Paris is a major hub of European air, road and rail travel. Direct flights from around the world serve the French capital’s international airports. It’s also the centre of Europe’s fast-growing high-speed rail network with arrivals throughout the day of services from many other parts of Europe. Autoroutes (freeways) converge on Paris from all directions.
Air
Charles de Gaulle is Paris’s main airport, lying 19 miles north of the city. Buses, trains and taxis all run regularly into the centre of the city – a journey that will take between 40 minutes and an hour. Disneyland Paris is about 15 minutes away. The other main airport, Orly, is 9 miles south of the capital. Transport services take travellers to the southern part of the city in about 30 minutes.
Train
Eurostar trains travel directly from central London (Waterloo) to central Paris (Gare du Nord) in three hours. There are up to 24 departures daily. Other high-speed rail services into Paris include Thalys from Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne and TGVs from throughout France. Travel on all these services must be pre-booked.
Road
Paris is an oval-shaped city. It’s surrounded by an outer ring road called the Boulevard Périphérique. All freeways leading to the capital connect with the Périphérique, which separates the city from the suburbs. Each former city gate, called a porte, now corresponds to an exit from (or entrance to) the Peripherique. Arriving motorists should check their destination address and consult a map to find the closest corresponding porte. Driving in Paris is an experience - you’ll need nerves of steel!
