Getting from CDG Airport to Paris city center is the first test of any Paris trip — and it's the one transfer where the wrong choice costs you an hour and a chunk of your budget. This guide compares every real option: RER B, Roissybus, taxis with fixed fares, ride-hailing, and shared shuttles, with honest times, approximate costs, and who each one suits.
The advice below reflects how the system actually behaves — the queues at the taxi rank, the RER B stretch that feels long with bags, the Roissybus that crawls through rush hour — not just the glossy airport website version.
Prices and timetables drift, so treat every figure here as a range and confirm before you go. The short version: RER B is the value default, the taxi is the comfort default, and everything else is a trade-off in between.
Key takeaways
- RER B is the value default: roughly 30–45 minutes and about €12 to the center, but you'll likely change to the Métro with your bags.
- Taxis run on fixed fares from CDG — roughly €55–65 depending on which side of the river — and beat every other option for door-to-door comfort.
- Roissybus only pays off if your hotel is near Opéra; otherwise you've paid coach prices for a bus stuck in traffic.
- Last RER B trains leave CDG around midnight, so late arrivals should plan on a taxi or ride-hail.
- Buy your airport train ticket at official machines or on the Île-de-France Mobilités app, and keep it until you exit — inspectors do check.
- Every price and schedule here is an approximate range — confirm the current figures before you go.
CDG Airport to Paris City Center: All Your Options at a Glance
Every transfer from Charles de Gaulle dumps you in roughly the same part of town — the difference is how much time, money, and patience it costs you. Here's the honest version of each option before we go deep on the details.
| Option | Time to center | Approximate cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| RER B (suburban train) | 30–45 min incl. Métro change | ~€12 single | Budget travelers, light luggage |
| Roissybus (coach) | 60–75 min | ~€17 | Hotel near Opéra, no transfers |
| Taxi (fixed fare) | 35–60 min | ~€55–65 flat | Groups, families, heavy bags |
| Ride-hailing (Uber & co.) | 35–60 min | ~€35–55 dynamic | App users, no-cash travelers |
| Shared shuttle / private car | 45–75 min | ~€20–80 | Pre-booked comfort, first-timers |
Read the rows left to right as a trade-off: the cheaper options ask for more of your time and attention, the pricier ones buy you simplicity. All figures here are approximate — check current fares before you go.
RER B from CDG: The Budget Default, Warts and All
The RER B is the train you'll almost certainly end up on, because it's the only rail link that already runs from CDG into the city. Trains leave from the Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV station (under Terminal 2) roughly every 10 minutes and reach Gare du Nord in about 25–30 minutes; add another 10–15 minutes and one Métro change to get to most central neighborhoods.
How it actually works
- Catch it at Terminal 2. If you land at Terminal 1 or 3, take the free CDGVAL light rail to the station first — budget 10–15 extra minutes.
- Buy before you board. Official ticket machines sit in each arrival hall and at the station; a single ticket to central Paris runs roughly €12 (confirm before you go).
- Keep the ticket until you exit. Inspectors ride this stretch regularly, and the fine for an unvalidated or wrong-zone ticket is far steeper than the fare.
- Check the destination display. Most RER B trains from the airport run all the way through the city, but some terminate early — the platform board will tell you.
Where it hurts
- The Métro change with bags. Switching at Gare du Nord or Châtelet–Les Halles means stairs, escalators, and crowds. With one wheeled suitcase it's doable; with a stroller plus two cases it's a workout.
- Evening chaos. Gare du Nord and Châtelet are magnets for pickpockets. Phone in a front pocket, bag zipped and in sight.
- It stops at midnight. Last trains from CDG leave around midnight, so late arrivals have no rail option.
Local tip: If you'll ride public transit more than a couple of times in Paris, buy a Navigo Easy card or a weekly pass instead of singles — load it at the same machines and skip the ticket window queue every day — and the Paris Metro and RER guide covers every pass and zone in detail.
RER B is the right call if you're solo, traveling light, and landing at a reasonable hour. If any of those three things isn't true, keep reading. For live timetables and the current fare, check the official RATP site — treat the numbers above as planning ranges, not gospel.
Roissybus: A Straight Shot to Opéra, Traffic Permitting
Roissybus is the airport's own coach line, running from CDG to the Opéra area on the Right Bank in roughly 60–75 minutes. Unlike the RER there's no transfer — the coach drops you on Rue Scribe, two minutes from the Palais Garnier and an easy walk to the Grands Boulevards.
The fine print
- Pick it up at the airport bus lane at each terminal — the signs simply say "Roissybus."
- Cost is roughly €17 one way (confirm before you go), payable at the machine, on the official app, or on board.
- It runs early to late, roughly 6am to 12:30am — one of the few options that still works for a late-ish arrival.
- Traffic is the enemy. At 5pm the expressway into Paris can double the journey; the same ride at 10am might take 50 minutes.
Who it suits: travelers staying near Opéra, the Grands Boulevards, or the 9th arrondissement who'd rather sit still for an hour than wrestle a suitcase through a Métro change.
Who should skip it: anyone on the Left Bank, anyone on a tight schedule, and anyone who dislikes sharing a coach with everyone's luggage. Keep your bags close — the coach gets busy, and the walk from the drop-off point crosses one of Paris's busiest shopping streets. Current schedules are on the official Paris Aéroport site.
The CDG Express: The Nonstop Train That's Still Coming
The CDG Express is a long-planned nonstop rail link between CDG and Gare de l'Est that's been promised for years and repeatedly delayed. The concept is worth knowing about: roughly 20 minutes, trains every 15 minutes or so, and a target fare around €25 — cutting the RER B's travel time roughly in half for a premium.
As of the latest published plans it's targeted for the late 2020s, and that date has slipped more than once. Treat it as a pleasant bonus if it's running when you travel, not as something to book a tight connection around. Before relying on it, check the official Île-de-France Mobilités site for the current status.
Don't book around it: if a "CDG Express" train shows up in your journey planner, great — but keep your transfer buffer realistic until the service has been running consistently for a while.
For now the practical difference matters less than the habit: the RER B is what actually exists today, and it remains the value option until the Express proves itself.
Taxi from CDG: The Fixed-Fare, Door-to-Door Option
Paris taxis run on a fixed fare from CDG to the city, which removes the meter anxiety of most airport runs. The flat rate covers the trip to either side of the river — roughly €55 to the Right Bank and €65 to the Left Bank, with a small surcharge at night and on Sundays (confirm the current figures before you go).
Why it's often the right call
- Door-to-door in 35–60 minutes, depending on traffic — no transfers, no stairs, no luggage tetris.
- Runs around the clock. Taxis are the only option that doesn't end at midnight.
- Split four ways, a taxi is competitive with the train for a group.
How to do it without getting burned
- Use the official rank. Follow the "Taxi" signs to the licensed taxi queue at your terminal and ignore the touts who approach you in arrivals.
- Licensed cabs carry a taxi roof sign and a number plate; card payment is standard, but confirm before you set off.
- The fixed fare is fixed. A driver quoting above the posted flat rate for a normal route into the city is a warning sign.
Uber and Ride-Hailing from CDG: Convenient, With Caveats
Ride-hailing apps work fine at CDG, and for solo travelers the price often lands between the RER and the taxi — typically roughly €35–55 to central Paris depending on time of day, demand, and surge. Pick-up zones are signed at each terminal, and the drivers are licensed VTC professionals.
What to watch
- Surge pricing is real. A delayed flight landing into peak demand can double the estimate; the app shows the price before you commit, so you can always fall back to the taxi rank.
- Download the app before you fly. Arrivals Wi-Fi is patchy, and you don't want to be fighting the app with a jet-lagged brain and 30% battery.
- Pin your terminal correctly. CDG's terminals are spread out; confirming the right pick-up zone saves a ten-minute walk with bags.
- There's no flat rate. Unlike taxis, ride-hail prices move with demand — on a quiet Tuesday afternoon it's often the cheapest door-to-door option, and on a strike-day evening it isn't.
Shared Shuttles and Private Transfers: Pre-Booked and Predictable
The old branded airport express coaches have come and gone over the years — names like Le Bus Direct were discontinued, reorganized, and replaced — so don't go hunting for a specific brand. What remains is a solid market of shared-ride vans and private cars you book online before you fly.
- Shared shuttle: roughly €20–30 per seat, door-to-door, but the van makes multiple stops, so your "45 minutes" can stretch past an hour.
- Private transfer: roughly €50–80 for a car that meets you in arrivals with a name sign — the taxi experience, with a reservation and a fixed price.
- Meet-and-greet matters: most operators wait inside the arrivals hall, a genuine help for nervous first-timers or anyone coming off a 12-hour flight.
Who it suits: families, older travelers, and anyone with more bags than hands. Who should skip it: budget travelers and very late arrivals — shared shuttles thin out after the last big arrival wave of the evening.
CDG to Paris: The Decision Table
Here's everything above compressed into one table you can screenshot at the gate, plus the four rules that settle most arguments.
| Option | Door-to-door | Typical cost | Luggage pain | Runs until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RER B | 30–45 min | ~€12 | Medium (Métro change) | ~Midnight |
| Roissybus | 60–75 min | ~€17 | Low | ~12:30am |
| Taxi | 35–60 min | ~€55–65 flat | None | 24/7 |
| Ride-hailing | 35–60 min | ~€35–55 | None | 24/7 |
| Shuttle / private | 45–75 min | ~€20–80 | None | ~Late evening |
If you only remember four rules
- Solo with a light bag? Take the RER B.
- Three or four people, or heavy luggage? Split a taxi.
- Landing after 11pm? Skip the trains — taxi or ride-hail.
- Staying right at Opéra? Roissybus saves you the Métro effort.
Insider tip: make this decision once, on the plane, not at midnight in an arrivals hall. Jot the pick-up point and fare range into your trip notes before you land — an offline trip file like AnchorTrip is a handy spot for exactly this — so you're choosing from memory, not stress.
Prices and timetables change seasonally, so treat the table as a decision aid and confirm the current numbers on the official sites before you travel — and if you're landing at one of the city's other airports, the Orly to Paris city center and Beauvais airport to Paris transfer guides cover those routes.
CDG Arrival Basics: Terminals, Tickets, and Baggage Smarts
A smooth CDG arrival comes down to three things: knowing your terminal, buying the right ticket, and keeping your bags close. Here's the version nobody prints on the welcome board.
Which terminal, which train
- Terminal 2 (2A–2G): the RER B station "Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV" sits under the terminal complex — follow the "RER / Trains" signs.
- Terminals 1 and 3: ride the free CDGVAL light rail to the "Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1" station.
- All three stations are on the same RER B line into the city — only the walk differs.
Buying tickets without drama
- Official machines are in every arrival hall and at the stations; they take contactless cards.
- The Île-de-France Mobilités app sells the same tickets and shows live departures — handy when the machine queue is long; our Paris Metro apps and contactless payment guide covers phone tickets and card-tapping in detail.
- Skip third-party sellers inside the terminal; you don't need a middleman for a train ticket.
Baggage and pickpocket basics
- Zipped and in sight. The RER B, Gare du Nord, and Châtelet are where distraction theft happens — bags on laps or between feet, never dangling from a shoulder.
- Phone in a front pocket, not your back pocket or an open bag.
- Watch the doors. Paris train doors close fast; a suitcase in the gap is a classic first-timer injury.
- Don't leave bags unattended, even "just for a second" at a ticket machine.
Terminal maps and live transfer information live on the official Paris Aéroport site. And once more, because it matters: every figure in this guide is a range — confirm current fares and schedules before you go.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to get from CDG to Paris city center?
Expect roughly €12 on the RER B, about €17 on the Roissybus, €35–55 for ride-hailing, and €55–65 for the taxi's fixed fare. Shared shuttles sit around €20–30 per seat. Prices change, so confirm current fares before you travel.
What is the fastest way from CDG to central Paris?
A taxi or ride-hail is typically fastest door-to-door at 35–60 minutes depending on traffic. The RER B reaches Gare du Nord in about 25–30 minutes but adds a Métro connection. The nonstop CDG Express is planned at about 20 minutes, but it has been repeatedly delayed.
Where does the RER B stop at CDG airport?
The RER B stops at two stations: Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV under Terminal 2, and Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1, which serves Terminals 1 and 3 via the free CDGVAL light rail. All trains from both stations head into the city on the same line.
Does the RER B run all night from CDG?
No. The first trains from CDG leave around 4:50am and the last around midnight — timings drift, so check the current schedule before you plan around them. Between roughly midnight and 5am your realistic options are the taxi (which runs 24/7) or ride-hailing.
Is the CDG Express open yet?
As of the latest published plans, the nonstop CDG Express to Gare de l'Est is targeted for the late 2020s, and that date has slipped more than once. Check the official Île-de-France Mobilités site for the current status before planning around it.
Are pickpockets a problem at CDG and on the RER B?
Standard big-city caution applies. Keep bags zipped and in sight, hold your phone in a front pocket, and stay alert at Gare du Nord and Châtelet–Les Halles, the busiest transfer points on the route. Distraction theft happens on the train itself too.
Is a taxi or an Uber cheaper from CDG?
It depends on demand. Taxis use a fixed fare of roughly €55–65 to the center. Ride-hailing is often cheaper at €35–55, but surge pricing after delays or during peak hours can push it above the taxi's flat rate, so compare in-app before you book.