The question comes up while you are still choosing a flight, not when you are booking the car. Two airports, two fares, and sixteen kilometres of difference that will shape your entire arrival day. Here is what genuinely separates Paris-Charles de Gaulle from Orly: distances, terminals, airlines, real journey times and the true cost of every way into the city.
I.CDG and Orly at a glance
Both airports are run by the same operator, the ADP group, but they play very different roles. Charles de Gaulle is the intercontinental hub: it handles the long-haul connections and takes in almost everything arriving from Asia, North America and the Gulf. Orly is the close-in airport: smaller, quicker to walk through, and built around domestic France, Europe, North Africa and the French overseas territories.
| IATA / ICAO codes | CDG / LFPG — ORY / LFPO |
| Distance to central Paris | CDG: 30 km north-east · Orly: 14 km south |
| Number of terminals | CDG: 3 (T1, T2A-2G, T3) · Orly: 4 (Orly 1 to 4) |
| Annual passengers | CDG: over 70 million · Orly: around 33 million |
| Dominant role | CDG: long-haul and connections · Orly: short-haul and domestic |
| Taxi flat fare to Paris | CDG: €62 · Orly: €52 (2026 prefectural fare) |
| Private chauffeur transfer | Identical from both: from €140 in a Mercedes E-Class |
One development deserves to be flagged straight away, because it makes a great deal of the advice still online obsolete: on 29 March 2026 Air France left Orly and consolidated every one of its flights at Charles de Gaulle, ending eighty years of operations there. Within the group, only its low-cost subsidiary Transavia still flies out of Orly. So if you are holding an Air France or SkyTeam ticket, the question is already settled: you are landing at CDG.
The transfer costs the same from CDG and from Orly
Mercedes E-Class from €140 · V-Class from €160 · S-Class from €200
Real-time flight tracking, 60 minutes of complimentary waiting, name-board greeting in the arrivals hall, baggage assistance. No surcharge for night arrivals, traffic or delays. Fixed quote in under 15 minutes.
Get my rate on WhatsAppII.Terminals: what to know before you book
This is where first-time visitors get caught out: each airport numbers its terminals on its own logic, and Orly has changed its own. Knowing your terminal before you land determines where your chauffeur meets you, how far you will walk, and — if you are connecting — whether the connection is realistic at all.
The layout of CDG
Terminal 1 — the circular 1974 building designed by Paul Andreu. It handles the Star Alliance carriers: Lufthansa, United, ANA, Air China, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss.
Terminal 2 — much the largest, subdivided from 2A to 2G. This is the Air France-KLM and SkyTeam hub (Delta, Korean Air, Aeromexico, China Eastern, Saudia, Vietnam Airlines). 2E takes the major Air France long-haul arrivals.
Terminal 3 — the most compact, given over to low-cost and charter airlines: easyJet, Vueling, Transavia, Wizz Air, Pegasus.
Worth anticipating: ADP has announced that the letters will go. By around 2027, CDG's terminals will be renumbered 1 to 7 with no sub-letters. Always check the exact wording on your boarding pass rather than relying on an old habit.
The layout of Orly
The historic names Orly West and Orly South have gone, replaced by four numbered terminals linked by a junction building you can walk through.
Orly 1 and Orly 2 — the former Orly West, oriented towards domestic and Schengen traffic. easyJet and Vueling are here.
Orly 3 — Schengen and regional traffic, with operators such as Air Corsica, Transavia and Wizz Air.
Orly 4 — the former Orly South, the heart of non-Schengen and long-haul traffic: Air Caraïbes, Corsair, French Bee, La Compagnie, Royal Air Maroc, Air Algérie, Tunisair, TUI fly, Pegasus.
The rule worth remembering: at Orly, the number 4 means international. At CDG, the number 2 means Air France.
III.Which airlines fly where?
The split is not arbitrary — it follows the alliances and the nature of each route. In practice, it decides which airport you will not be choosing.
- Intercontinental long-haul — CDG in the overwhelming majority of cases. North America, Asia, the Gulf, sub-Saharan Africa: Terminal 1 for Star Alliance, Terminal 2E for Air France and SkyTeam.
- Transatlantic from Orly — a real and growing niche, carried by French Bee, La Compagnie and Air Caraïbes, all at Orly 4. Useful for the US East Coast and the Caribbean.
- Domestic France and Corsica — historically Orly, though the picture is shifting since Air France pulled out and moved its domestic network to CDG.
- Low-cost Europe — both. easyJet, Vueling, Transavia and Wizz Air operate at Orly and at CDG Terminal 3, depending on the route.
- North Africa — mostly Orly 4: Royal Air Maroc, Air Algérie, Tunisair.
- Business aviation — neither. Private jets land at Le Bourget, Europe's leading business airport, 12 km from Paris.
IV.Getting into Paris: an honest comparison
Every option below has a legitimate use case. The table compares them on what actually matters once you land: door-to-door time, total cost, and what happens to your luggage. Fares quoted are those in force in 2026.
| Option | From CDG | From Orly | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train / metro | RER B, €14 (Paris Region-Airports ticket), 35-50 min to Châtelet | Metro line 14, €14, about 25 min to Châtelet-Les Halles | Light traveller, no hold luggage, travelling alone |
| Orlyval + RER B | ✗ Not applicable | Included in the €14 ticket, change at Antony | Destinations along the RER B, Left Bank |
| Buses and coaches | Roissybus and scheduled lines, roughly 60-75 min depending on traffic | Bus routes to Denfert and southern Paris, 30-50 min | Tight budget, no fixed schedule to keep |
| Taxi (regulated flat fare) | €62 to any address in Paris | €52 to any address in Paris | Unplanned arrival, happy to queue |
| On-demand ride-hailing | Variable rate depending on demand, ordered on arrival | Variable rate depending on demand, ordered on arrival | One-off trip, tolerant of surge pricing |
| Pre-booked private chauffeur | From €140 — flight tracking, name board, 60 min included | From €140 — same rate, same service | Business travel, families, luggage, night arrivals |
| Bulky luggage | ✗ Difficult on the RER B | ✗ Difficult on line 14 at peak times | V-Class seats up to 7 passengers for groups |
| Arriving between 10pm and 6am | Reduced frequency, RER B stops overnight | Metro line 14 closed in the small hours | Private chauffeur, the only option running 24/7 |
How to read the table. On price alone, public transport is unbeatable and the taxi flat fare is fair. What neither provides is predictability: nobody is tracking your flight, nobody is waiting if you land two hours late, nobody carries your cases. That gap is precisely what a pre-booked transfer closes — ours is set out in full on our CDG transfer and Orly transfer pages.
V.Real journey times by neighbourhood
Distance as the crow flies tells you very little. What counts is the road you take and the hour you land. CDG reaches Paris via the A1 and Porte de la Chapelle, congested through the morning; Orly via the A6 and Porte d'Italie or Porte d'Orléans, congested at the end of the day.
| 8th arrondissement, Golden Triangle | CDG 35-50 min · Orly 30-45 min |
| 1st, 2nd, Louvre, Opéra | CDG 40-55 min · Orly 30-45 min |
| 6th, 7th, Saint-Germain, Invalides | CDG 45-60 min · Orly 25-40 min |
| 16th, Trocadéro, Passy | CDG 40-55 min · Orly 35-50 min |
| La Défense | CDG 35-50 min · Orly 40-55 min |
| Versailles | CDG 55-75 min · Orly 30-45 min |
| Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallée | CDG 30-45 min · Orly 50-70 min |
| At peak hours (8-10am, 5-7.30pm) | Add 20 to 40 minutes at either airport |
The ranges are deliberately wide: they reflect how traffic in the Paris region actually behaves, not a theoretical best case. A chauffeur who drives these roads daily chooses in real time between the A1 and the A3 to the north, and between the A6a and the A6b to the south — a judgement no consumer navigation app makes with the same precision.
VI.Connections and switching airports
Two very different situations hide behind the word "connection".
01.Connecting within CDG
This is Charles de Gaulle's strength — the hub was designed for it. CDGVAL shuttles link the terminals in a few minutes, with no need to clear controls again as long as you stay airside. Even so, allow 90 minutes minimum between two long-haul flights when the terminal changes, and more if you are moving from a non-Schengen flight to a Schengen one.
02.Connecting between the two airports
This is the scenario to design out of your itinerary at the booking stage. No direct rail link connects CDG to Orly: you either cross Paris or take a road coach. Budget 70 to 100 minutes for the transfer depending on the hour, plus a fresh bag drop and a fresh security check. On this particular journey a private chauffeur is not a comfort but an insurance policy: the car is waiting, the flight is tracked, and the buffer is calculated in advance.
03.Connecting to a private jet
If your commercial flight lands at CDG or Orly and you depart by business aviation, Le Bourget will be the destination in most cases. CDG to Le Bourget takes 15 to 25 minutes, Orly to Le Bourget 35 to 55 minutes. Pickup is on the FBO side; tarmac access remains rare and subject to authorisation.
VII.So which one should you pick?
In most cases the airline decides for you. When you genuinely have a choice — typically on a European route served from both — these are the criteria that settle it.
- You are staying on the Left Bank (5th, 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 15th) — Orly, without hesitation. The gap can reach 25 minutes at peak times.
- You are staying in northern or eastern Paris (9th, 10th, 17th, 18th, 19th) — CDG keeps a slight edge.
- You are heading to Versailles, Saclay or the Yvelines — Orly, comfortably.
- You are heading to Disneyland Paris, Roissy or the Val-d'Oise — CDG.
- You have a long-haul flight to connect to — CDG, to stay inside the same hub.
- You are travelling with bulky luggage or as a group — Orly is quicker to walk across; internal distances at CDG are far greater.
- You land late in the evening — either works if the transfer is pre-booked. Without a booking, Orly gives you a little more margin thanks to its proximity.
VIII.And the third contender: Beauvais
A word of honesty about Beauvais-Tillé, sold as "Paris-Beauvais" by several low-cost carriers. It is not really a Paris airport: it sits 85 km north of the capital, in the Oise. The official coach to Porte Maillot takes roughly 1 hour 15 minutes and costs €17.90 one way booked online, before you count the wait at the stand or the onward journey from Porte Maillot to your actual address.
Put differently, a ticket that is €40 cheaper out of Beauvais easily turns into two and a half extra hours door-to-door in each direction. If you have the choice, avoid it. We do serve Beauvais on request, but we tell clients plainly: this is a decision to make upstream, when you buy the ticket.
IX.The transfer, whichever airport you land at
FAIZ TRANSPORT PARIS has operated daily at both airports since 2021, with an all-Mercedes-Benz fleet. The rate does not depend on the airport but on the vehicle and the final destination.
| Mercedes E-Class — up to 3 passengers | from €140 · CDG or Orly into Paris |
| Mercedes V-Class — up to 7 passengers | from €160 · CDG or Orly into Paris |
| Mercedes S-Class — 1 to 2 passengers | from €200 · CDG or Orly into Paris |
| Le Bourget, private aviation | on quotation, from €160 |
| Corporate accounts | -5% from 10 journeys a month, up to -15% |
Every transfer includes real-time flight tracking, 60 minutes of complimentary waiting, a name-board greeting in the arrivals hall, baggage assistance, mineral water, chargers and onboard WiFi. No surcharge is applied for a night flight, a delay or a traffic jam. To choose your vehicle, our fleet page details the three models; recurring travel is handled through our corporate accounts.