Paris CDG to city centre: RER B, bus, taxi

Paris Charles de Gaulle (Roissy-CDG) lies about 25 km north-east of central Paris. The airport has its own RER station at Terminal 1 and at Terminal 2, so the train is the obvious way into town. The short answer: take the RER B to Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles or Saint-Michel – it is fast, frequent and does not get stuck in traffic. Take a taxi if you arrive late, with children or with a lot of luggage: it costs a fixed fare to Paris. One important change: the RoissyBus to Opéra no longer runs since 1 March 2026.

Paris CDG to the city centre: the options

Times: RER B ("25 to 30 minutes"), bus 9517 and the upper values for buses 350 and 351 according to Île-de-France Mobilités, the regional transport authority; taxi as pure driving time to Châtelet based on OpenStreetMap, without traffic. At rush hour, plan considerably more for the taxi and the buses.

RER B: the fastest way into Paris

The RER B runs from the airport stations Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1 and Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV through the north of Paris to Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Luxembourg and Denfert-Rochereau. According to Île-de-France Mobilités, a train runs every 6 to 15 minutes in both directions, and the journey takes 25 to 30 minutes. Towards Paris, trains run from about 4:50 to 23:50.

• Ticket: you need the Paris Region <> Airports ticket, according to Île-de-France Mobilités €14 per journey (as of October 2026). It is valid for a direct journey between the airport and any RER B station. Ordinary metro tickets are not enough.
• Buying: in the Île-de-France Mobilités app (you validate with your phone), or at the ticket machines in the station, loaded onto a Navigo Easy card. The airport ticket cannot be stored on the same card or phone as another ticket.
• Passes: if you already have a Navigo week pass for all zones, a Navigo Liberté+ or a Paris Visite pass, you do not need an extra ticket.

The RER B is a commuter line. At rush hour it is crowded, and on some trains you have to keep an eye on your bags.

The RoissyBus no longer runs

For more than thirty years the RoissyBus linked the Opéra district with the airport. According to Île-de-France Mobilités, it stopped for good on 1 March 2026, because traffic made its journey times unpredictable and passenger numbers had fallen sharply. Older guides and some websites still list it – ignore them.

Bus 9517 and city buses 350 and 351

The new express line 9517 runs from Saint-Denis-Pleyel (metro lines 13 and 14, RER D) to RoissyPôle, a few minutes' walk from the terminals, in about 30 minutes. It uses the same coaches as the old RoissyBus and an ordinary bus-tram ticket is valid. It suits you if your hotel is near metro line 14 or line 13.

The city buses 350 (to Porte de la Chapelle, 60 to 80 minutes) and 351 (to Nation, 70 to 90 minutes) are slow but also only need a bus-tram ticket. They make sense on a tight budget or if your hotel is right on the route. The Paris Région <> Airports ticket is only needed for the train.

Taxi and transfer: fixed fare to Paris

Official Paris taxis wait at the ranks outside each terminal. Between CDG and Paris they charge a fixed fare, which differs slightly for the Right Bank and the Left Bank of the Seine; the amount is shown in the taxi. Without traffic the drive to Châtelet takes about 45 minutes (32 km), at rush hour often much longer. Do not accept rides from people who approach you in the arrivals hall.

A pre-booked transfer makes sense if you land late at night, with children, with lots of luggage or as a group: a driver waits in arrivals with your name and takes you to the door. Airport transfers in Paris^* can be booked with Welcome Pickups. Our article on when an airport transfer pays off compares the options for ten airports.

Which option suits whom?

• First visit, hotel in the centre: the RER B to Gare du Nord, Châtelet or Saint-Michel.
• Hotel near metro 13 or 14: bus 9517 to Saint-Denis-Pleyel and the metro from there.
• Late arrival, children, lots of luggage, group: a taxi at the fixed fare or a pre-booked transfer.
• Tight budget, time to spare: bus 350 or 351 with a bus-tram ticket.

If you come from outside the EU, for example from the UK, set up mobile data before you land so you can buy the airport ticket in the app straight away – a travel eSIM for France^* (Airalo) is usually cheaper than roaming; our eSIM price index compares the prices per gigabyte.

On the day you leave

The RER B runs the other way from Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles and Denfert-Rochereau; according to Île-de-France Mobilités, the first trains towards the airport leave around 5:00 and the last shortly after midnight. Take a train towards Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 – TGV – some RER B trains end at Mitry-Claye instead. If you have already checked out and fly in the evening, you can use luggage storage in the centre^* (Radical Storage).

How long to stay and what to see is in our article how many days in Paris, with plans for one to five days.

Paris trip planDay by day, with map and tips

How YesTrip helps you plan

In YesTrip you add your flight and hotel to your trip and plan each day around them, with a map of your places in Paris and the weather for your travel days. The ready-made plans for Paris can be copied into your trip with one tap. With the offline package you have the map without a connection, also on the RER from the airport. YesTrip is free.

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