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Transfers and Terminal Layout at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
France’s largest airport does not receive favourable reviews, mainly due to its sheer size and complexity. In reality, however, finding your way around is not as confusing as is often claimed.
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Terminals
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is divided into 3 terminals, but in fact consists of 9 buildings.
- Terminal 1– Aer Lingus, Air China, Air India, Air Senegal, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Azerbaijan Airlines, Azores Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Bulgaria Air, Cabo Verde Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Egyptair, Emirates, Eurowings, EVA Air, Fly One, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, Iran Air, Kuwait Airways, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Rwandair, Saudia, SAS, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan, Swiss, THAI, Turkish Airlines, United
- Terminal 2– divided into Buildings A to G
- 2A: currently arrivals only
- 2B: Air Austral, Air Baltic, Air Canada, Air Tahiti Nui, Air Montenegro, American Airlines, British Airways, easyJet, El Al, Finnair, ITA Airways, Norwegian, Royal Air Maroc, Sky Express
- 2C: currently arrivals only
- 2D: Aegean Airlines, Air Algerie, Air Serbia, Air Tahiti Nui, Atlantic Airways, British Airways, Croatia Airlines, easyJet, Georgian Airways, KM Malta Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Smartwings, Uzbekistan Airways
- 2E: AeroMexico, Air France (some flights), Air Mauritius, China Eastern Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, Kenya Airways, Korean Air, LATAM, MEA, Vietnam Airlines, Vistara, Xiamen Airlines
- 2F: Air Corsica, Air France (some flights), KLM, Tarom, Westjet
- 2G: Air France (some flights), Luxair
- Terminal 3– Air Arabia, Air Cairo, Air Saint-Pierre, Air Transat, ASL Airlines, Eastern Airways, Enter Air, Fly Egypt, Freebird Airlines, Iberia, Jet2.com, Nile Air, Norse Atlantic Airways, Nouvelair, Pegasus Airlines, Play, Sun Express, Tunisair, Vueling
A full list of airlines by terminal can be found on the airport’s website:parisaeroport.fr/airlines.
- ℹ️ On this website, we describe our experiences with transport from the airport to the city centre and recommend top attractions worth visiting around the world.
Terminal 1
The oldest building, dating from 1974, has an iconic circular shape and a floor layout that is highly unconventional compared to other airports.
The departures floors are located in the lower part of the terminal, whilst arrivals are on the top floor, the 5th floor.
Entry to the central transit area first takes you through boarding pass checks and, where applicable, passport control. From the central area, moving walkways approximately 150 metres long lead to several satellite buildings housing the departure gates. It is there that you will find the security checks.
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 occupies the largest area of the airport and is divided into seven buildings connected by walkways.
The largest and most modern are Terminals 2E and 2F, used primarily by Air France. The Terminal 2 complex is very spread out, and walking distances from train stations or between individual departure gates can be more than 15 minutes.
Terminals 2 have a standard layout, with arrivals always on the ground floor and departures on the first floor.
Terminal 2G is only accessible by a free transit bus running every 5–10 minutes from Terminal 2F (journey time approx. 10 minutes).
Terminal 3
The smallest, single-storey terminal is used mainly by low-cost and small airlines; it is the most straightforward of all the buildings and check-in is quickest here. On the other hand, it offers the fewest services.
Terminal 3 is located near the coach station and the Roissypole / Aéroport CDG 1 railway station.
Airport map
To help you find your way around, take a look at the general airport map or download detailed maps of the individual terminals in PDF format from the official airport website.
Transferring between flights
CDG Airport is one of the busiest transfer hubs in Europe.
You can find clear, step-by-step information on transferring at Paris CDG Airport on the airport’s official website:parisaeroport.fr.
Transfers within Terminal 2
Most transfers take place between Terminals 2E, 2F and 2G, which are interconnected via transit areas.
However, the distances between individual departure gates can still be considerable, and queues at passport control are often very long (sometimes taking more than 30 minutes).
Furthermore, to reach some departure gates, you’ll need to use the free airport buses that run around the airport grounds.
The signage is clear and it is relatively easy to find your way around, despite the terminals being quite spread out.
The average transfer time between terminals 2E, 2F and 2G ranges from 25 to 45 minutes, but can be as long as 60 minutes. If you miss a connecting flight booked as part of a single reservation due to long queues, the airline must arrange free alternative transport to your final destination.
The average transfer times are as follows:
- 2E <-> 2E – 20 to 30 minutes
- 2F <-> 2F – 20 to 30 minutes
- 2E <-> 2F – 25 to 45 minutes (may be up to 60 minutes)
- 2D, 2C <-> 2E, 2F – 30 to 60 minutes
- 2A, 2B <-> 2E, 2F – 35 to 65 minutes
- 2D, 2B <->, 2B, 2D or 2A, 2C <->, 2A, 2C – 15 to 25 minutes
- Within buildings 2A, 2B, 2C or 2D – within 5 to 15 minutes
Transfers between the individual buildings of Terminal 2 are either on foot or by shuttle buses operating across the airport grounds. Clear signage will always guide you either to the pedestrian walkway or to the shuttle buses.
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Security and passport control
Do you have to go through passport control and/or security screening when transferring at Terminal 2?
- Schengen -> Schengen: No checks
- Schengen -> Non-Schengen: Passport control
- Non-Schengen -> Schengen: Both passport control and security screening
- Non-Schengen -> Non-Schengen: security check
Transfer within Terminal 1
Transferring within Terminal 1 is significantly easier and quicker than at Terminal 2.
After disembarking from the aircraft, follow a separate corridor to the common transit area, where you will find your departure gate.
The usual transfer time is between 10 and 25 minutes.
Security and passport control
Do you have to go through passport control and/or security screening when transferring at Terminal 1?
- Schengen -> Schengen: Security check
- Schengen -> Non-Schengen: Passport and security checks
- Non-Schengen -> Schengen: both passport control and security screening
- Non-Schengen -> Non-Schengen: security check
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Transfer between terminals
All three terminals – 1, 2 and 3 – are connected by the ‘CDG VAL’ airport shuttle train, which is free and runs every 4 minutes.
- Journey time from Terminal 1 to Terminals 2 – 7 minutes
- Frequency – every 4 minutes
- Operating hours – 4.00 am to 1.00 am
Between 1.00 and 4.00, the CDG Val train is replaced by a free shuttle bus.
Security and passport control
Do you have to go through passport control and/or security checks when transferring between terminals?
You can only travel between terminals via the public section using the CDG Val train, which means you will always have to go through check-in again and, consequently, security screening, or passport control if your connecting flight is outside the Schengen Area.
Visiting the city whilst transiting
If you have a layover in Paris of at least 8 hours, head out for a quick visit to central Paris.
The train takes 40 minutes to reach the city centre. If we factor in time for waiting for the train, collecting luggage, the journey to and from the station, and if we add 2.5 hours before your flight – by which time you should already be at the airport – the net time available for sightseeing in Paris during an 8-hour layover will be roughly 3.5 hours.
- How to get from the airport to Paris
- A guide to Paris
- Sights near the airport train stations – Centre Pompidou, Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame, the Louvre, Canal Saint-Martin
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Any questions left?
If you have any questions or comments about the article...
5 comments
Angela Cysneiros
Translated from cestee.pt
Hello, my flight will arrive at 11:55am at Terminal 2E and I need to get to one of these hotels near CDG: Innside by Melia Paris CDG or Holiday Inn Express Paris CDG or Ibis Styles Paris Roissy CDG. How should I proceed? Thank you very much.
Lina Medina
Translated from cestee.es
Hello, I have 45 minutes to get from terminal 2F to 2G, is it feasible?
Martina Pšenková
Translated from cestee.sk
Hello. I'm flying from Paris to Cuba on 3.6... in Paris I'll land at terminal 2F and I need to get to terminal 2E, but I have an hour and 10 minutes to change planes. Is it realistic to make it? Can you please advise me on the quickest way to get there? Thank you for your reply
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello, it's real. Anything the airline sells is real. If you can't make it, the airline must provide free replacement transportation to your destination. CDG can be a great airport and you can make the connection in 20 minutes, but you can also get a long line at passport control.
Personally, I would recommend choosing seats at the front of the plane on your first flight to Paris to get to passport control as early as possible.
The advice of the exact route is useless, the signage will guide you and there is only one way.
Atanaska Zhekova
Translated from cestee.bg
Hello! I am interested in transferring from Terminal 2E to Terminal 1. Specifically, can I board GDGVAL directly from Terminal 2E or do I need to use another shuttle to get to some other terminal to catch GDGVAL?
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello, the CDG VAL train station is located between terminals 2D and 2F and there is a marked pedestrian corridor from terminal 2E (about 5-10 minutes walk).
Atanaska Zhekova
Translated from cestee.bg
Thank you!
Hello in September we are going to Reunion,and my first transfer and just here the transfer time is 5 hours..... that's fine, how to solve the transfer from Prague to Reunion take Actually EU territory..... The airline does not offer me even new check-in I understand that the luggage is taken care of
Hello. The transfer is the same as to any other destination - your luggage will be transferred automatically. You don't worry about that in Paris.
When you get off the plane, you can find where your connecting flight is departing from on the departure board and go accordingly.
You will go through passport control as Reunion is EU but not part of Schengen.
Check your ticket to see if there is an arrival and departure from CDG. For example, Airfrance also offers a combination of arrival from CDG and departure from ORY or vice versa. Therefore there is also a longer transfer time between airports, but 5 hours is plenty of time for a transfer as well.
AF will no longer fly from ORY in September, moving to CDG except for Corsica