Getting around
Paris: Charles de Gaulle or Orly, and how much it actually matters
Paris has two airports, and the cheaper one is not always the closer one. The difference is measured in minutes and euros, and both can be checked before you book.
Two airports, two different journeys
Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is the main airport, and the RER B reaches the centre in about 35 minutes for €11.80. A taxi from CDG runs €50–70.
Orly (ORY) is the one easyJet mostly uses, and it is closer in: a taxi from there is €35–45, roughly €15–25 less than the same ride from CDG.
That is the whole story, and it is enough to reverse a comparison. A ticket that is €20 cheaper into the further airport is not really €20 cheaper, and sometimes it is not cheaper at all.
Who flies where
El Al, Air France, Transavia and easyJet all serve Paris — and the last of those lands mainly at Orly. That is why checking the airport is not a technical footnote but part of comparing the fare.
The booking window we aim at for Paris is eight to fourteen weeks ahead, longer than Rome or Vienna, because it is a five-hour flight into high demand. The days that tend to be cheaper are Tuesday and Wednesday.
The ticket that pays for itself
Paris has sixteen metro lines, and a day Navigo is €8.65 — and it covers the airport journey. If you are moving around the city anyway, it almost always beats singles.
For a longer stay there is the weekly Navigo at €30, which is strongly worth it from about five days. This is one of those places where the gap between "I bought a ticket" and "I bought the right ticket" is tens of euros.
When to fly, and where to sleep
Peak is June to August plus December around the holidays. Shoulder runs March–May and September–October. The best value window is actually November–February: Paris in winter is spectacular and prices are markedly lower.
Mid-range: Montmartre, République, Oberkampf and the Marais. The Marais is the safe bet — lively, close to everything, and moderately priced. Saint-Germain is beautiful but around 50% more for the same proximity.
Budget: Belleville, Nation and Montrouge. Premium: Saint-Germain, Trocadéro and Île Saint-Louis.
Three things worth settling in advance
The Louvre is €17, and free on the first Friday of the month after 6pm.
For the Eiffel Tower, book two to three weeks ahead; without a ticket the queue can run past two hours.
And English works fine in Paris — but "bonjour" and "merci" open doors, and they cost nothing.
Check which airport you are landing at before comparing fares: Orly saves €15–25 on the ride into town against CDG. Buy a day or weekly Navigo rather than singles, and aim eight to fourteen weeks ahead — or at winter, if price is the deciding factor.
Where to go from here
- Five mistakes that keep repeating when booking flights
- The booking window is not one number
- Search flights
- Plan a trip
The facts in this article come from our own destination knowledge. They are not a measured price: prices on this site always carry the date they were measured.
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