charles de gaulle

Charles De Gaulle Airport navigation: Exclusive guide

Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) also known as Roissy Airport is the largest airport in France. It is also one of the busiest airports in Paris. It is located 23 km northeast of Paris. Being the largest airport is France, it can be confusing to find your way.

However, you do not need to worry because now there are a few useful Paris travel Apps that makes navigation easy in airports. Anyways, it is better to have a general idea of the layout for ease of navigation. CDG consists of three terminals which are interconnected by interterminal walkways and shuttle services.

charles de gaulle

Terminals of Charles De Gaulle airport

Charles De Gaulle airport has three terminals. Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 are located at opposite sides from each other. Meanwhile Terminal 2 is located at another side and has 7 sub terminals.

Terminal 1 of Charles De Gaulle airport

Charles De Gaulle airport is the oldest terminal of the airport. Further, it was designed in the shape of an octopus. There is a building in the center of the octopus structure, with a large skylight in the middle. Moreover, it consists of nine floors dedicated to different functions.

The first floor is not accessible to public. The second floor consists of shops and restaurants. It also consists of the CDGVAL interterminal shuttle train platforms which will take you to Terminal 2 or central Paris.

Additionally, the third floor consists of majority of the check in counters. It also has excess to taxi stands, bus stands and other pick up vehicles. By the way, commute in Paris is very easy.

Besides, the fourth floor is only accessible to departing passengers with the valid documents. It has the boarding gates. The fifth floor has the baggage conveyer belts for arriving passengers. Hence, the upper four floors have assigned areas for parking and airline offices.

Escalators are present between floors to take you from one floor to the next.

Terminal 2 Charles De Gaulle airport

It is also called Air France terminal. In addition, most flights from the national carrier depart from here. It is the largest terminal. This terminal has seven sub terminals. So, they consist of terminals 2A to 2G.

Terminals 2A to 2F Information

The terminals 2A to 2F are interconnected by interterminal walkways. The Terminal 2 complex has a shuttle train, high speed rail station and Paris Regional Express station. Besides, the terminals 2A to 2G have their own restaurants, shops, wifi access and resting areas.

Finally, check-in and baggage handling are provided in terminals 2E and 2F.

Terminal 2G in Charles De Gaulle airport

Terminal 2G is a satellite building located approximately 800 m away. Then, a shuttle bus is available to take you to terminal 2G. Also, it is available at terminals1, 2A to 2F and terminal 3. Terminal 2G is for passengers flying in Schengen Area and thus has no passport control.

Terminal 3 in Charles De Gaulle airport

It is CDG’s smallest terminal and It is located 1 km away from terminal 1. It has one single building for arrivals and departures. The walking distance between terminal 1 and terminal 3 is 3km but the rail station for CDGVAL and RER are at a distance of 300m.

Moreover, this terminal has no boarding gates. All passengers are taken to aircraft stands by buses. If you are scheduled to depart or arrive at this terminal, be aware that you will be shuttled to other terminals for your flight or to reach the arrivals area.

Now that we have relayed the information pertaining to the terminals of Charles De Gaulle. We will now mention where some more of the basic locations you might want to go are.

Ground transportation In Charles De Gaulle airport

The shuttle rail system consist of CDGVAL and LISA

CDGVAL

Connects terminal 1 parking space PR to RER station, PX parking space and the TGV and RER station located between terminals 2C to 2F.

LISA

Connects terminals 2E to Satellite S3 and Satellite S4.

RER

It has two stations on airport grounds. Airport Charles De Gaulle present next to terminal 3. Fastest access to terminal 1 via a connection on CDGVAL. Airport Charles De Gaulle 2 TGV located between terminals 2C to 2F

Parking Charles De Gaulle airport

Charles De Gaulle airport has several parking spaces. Both open air and closed parking spaces are present. There are parking spaces just for drop off, short term parking and long term parking.

If you are just dropping off a loved ones or going to the airport to pick someone up, you can utilize the CDG Drop Off Car Parks. They are right for you if you are just parking for 10 minutes to one hour.

They are located near each of the terminals which include terminal 1, terminal 3 and terminals 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and 2G.

The car park is free for the first 10 minutes but you will have to pay if your car has been parked for an hour. If you want to park your car for a couple of hours or a couple of days you may utilize CDG’s short term car parks.

Terminal 1 has a covered car park P1 and Terminal 3 has an open air park P3. Terminal 2 has a variety of car parks for each section of the terminal. You’ll be charged according to how long you park your car. Long term parking is also available at PR and PX.

You’ll need to travel via CDGVAL light rail to get to them because they are a bit far but they are more economical. One can find parking price tables on Charles De Gaulle airport website.

Check-in and baggage drop-off in Charles De Gaulle airport

Check in areas are located at each terminal and there are flight information screens to guide you. You may check in using the self-service kiosks to choose seat and print the boarding pass. One can drop off your bag at the bag drop. Apart from that, you can check in around 2 hours before your flight.

Here, you will find many money exchange stalls where you can exchange your money. However, here few easiest ways to exchange money in Paris.

Pro tip: Beware of the traps and scams throughout your trip in Paris.

Restaurants and resting areas in Charles De Gaulle airport

If you are out of food and in need of an emergency snack or a meal there’s no need to worry. Restaurants and resting areas are present in all terminals in CDG. There are also several shops located in this large airport.

On top of it, there are maps and signs all over the airport to help guide you further. The airport staff will also be more than willing to help you out as well.

Just relax and enjoy your trip. The journey is more important than the destination. We hope you have an enjoyable trip.

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