In this article we address a recurring concern of our guests and international travellers: how do you reach central Paris from Roissy, Orly or Beauvais airports? Out-of-date information is everywhere, because the growth of urban mobility and the Grand Paris line projects are constantly redrawing the map of Parisian transport. The good news: the options have never been so numerous, nor the journeys so fast. Along the way, some advice on choosing the best transport for your needs, the real journey times, the real fares and the mistakes to avoid.
Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle: the RER B or a taxi
From Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle international airport (Roissy-CDG), an official taxi will take you to the Right Bank for €56. Follow the "taxis" signs around the airport to find the queue: there is a taxi rank whichever terminal you land at.
By public transport, travellers classically take the RER B to Gare du Nord (about 30 minutes), then line 4 to Strasbourg-Saint-Denis (if you are staying at the Chess Studio), and finally line 8 or 9 (if you are staying at the Duc de Choiseul Flat). The "Paris Région ↔ Aéroports" ticket costs €14 per person. First RER around 4.50am, last around 11.50pm.
When is a taxi better than public transport to reach central Paris from Roissy?
Financially, a taxi costs more if you travel alone (€56 against €14 for a single RER and metro ticket), but becomes worthwhile for four people: more comfort and no luggage to drag through metro corridors… for the same price.
Practically, a taxi is a good option for reaching our flats if you take it before 8am or after 9pm on weekdays, or in August when business activity in Paris slows down: traffic is then lighter on the motorway, on the ring road and within Paris itself.
It becomes the obvious choice if you land very early or very late, particularly if your flight is delayed. Taxis are available continuously at CDG for as long as the airport is open. The only snag you may run into is a long queue at peak times: the July-August school holidays, the festive season from 20 December, and the April-May holidays.
With public transport there is always some uncertainty over service: we advise checking in real time on the Île-de-France Mobilités website or app, or those of the RATP and SNCF. You will see whether the RER B and lines 4, 8 and 9 are closed for works (which happens, especially in August), and whether they serve Gare du Nord, Strasbourg-Saint-Denis and Richelieu-Drouot, the stations your journey to our flats needs. Some stations close occasionally for works, particularly in the evening and on Sundays. Finally, lines can run slowly because of the heat, or someone on the tracks…
Orly: line 14 changed everything
Since June 2024, metro line 14 has been extended to Orly airport. Fully automated, air-conditioned, with platform screen doors, it drops you in 40 minutes for €14 at Châtelet, Pyramides, Madeleine or Saint-Lazare.
For a family, it is now the simplest airport journey in Paris: lifts at every station, wide carriages, and no need to take the stairs with a pushchair or the children's suitcases.
A taxi, meanwhile, charges a flat fare of €45 to the Right Bank. The ranks are on level 0, doors 32a for terminals 1, 2 and 3, and door 48a for terminal 4.
Beauvais: further out… yet still connected to Paris by shuttle
Beauvais airport welcomes passengers of the low-cost carriers (HiSky, Ryanair, Lauda, Buzz, Malta Air, SkyUp, Wizz Air and Volotea). Your ticket says "Paris-Beauvais", but the airport is 80 kilometres north of Paris: no train or metro goes there, so the shuttle is compulsory.
It can be booked online for €17.90 and drops you at Porte Maillot after about 1 hr 15. Departures are very frequent, scheduled twenty minutes after each landing. Until December 2025 this shuttle stopped at Saint-Denis Université; it has since returned to its historic terminus, the Porte Maillot coach station. Beware: many itineraries published online have not been updated.
From Porte Maillot, the most comfortable option with luggage is the RER E: a single stop to Haussmann-Saint-Lazare, then line 9 — recent trains, accessible platforms and lifts at both Porte Maillot and Haussmann-Saint-Lazare. Once the RER E has stopped running (around 11pm), line 1 to Franklin D. Roosevelt then line 9 remain available until midnight. Allow around two hours door to door from Beauvais.
For the return journey, allow plenty of time. Two hours of travel, plus two hours ahead at the airport to drop your bags and clear identity checks: that means leaving the flat at least four hours before take-off.
A few tips for travellers landing at the airports
The Roissybus and the Orlybus no longer exist. The Orlybus stopped on 3 March 2025, the Roissybus on 28 February 2026. If a website still offers you "the direct Opéra ↔ Roissy bus", the information is out of date — and yet it is everywhere.
No taxi will come and find you in the arrivals hall. A properly licensed Paris taxi never touts for customers inside the airport. Anyone who approaches you offering a ride charges an unregulated fare, with no recourse, and is competing unfairly. Taxis are taken outside, in the queue, at the signposted rank.
A flat fare is a flat fare. €56 from Roissy and €45 from Orly to the Right Bank: no luggage supplement, no passenger supplement, no night surcharge. These amounts are set by government decree.
For longer stays. If you are staying in Paris more than a week, the Navigo Semaine all-zones pass is the number one choice: for €32.40 it covers journeys to Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle (on the RER B), to Orly (on line 14) and all your travel within Paris. One detail changes everything: this pass covers the calendar week, Monday to Sunday, not seven rolling days. So it is excellent value if you arrive early in the week, and much less so if you land on a Thursday.
Validate your ticket on the way in and on the way out. The "Paris Région ↔ Aéroports" ticket is validated at both ends of the journey, and checks at the exit of airport stations are frequent. Ask the staff in blue and white "RATP" vests if you need help.
If you arrive late from Beauvais. The last RER E leaves Porte Maillot around 11pm. After that, take line 1 then line 8 at Concorde — but board the metro before 0.15am, the last line 8 train through Concorde being around 0.30am. Past that hour, a taxi is no longer one option among several: it is the only one.
More links between Paris and the airports are eagerly awaited. The CDG Express, announced for 28 March 2027, will run direct from Roissy to Gare de l'Est in 20 minutes for €24, with a departure every fifteen minutes from 5am to midnight. From Gare de l'Est, our three flats are 15-20 minutes away. Also during 2027, line 18 of the Grand Paris Express will link Orly to Massy-Palaiseau. As for line 17, often presented as the future service to Roissy, it will not reach the airport before 2030: it opens first to Le Bourget in 2027, then to Parc des Expositions in 2028.
Where to stay in central Paris: our flats from the airports
| Flat | From Roissy-CDG | From Orly | From Beauvais |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duc de Choiseul Flat Paris 2 – Richelieu-Drouot |
RER B → Gare du Nord,  → Strasbourg-Saint-Denis, then   ~55 min |
 → Madeleine, then ~45 min |
 Shuttle → Porte Maillot, RER E → Saint-Lazare, then ~2 hrs |
| Chess Studio Paris 10 – Strasbourg-Saint-Denis |
RER B → Gare du Nord, then ~50 min |
→ Châtelet, then ~45 min |
Shuttle → Porte Maillot,  → Franklin D. Roosevelt, then ~2 hrs |
| Le Petit Toit Madeleine Paris 8 – Madeleine |
RER B → Châtelet-les-Halles, then ~50 min |
direct, no change ~35 min |
Shuttle → Porte Maillot, → Concorde, then  ~1 hr 50 |
A special word for Le Petit Toit Madeleine, at Madeleine station, which is on line 14 itself. From the door of Orly airport to the door of the flat: no change, no stairs (except the six floors of Le Petit Toit Madeleine — save your strength!), 35 minutes flat.
Once the transfer from the airport is behind you, you can explore Paris without spending your time in transport, thanks to the very central locations of the Duc de Choiseul Flat, the Chess Studio and Le Petit Toit Madeleine. All three are moments away from numerous metro and bus lines, but also from the landmarks we make a point of featuring in our articles.