Your arrival at the airport

You will touch down at one of Paris’ major airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle or Paris-Orly, or perhaps at Paris-Beauvais, specializing in charter flights. The airports are all within easy reach of the capital. For security reasons, left-luggage services are not available at Paris’ airports.


Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

Information (24hrs, 7 days a week): 0 892 68 15 15 (€0.34/min)
See www.adp.fr

Paris-Orly (ORY)

Information (6am-11.45pm, 7 days a week): 0 892 68 15 15 (€0.34/min)
See www.adp.fr

Paris-Beauvais (BVA)

Information (8am-10.30pm, 7 days a week): 0 892 682 066 or 0 892 682 073 (€0.37/min)
See www.aeroportbeauvais.com

Your arrival by train

Paris can be reached by train in a matter of hours from elsewhere in France and all major European cities. All 7 stations bring you right into the heart of the city. Centrally located and each with specific destinations, they offer smooth connections with the public transport network (metro, RER, bus).

Make sure you don’t forget to validate your rail tickets by punching them in the orange machines located in the concourse and in front of the platforms.

Certain stations provide left-luggage facilities: Gare du Nord, Gare de l’Est, Gare de Lyon, Gare d’Austerlitz and Gare Montparnasse. Luggage can be left for a maximum of 72 hrs and the cost, the same in all stations, ranges from €3 to just over €7 per day, depending on the size of the locker. They are available from 6.30am to 10.45pm. Warning: this service may be closed at any time for security reasons.

See www.sncf.com

The ring-road (“périphérique”) made easy

It’s quite straightforward: depending on where you come in from, you’ll join the ring road at one of the 30 gateways (“portes”) that punctuate the 35 km of expressway. Based on the area you are heading towards, you have the choice between the inner ring road (“périphérique intérieur”) which runs in a clockwise direction and the outer (“périphérique extérieur”), which runs anti-clockwise).

Traffic flow and journey time between gateways are displayed on illuminated overhead panels. Exit signs for each gateway into the city are given plenty of time in advance so as not to miss them, so make sure you position yourself correctly in the right-hand lane. The speed limit is 80 km/h (50mph), sometimes less whenever pollution levels peak… Watch out for the speed checks!

See www.sytadin.tm.fr in French only