Car Hire in Paris - Getting to Paris

Aéroport Charles de Gaulle is Paris’ main international airport, with flights arriving thick and fast from all over the world. Situated 27kms north of the city, it is connected to the city centre by Metro service. Much less busy, and often a better option particularly for short-haul flights, is Aéroport d'Orly (16kms southwest of the city). Transatlantic flights arrive at both airports, though the latter has fewer options for getting into Paris. However, shuttles are frequent and run at all hours.

Due to France’s size, flying is a popular means of reaching the Mediterranean coast and the Alps, with regular connections to all cities, but the high-speed TGV (train à grande vitesse) train services are usually more convenient. There are six major train stations in Paris; Gare du Nord is for trains bounds for Calais, Belgium and the Netherlands, and includes the Eurostar international terminal (3 hours to London – easily the most convenient option), next to it Gare de l’Est is for trains to Eastern France, the Rhineland and other German destinations. Gare St Lazare is for trains heading to Brittany. South of the river, Gare Montparnasse and Gare d’Austerlitz are the main departure points for trains to the southern Atlantic coastline, Spain, the Cote d’Azur and Alpine regions, while Gare de Lyon is for central destinations including Lyon.

Euroline buses run from several bus terminals in Paris to cities all over Europe. Hoverspeed runs bus-boat-bus combos from London. There are also ferries and hovercraft between Ireland and France.

Exiting Paris is somewhat confusing because the highways sometimes change numbers, but the network is extensive and the traffic relatively uncongested. A ring road circumnavigates the city; the A1-E19 head north to Charles de Gaulle Airport and on to Calais; the A15 goes northwest to Brittany, the A14 east; the A6 heads south to Orly and then becomes the A10, heading further south into the countryside.