Charles de Gaulle International Airport (LFPG/CDG)
Paris, France
Paris Airline Crew Layover Guide
Reviewed by Captain AL
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The CDG crew card
| Fastest into town | RER B to Gare du Nord or Chatelet, 25 to 30 minutes, EUR 14 |
|---|---|
| Payments | Cards accepted almost everywhere including taxis; keep a little cash for small bakeries and markets |
| Tap water | Safe to drink; Eau de Paris runs public refill fountains across the city |
| Emergency | 112 (EU-wide) |
| Crew knows | RoissyBus is gone. It stopped for good on 1 March 2026, so if your old layover notes say Opera by bus, they are out of date |
| Crew deals | Verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff: on this page, right below this guide. |
airlinecrewdiscount.net · CDG crew card · Checked Aug 2026 · Next check Nov 2026 · Screenshot this card for offline
Getting from CDG to the City: train, bus, or taxi?
The RER B is the only option that ignores Paris traffic, and traffic is what ruins CDG transfers.
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| Mode | Time | Cost | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| RER B (train) | 25 to 30 min | EUR 14 | Direct to Gare du Nord, Chatelet les Halles, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame and Denfert-Rochereau. Stations at Terminal 2 and at Roissypole for Terminals 1 and 3. The only route that is immune to road traffic. |
| Taxi (flat fare) | 35 to 60 min | EUR 56 to the Right Bank | Official flat fare set by prefectural decree, identical day and night, both directions, for direct trips only. The Left Bank has its own separate official rate. Ask for a stop on the way and the meter takes over. |
| Express bus 9517 | 30 min to Saint-Denis Pleyel | The RoissyBus replacement, running since 1 March 2026 between Argenteuil and Roissypole via Saint-Denis Pleyel. Seven days a week from 05:30 to 00:30, every 15 minutes at peak. Useful as a daytime fallback when the RER B is down for works; it does not run overnight. | |
| Noctilien night bus (N140, N143) | about 55 min with the N143 to Gare de l’Est | EUR 2,05 bus ticket | The overnight option, roughly 00:30 to 05:30, covering the hours when the RER B and bus 9517 are not running. Both lines leave from the Roissypole bus station and stop at Gare du Nord before terminating at Gare de l’Est; the N143 is the faster one, about every 30 minutes. |
| RoissyBus | Discontinued. The Opera service ran from 1992 until 1 March 2026 and no longer exists. Ridership had fallen by almost 40 percent since 2023 because road traffic made it unpredictable. |
Best Areas for Crew Stays in Paris: where should you base yourself?
Gare du Nord and 10th: One RER B stop from the airport, so the return run is short and predictable; lively rather than pretty.
Le Marais (3rd and 4th): Walkable, dense, and open late; the best single choice if you only get one evening.
Saint-Germain and Latin Quarter: Direct RER B at Saint-Michel, classic Paris on foot, and quiet enough to actually sleep.
Roissy and airport hotels: For short rest before an early report. You are not in Paris, and the trade is honest: sleep instead of sightseeing.
What to Do on a Layover in Paris: how long have you got?
Under 5 hours: Stay at the airport. RER B plus security plus a margin eats the window, and CDG transfers between terminals are slow. The safer call is to stay airside, where Wi-Fi is free in every terminal.
5 to 12 hours: One arrondissement, nothing more. RER B to Chatelet or Saint-Michel, walk one neighbourhood, eat properly, and head back with an hour of slack for RER delays.
Over 24 hours: Stay central and use the metro rather than taxis. A day pass beats repeated single tickets, and the walkable core between the Marais, the islands and Saint-Germain needs no transport at all.
Crew Tips for Paris
Public transport: Check the RER B before you commit: weekend and evening engineering works are common, and that is exactly when express bus 9517 earns its place.
Money: The taxi flat fare only holds for a direct trip. Asking the driver to stop on the way turns it back into a metered fare, which is how a EUR 56 ride becomes a lot more.
Drinking Water: Paris tap water is safe to drink every day and Eau de Paris analyses more than 300,000 parameters a year. Public fountains across the city refill a bottle for free.
Safety: Gare du Nord and the RER B carry the usual big-station pickpocket pattern, worst in the crush at the doors. Bag in front, phone away while boarding.
Timing: Many kitchens close between lunch and dinner. If you land mid-afternoon and want a real meal rather than a sandwich, plan for the 19:30 opening.
Emergency Numbers for Paris and France
How do I get from Charles de Gaulle airport to central Paris?
The RER B train runs from Terminal 2 and from Roissypole for Terminals 1 and 3, reaching Gare du Nord and Chatelet les Halles in 25 to 30 minutes for EUR 14. It is the only route that road traffic cannot delay, which matters most at peak hours.
How much is a taxi from CDG to Paris?
Taxis charge an official flat fare set by prefectural decree: EUR 56 to the Right Bank, identical day and night and in both directions. The Left Bank has its own separate rate. The flat fare applies to direct trips only, so any stop on the way puts you back on the meter.
Does the RoissyBus still run from Paris to CDG?
No. RoissyBus stopped permanently on 1 March 2026 after running since 1992. Express line 9517 replaced it, linking Saint-Denis Pleyel to Roissypole in about 30 minutes, seven days a week from 05:30 to 00:30, with buses every 15 minutes at peak.
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Crew Discounts in Paris: verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff are just below this guide.
