowds. The RER B is a working commuter line, not an airport express, so there are no luggage racks and at rush hour you’ll be squeezed in with people heading to the office. Keep your bag close and your wits about you, same as any big-city train.
- Time: about 35 minutes to Gare du Nord
- Cost: a flat airport fare of roughly €13 to €14 (about £11 to £12 / $14 to $16)
- Runs: every 10 to 20 minutes, roughly 5am to midnight
- Watch for: stairs, no luggage racks, and crowds at peak times
Where to Stay in Paris
Which station for your terminal? This bit trips people up
CDG has three terminals and two RER B stations, and the naming is properly unhelpful. The station called Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1 is not at Terminal 1. It sits over at Roissypole, next to Terminal 3. The “1” just means it’s the first of the two stations on the line. I’ve watched more than one person march confidently in the wrong direction because of that.
Here’s what you actually need to know, by terminal.
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| You land at | Your RER B station | How you get there |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal 1 | CDG 1 (Roissypole) | Free CDGVAL shuttle train, a few minutes. You can’t walk it. |
| Terminal 2 (2A to 2F) | CDG 2 TGV | Directly underneath the terminal, about a 10 minute walk |
| Terminal 2G | CDG 2 TGV | Free N2 shuttle bus to Terminal 2F first, then walk |
| Terminal 3 | CDG 1 (Roissypole) | Short walk, around 5 to 10 minutes |
The CDGVAL is the free automated shuttle that loops the whole airport. It runs every few minutes, takes about eight minutes end to end, and it’s how you move between terminals. It’s also worth knowing that walking between terminal buildings isn’t an option at CDG, so if you’re in the wrong place, the CDGVAL is the answer.
What happened to the Roissybus?
Right, the bus chat. For years the Roissybus was the easy middle option, a direct coach from CDG to Opéra, right in the middle of the city. Cheap-ish, no stairs, and it dumped you somewhere useful. I liked it. Loads of people did.
And it’s gone. The Roissybus stopped running for good, so any blog, forum thread or old guidebook still sending you to the Opéra bus stand is leading you astray. Worth saying plainly, because people still turn up expecting to hop on it, and finding out at the airport with a bag and a puzzled face is no fun.
In its place there’s a bus-and-metro combination: a shuttle bus links the airport to Saint-Denis-Pleyel, where you pick up Metro line 14 straight into the centre. It works, though it’s fiddlier than a single direct coach. There’s also a dedicated airport express rail link in the pipeline, which should eventually give you a fast, luggage-friendly ride from a central station. For now, if the old direct bus was what appealed to you, a pre-booked transfer or a taxi gives you the same no-stairs, no-changes comfort.
Taxis from CDG: fixed-price and refreshingly simple
This is the bit that surprises first-timers in a good way. Official Paris taxis from CDG run on a fixed flat fare set by the authorities, so there’s no meter drama, no “scenic route”, no negotiating. You pay the same price whatever the traffic does. The city splits in two along the Seine, and your fare depends on which side your hotel sits on.
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| Destination | Flat fare | In £ / $ (guide) | Covers which areas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right Bank (rive droite) | About €56 | Around £48 / $60 | Louvre, Marais, Montmartre, Champs-Élysées side |
| Left Bank (rive gauche) | About €65 | Around £55 / $70 | Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain, Eiffel Tower side |
| Either bank | Price is per car | Same flat fare | Up to four people, luggage included, no meter |
That flat fare covers the whole car for up to four passengers with luggage, which is why a taxi quietly becomes the smart choice for a family or a group. Split €56 four ways and you’re paying about the same as the train, except you get picked up at arrivals and dropped at your front door. Not a bad deal when everyone’s knackered.
The one thing to get right: join the official taxi rank outside the terminal, and ignore anyone who approaches you inside the building offering a lift. Those unofficial “taxis” are the classic airport trap and they won’t honour the flat fare.
Gear we actually travel with
Passport holders, packing cubes, travel wallets. Stuff that earns its place in the bag.
Browse the shopPrivate transfers: the meet-you-at-arrivals option
If your idea of a good arrival is walking out of the terminal and finding a driver holding a sign with your name on it, this is your route. A private transfer is booked in advance at a fixed price, the driver tracks your flight, and if you’re delayed they wait. No queue, no ticket machine, no working out which bank of the river you’re on at midnight.
I book one of these when I’m arriving somewhere new and can’t be bothered to think, or when I’ve got family in tow and want the landing to be smooth. You can sort it before you fly by grabbing a pre-booked airport transfer, and because the price is locked in there are no surprises when you climb in. It costs a bit more than a taxi, but on a first visit or a late-night landing that premium buys real peace of mind.
The other version is the shared shuttle. Cheaper, because you’re pooling with other travellers, but slower, since the van drops everyone off in turn and you might not be first. It starts at around €18 per person (roughly £15 / $20), which is tempting for a solo traveller who isn’t in a hurry.
Recommended Tours and Tickets in Paris
Uber, Bolt and rideshare from CDG
The apps work fine at Charles de Gaulle, and plenty of travellers swear by them because you get a price up front and pay through your phone. Handy if you already use them at home. The catch is that rideshare doesn’t follow the taxi flat fare, so the cost moves with demand. Land when a big wave of flights has just come in and the price can spike well above a normal cab.
There’s a practical wrinkle too. Rideshare cars use designated pickup points rather than the taxi rank, and at a place the size of CDG those points take a bit of finding after a long flight. When the quoted fare is close to the flat-rate taxi, I just take the official cab and save myself the hunt.
How much does it really cost?
Money usually decides it, so here’s the full picture in all three currencies. These are guide prices. The exact number shifts with the route, the time of day, demand and the exchange rate, so treat them as a sensible ballpark rather than a quote.
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| Option | EUR (€) | GBP (£) | USD ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| RER B (per person) | €13-€14 | £11-£12 | $14-$16 |
| Taxi, Right Bank (per car) | €56 | £48 | $60 |
| Taxi, Left Bank (per car) | €65 | £55 | $70 |
| Private transfer (per car) | €60-€90 | £52-£77 | $65-$98 |
| Shared shuttle (per person) | From €18 | From £15 | From $20 |
| Metro ticket (once in town) | About €2.50 | About £2.15 | About $2.70 |
Notice that metro ticket at the bottom. That’s your fare once you’re actually in Paris and moving around, and it’s a fraction of the airport price. The thing that catches people out is assuming one covers the other. It doesn’t. Airport journeys need their own ticket, and a normal single or day pass won’t open the barriers at CDG.
Which option is best for you?
No single answer fits everyone, so here’s how I’d call it depending on who you are and how your day is going.
- Solo and watching the budget: RER B, no contest. Fast, cheap, straight into the centre.
- A couple with normal luggage: RER B if you’re up for it, or split a taxi if you’d rather not wrestle bags up stairs.
- Family or group of three or four: a fixed-price taxi almost always wins once you split it, and nobody has to mind a suitcase on a crowded train.
- First visit and want it simple: a pre-booked private transfer. You step off the plane and someone else has the plan.
- Landing late at night: taxi or transfer, since the train stops overnight and you don’t want to be stranded.
- Heavy bags or limited mobility: skip the train. Stairs, crowds and no luggage racks make it hard work.
Travelling with little ones changes things more than people expect, and our guide to France travel with kids goes deeper on that. Once you’re settled in, you can start ticking off the big hitters with our pick of the top historic sites of Paris. And if you’d rather have a guide do the heavy lifting, browsing Paris tours and skip-the-line tickets on GetYourGuide is a good way to line up your first day before you even leave the airport.
Ready to land like a local?
That’s the full run-down. RER B for speed and value, a fixed-price taxi when you’ve got bags or company, a private transfer when you want the landing handled for you, and a firm goodbye to the old airport bus. Pick the one that suits your day and your budget, check which station matches your terminal, and you’ll be sipping something on a Parisian terrace before the jet lag properly kicks in.
When you want the arrival made effortless, a pre-booked transfer means a driver is waiting the moment you clear customs. No queue, no thinking required. And for everything else you’ll need on the ground, from where to stay to what to see, our full France travel guide has your back. Bon voyage, and enjoy Paris.
FAQs
Is the RER B safe to take from the airport?
Yes. It’s a normal commuter line used by thousands of people every day, and plenty of visitors take it without any trouble. Do the usual big-city things: keep your bag zipped and in front of you, be careful with your phone in crowds, and stay aware at busy interchanges like Châtelet. Common sense covers it.
How much is a taxi from Charles de Gaulle to central Paris?
Official Paris taxis charge a fixed flat fare, roughly €56 to the Right Bank and €65 to the Left Bank (about £48 to £55, or $60 to $70). That’s for the whole car, up to four passengers with luggage, so it gets cheaper per head the more of you there are.
Does the Roissybus still run from CDG to Opéra?
No. The direct Opéra coach no longer operates, so any advice pointing you to it is out of date. In its place there’s a shuttle bus to Saint-Denis-Pleyel connecting with Metro line 14, or you can take the RER B, a taxi or a pre-booked transfer instead.
What is the cheapest way from CDG to central Paris?
The RER B train, easily. It’s a flat airport fare of around €13 to €14 (about £11 to £12, or $14 to $16) per person, and it’s also one of the fastest options because it avoids road traffic entirely.
Which RER station do I use at Charles de Gaulle?
It depends on your terminal. Terminal 2 uses CDG 2 TGV, directly beneath the building. Terminals 1 and 3 use CDG 1 at Roissypole, which despite the name isn’t at Terminal 1, so from there you’ll take the free CDGVAL shuttle.
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