You've landed in the City of Light - hooray! Uh-Oh - now what?! We've got you...
Landing in Paris...
Bienvenue à Paris! After all that packing, you’re here! Most likely, you have landed in Paris on an overnight, red-eye flight. You're tired and bleary eyed, excited for your Parisian adventure ahead, but a little nervous about getting to Paris proper.
Fear Not, P'Nichers! We're in this voyage together. There are many ways to get to town and quite frankly NONE of them is wrong. This topic gets quite a lot of debate, but remember the Parisian Niche motto... Paris is for everyone - and that means you - on your budget, level of expertise, and comfort. On-y va (let's go!)
If you are landing at the Charles de Gaulle (Roissy / CDG) airport, please click here for info on your landing and transport to Paris.
Landing at Orly (ORY) Airport...
Paris Orly airport, welcomes the largest amount of domestic flight passengers and reminds a second in size to Charles de Gaulle airport.
Have you landed in Orly? Great! Let's take a look at some options to get you from airport terminal to Paris central.
The RER C line will help you to reach Paris from the Orly airport by taking the “Paris Par le Train” shuttle bus. This shuttle will take you to the RER station Pont de Rungis in around 35 minutes. To take the shuttle from Orly South, look for Exit C then Stop 6. And from the West Terminal, look for Exit C then Stop 7.
You can also use transport to get to the RER B line. The Orlyval driverless train is a connector which runs around every 5-7 minutes between Orly to get you to Gare Anthony (which is on the Paris RER B line). At Gare Anthony, you will board the RER B train to get to stop of Saint Michel Notre Dame in the center of Paris.
A ticket (bought at airport) will run you approximately 13€ and covers for both the OrlyVal and RER Line B trains between Orly airport and Paris Proper
The Orly airport makes finding the stations very easy with clearly marked and user friendly signs in both French and English, with large icons and arrows to help guide you.
After the shuttle, trains are on the line B of the RER and run around every 15 minutes or so from around 5am through midnight.
Of course, you will need to purchase a ticket for this train service. You can purchase these at any of the touch screen machines, with an example here.
If you have a Navigo Transit pass, you should be set to board. The cost for a one way tickets around 11 Euros at time of posting. You cannot buy a ticket on the train, you must have one in advance.
Using these machines you can pay in Euro notes or coins, or your credit / debit card provided the card is chipped and works internationally.
You may wish to refer to our handy "to-do" list post for reminders on getting currency in advance, turning on your credit card and phone plan to avoid issues when trying to leave the Parisian airport. As we've said, Parisian Niche is with you every step of your exciting journey, so do subscribe to continue to check back into the Parisian Niche...
Ok, you're on the RER train and ready to begin your journey to Paris center.
It will likely take around 45 minutes to get from Orly airport to the Saint Michel Notre dame RER / métro station.
If that is not your main stop, the RER B also connects through Gare du Nord, Châtelet-les Halles, as well as Denfert-Rochereau. You will want to check your final destination before boarding trains to pre-plan your route to your accommodations.
One important note for train travelers, please be prepared to handle and carry all your own baggage through rail and metro stations, both of which have many steps to traverse. Travel prepared, P'Nichers!
You can also use a bus to get from Orly to Paris center. This is called OrlyBus. One way tickets can also be bought at the same area as train tickets at airport for this method of transport for around 14 Euros.
The journey will tale approximately 40 minutes from Orly to Place Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 - traffic and time of day dependent.
Frequency from Orly Airport to Paris (Place Denfert-Rochereau):
· 6:00am - 8:45 pm, every 8-15 minutes
· 8:45 pm - 00:30am, every 16-20 minutes
Upon getting off the bus, the nearest métro stop is Denfert-Rochereau, which can be found on lines 4 and 6.
Another option is the Paris-Orly Air France Shuttle, which connects Orly to Étoile / Champs Élysées (1 hour) with stops at Le Gare Montparnasse (45 minutes) and Les Invalides (50 minutes) en route.
This shuttle runs every 5 to 7 minutes between 6am and 11.35pm and costs approximately €13 for a one way ticket.
There is another great bus option:
Bus 183: every 15 to 20 min. in the daytime, and every 30 to 35 min. in the evening. Destination: Porte de Choisy. The nearest métro is Porte de Choisy, serving Line 7 and Tramway Line 3a.
Tickets (€3) can be purchased from the driver directly for the 60 minute drive. Travel passes covering zones 1 to 5 (except Mobilis) are also accepted. They can be obtained from the ticket offices and machines in RER stations. As with trains, you will need to handle your luggage when not being stored by drivers.
Arriving as a night owl? Pas de problème!
You can use one of the Noctilien Busses.
Bus Noctilien N131: from 1am to 4am, every hour from the South and West terminals. Direction: Gare de Lyon (métro Gare de Lyon on the 1 and 14 lines).
Bus Noctilien N31: daily from 00.02am to 4.32am, every 30 min from Orly South. Direction: Gare de Lyon (métro Gare de Lyon on the 1 and 14 lines).
The Bus Noctilien N144 runs between Orly South and the Gare de l’Est. (métro Gare de L'Est on the 4, 5, and 7 lines).
The Bus Noctilien N22 runs between Orly South and Châtelet – Les Halles (métro Châtelet – Les Halles on the 1, 4, 7, 11, and 14 lines as well as the RER A, B, and D lines).
The Bus Noctilien departs from:
· Terminal 1, at Exit #8
· TGV Station
· Terminal 3, Roissypôle bus station
Tickets are €8 and can be purchased from the driver directly. Travel passes covering zones 1 to 5 (except Mobilis) are also accepted and can be purchased from the ticket offices / machines in RER stations.
But wait, if you call now, there's more!
There is also the Tramway 7 - T7. The T7 connects the Villejuif-Louis Aragon station to the Orly Airport.
Travel time is 45 minutes to Villejuif (Métro Line 7) and runs daily from 05:30 - 00:30 on the quarter hour.
The cost is 4€ or your Navigo pass.
Another option is to book a shuttle service. In a non sponsored note, P'Niche has used PariShuttle and had good experiences.
If traveling in groups, this might be helpful and rates fall from €75 (1-4 travelers) to €90 (5-8 travelers)
Also non sponsored, similar shuttle services can be booked through Viator. When booking - make sure if you are in a shared shuttle, with other travelers from various locations or accommodations, that you have enough time to get to airport. I've cut it a little close for comfort before, but overall can give positive feedback.
If your finances allow, a taxi might be just the ticket. The driver will help you with your luggage, and you'll have a private ride. There are not flat rates for travel - averages are as below:
· CDG to ‘Rive Droite’ (‘Right Bank’) - 50€
· CDG to ‘Rive Gauche’ (Left Bank’) - 45€
Taxi posts can be found:
· Orly 1-2 : gate14a
· Orly 3 : gate 32a
· Orly 4 : gate 48a
Taxi exits and stands will be clearly marked with signage and icons. Typically an attendant is also present to help guide the travelers safely to their taxi ride.
Uber is also available in Paris. Rates can be seen upon booking and the systems works the very same way as the US. You'll want to ensure your credit card is turned on before departing on your Parisian adventure!
Aside from Uber, in a non-sponsored way, P'Niche loves the G7 app. It works exactly the same as Uber, but calls you a Parisian Taxi.
That's right, P'Nichers! No more waiting in the rain at a taxi stand - you can program and click for a Paris Taxi at any time and they usually arrive in around 3 minutes, unless traffic is out of control.
This is a great option as well for our mobility challenged travelers who cannot, or simply don't wish to, climb up and down the many steps in the métro.
Of course, you can take G7 to and from the airport and you'll ne glad you added this to your Paris pocket address book to get about town...
A P'Nicher in the Know is a P'Nicher on the Go!
If you have a few more dollars to spend, and prefer to pre-book a car (and meet & greet service) for transport, that is totally understandable!
When I am not in the mood to schlep my luggage through the labyrinth of RER and métro stations, I like the cad services provided by Victor Cab. Also popular is a service called ConnectTo. Certainly, there are more, these are just a starting point, just as you are starting your adventure in Paris from the airport!
Traveling light and want to get a fun vibe going? Try a City Bird Moto Taxi!
From 50€, a moto will get you to town quite quickly and beat a lot of traffic along the way - just make sure to take precautions, wear your helmet and a smile!
City-Bird drivers can be booked here.
As you can see, there are many safe, easy, and comfortable ways to get to Paris proper from the Orly (ORY) airport. We will explore getting to Paris from the Charles de Gaulle (Roissy / CDG) airport in a separate post.
What do you think P'Nichers? How do you prefer to get to town from the airport after your flight back to the City of Lights? Please let us know in the comments below et à bientôt!
Just read the Getting to Paris... from June 22. Wonderful reminders and the photos are so helpful! Merci !