CDG vs Orly: Which Paris Airport Should You Fly Into?

Pick Charles de Gaulle (CDG) for a flight from the United States: it has nonstops to 24 US cities against Orly’s 3, it is Air France’s only Paris base, and it was named Europe’s best airport for 2026.

Pick Orly (ORY) for a cheap European or domestic hop, a French bee flight, or a short ride into the Left Bank. It sits about 8 miles (13 km) from central Paris against CDG’s 14 miles (23 km), and its flat taxi fare to the Left Bank is €36 (about $40), against €65 (about $73) from CDG.

Below, the two are compared on getting into Paris, where you can fly, airlines, size, night flights and the terminals, as of November 2026. The numbers come from the French government, Groupe ADP, Skytrax and our own airport database.

Getting into Paris

Orly is the closer airport. It sits about 8 miles (13 km) south of central Paris, while Charles de Gaulle is about 14 miles (23 km) northeast, in Roissy-en-France.

By rail, both airports use the same ticket. The Ticket Paris Région–Aéroports costs €14 (about $16) one way from January 1, 2026, and the standard €2.55 metro ticket is not valid for either airport.

From CDG, the RER B reaches Gare du Nord in about 35 minutes, with a train every 6 to 15 minutes from about 5 am to midnight. From Orly, Metro 14 has run straight into the city since its 2024 extension, reaching Châtelet in about 25 to 30 minutes, and about 43,000 people use the Orly station every day.

CDG will close part of that gap on March 28, 2027, when the CDG Express opens. It will run nonstop to Gare de l’Est in about 20 minutes, for €25 (about $28) one way.

Taxis are where Orly pulls clearly ahead. Paris taxis charge a flat fare from both airports, and Orly’s is €45 (about $50) to the Right Bank and €36 (about $40) to the Left Bank, against €56 (about $63) and €65 (about $73) from CDG.

Edge: Orly. The train costs the same and takes a little less time, and every taxi ride is cheaper.

When the taxi beats the train

Because the taxi fare is flat for up to four passengers, the question for a family or a group is simple: how many people does it take before one taxi costs less than a stack of €14 rail tickets?

From Orly, a group of three going to the Left Bank already saves €6 by taxi, and a group of four going anywhere in Paris saves €11 to €20. From CDG, four people only break even on the Right Bank and still pay €9 more for a Left Bank taxi than for the train.

Edge: Orly. Its taxi is the cheaper door-to-door choice for most groups, while CDG’s train wins for almost everyone.

Where you can fly, especially from the US

Charles de Gaulle is the long-haul airport. Our database lists 738 flights a day from Paris Charles de Gaulle to 279 destinations on 131 airlines, against 339 flights a day from Paris Orly to 153 destinations on 27 airlines.

For Americans, the gap is wider still. CDG has nonstops to 24 US cities, from New York JFK, Atlanta and Chicago to seasonal or weekly flights to Las Vegas, New Orleans and Phoenix.

Orly has three: Newark twice a day, San Francisco four times a week and Miami three times a week, flown by the low-cost long-haul airlines French bee and La Compagnie. French bee flies Airbus A350 widebodies, so the budget fare still comes with a twin-aisle cabin.

Orly’s busiest route is Nice, with 14 flights a day, and its top airline is Transavia France, with 105 routes. CDG’s busiest route is Frankfurt, and Germany is its largest international market.

Edge: CDG. Unless you are flying French bee or La Compagnie, or taking a short European or domestic hop, your flight almost certainly uses CDG.

Air France left Orly in 2026

Older guides that send Air France passengers to Orly are out of date. From March 29, 2026, the start of the summer schedule, Air France moved its domestic and international flights to Charles de Gaulle and ended almost 80 years at Orly.

Its low-cost sister, Transavia, took over the main Orly routes, starting Toulouse, Nice and Marseille on March 29 with eight, eight and two flights a day. Air France still flies its public-service routes to Corsica from Orly.

That changes the connection picture. A transatlantic Air France flight now connects to Nice at CDG, which our database shows with about 15 flights a day, rather than forcing a cross-town transfer to Orly.

Edge: CDG. It is now the only Paris airport for Air France connections.

Size, terminals and the airport experience

CDG handled 72 million passengers in 2025, up 2.5% but still below its 2019 level. Orly handled 34.9 million, up 5.5% and almost 10% above 2019, according to Groupe ADP.

CDG has three terminals, with Terminal 2 split into halls 2A to 2G, spread over a large site. The layout changes on March 16, 2027, when Terminal 3 becomes Terminal 2 and the 2A to 2G halls are regrouped as Terminals 3 to 7.

Orly is one connected building, split into Orly 1 to 4, with Orly 3 as the junction that opened in 2019. It is the easier airport to find your way around.

The reviewers’ verdict goes the other way. In the 2026 Skytrax World Airport Awards, CDG ranked sixth in the world and won Best Airport in Europe for the fourth year running, while Orly won Best Regional Airport in Europe.

On the aviation side, CDG runs four parallel runways: two of 13,809 and 13,757 feet and two of 8,839 feet. Orly has three, of 11,962, 10,876 and 7,877 feet.

Edge: CDG. It is bigger and harder to navigate, but it is the one ranked among the world’s best.

Night flights and the Orly curfew

Orly closes at night. Flights may not leave the gate after 11:15 pm, the curfew runs to 6 am, and from 10 pm only the quietest aircraft may land or take off, under an order signed on July 4, 2025.

Orly is also capped at 250,000 takeoffs and landings a year, a limit in place since 1994. That cap is why it cannot grow into a second hub.

CDG does not close at night, and it is a hub for FedEx Express, the cargo airline. A late-evening arrival that runs an hour behind schedule can still land at CDG; at Orly it risks a diversion.

Edge: CDG. For late flights, it is the only Paris airport that stays open.

Getting between CDG and Orly

The two airports are 22 miles (35 km) apart, and there is no flat taxi fare between them, so a taxi runs on the meter. On public transport, the same €14 ticket covers the RER B to Châtelet and Metro 14 on to Orly, so with the two rides and the change at Châtelet, allow about an hour or more.

Leave a generous buffer for a self-transfer between them on separate tickets, since a missed flight is not the next airline’s problem. With Air France now fully at CDG, the cross-town connection mostly affects passengers connecting to Transavia, French bee or a low-cost European flight.

Edge: Even. If you can, book both flights from the same airport.

Who should pick which

If you are comparing other city pairs, our guides to Heathrow vs Gatwick and Air France vs KLM use the same scorecard.