ok986

Although a frequent visitor to Paris, I've never taken a car/taxi to CDG (always by RER). However, I'll need to catch one from a meeting in a week and would welcome advice.

I need to catch AF1242 to GVA departing at 20:45, traveling only with a small carry-on bag, SkyPriority in Y.

When do I need to leave central Paris (7e, around Assemble Nationale) by taxi to make it to the airport on time? For reasons too dull to discuss, I also want to leave as late as possible. But I also absolutely have to catch that flight. Hence, the plan is to play it safe

Any difference between travel by taxi or by Uber in terms of speed?

tpatta

Traffic should be light by that time. 30-45 minutes travel time should be fine.

Goldorak

I strongly disagree with that. Parisians traffic flows means that it is very heavy traffic to go from Paris to the suburbs (and CDG) in the evening. So, in normal conditions, the traffic will be very heavy. Add to this any accident on the highway (quite frequent), any demonstration somewhere in Paris (quite frequent too) and you're screwed. And the 7th is quite far from the 2 highways going to CDG (Porte de la Chapelle to catch A1, and Porte de Bagnolet to catch A3). So I would leave at least 2.5 hrs before flight time, and likely 3 hrs before if you want to avoid any stress. Of course, I'm talking here about a regular week day (not during school holidays or week-end).

Not really with the noticeable exception that Uber cannot use the bus lanes in Paris. That can make a difference at peak traffic times. But once on A1 or A3, no difference. If you want to take a VTC, I would rather favor Le Cab which you can order in advance and they are very reliable. As you know you cannot pre-order Uber, but it's true that availability is rarely a problem in Paris.

SDQBound

My rule of thumb is always leave the 6th/7th 3 hours before departure time (and 3.5 if flying Delta, due to their extra security layer at check-in), and even with this anticipation, I've been in situations where I had to run to be able to board the plane, especially for evening departures. As Goldorak mentioned, the 7th is quite far from A1/A3 and at this time of the day it will involve getting through a lot of traffic no matter in which direction you are going. There are times when the drivers go south through the Montparnasse area and the traffic flows, which seems to be relieving, but once we get to Porte d'Orleans, the peripherique traffic is at 2Km/h and it takes ages to get to A1.

ok986

Thanks for the replies! one more Q - am I better off then taking metro 4 + RER (provided none of them is on strike, of course)?

Enthilza

I fully agree with Goldorak. This is probably the worst moment to be in a car in Paris since you will likely be stuck in the flow of commuters (unless your travel is on a Saturday/Sunday in which case traffic in that direction will be lighter).

I also support choosing Le Cab over Uber to be able to book in advance.

All in all I would say:
- weekdays in Taxi/VTC very likely to be over an hour, possibly over 1.5 hour;
- weekends in Taxi/VTC 45-60 mins.
But of course YMMV.

Regarding your last question, I would say it all depend where in the VII you're starting from and which Terminal you'll be departing from. If you want to take RER it will mean taking a subway/RER to St Michel, then the RER to CDG with eventually a transfer to Terminal 1 or 3. If that is the case for you, it will most likely be over an hour as well.

I would favour RER in weekdays (even though they would be crowded as well) and would leave around 18h30.

delanotre

I confirm your prediction but at 4 AM only

ranskis

If you are close to Metro 4, then change at Les Halles to RER B, the connection there is very quick, count a bit more than an hour in total (RER is every 6 minutes). Then I would leave a bit before 19:00 if you are a gambler, knowing that the priority is to exit Paris, so if you can make it to Stade De France or later and then there is a problem, taxi&uber can be a good back up.

With skypriority and mobile boarding pass, your target is to be at CDG T2 RER station at 20h10 to avoid running, and 20h20 is still OK if you run a bit and know your way. Leave at 18:30 and you should have time to have dinner in the lounge.

carnarvon

AFAIK, line 4 does not go through the 7th district, but maybe you will be walking distance from a line 4 station which is situated east of the 7th.

tbaiyun

It takes a couple more minutes to travel on M4 than a non stop Chatelet-Gare du Nord. However, consider about the severe delay due to congestion of combine RER B & D lines in Chatelet (I was once on a RER B train which simply stopped in Chatelet for 15 minutes because it had to yield another RER D train), for risk-free, I will pick Gare du Nord.

carnarvon

15 minutes sounds extreme. Must be very rare and not due only to having to wait for RER D to go first.

The drawbacks of going to Gare du Nord with M4, are not only as you say the slightly longer travel time between Les Halles and Gare du Nord, but also the connection in Gare du Nord which is longer than in Les Halles.

tbaiyun

If it is in normal operation+off peak hours, it is way better, closer, safer and transfer in Chatelet-Les halles. I would also like to avoid to Gare du Nord since that's the last station on RER B out of Paris heading north, crowded and mixed smell....

However, maybe I have bad luck on RER B, always get stuck in Chatelet Les Halles for a while during peak hours so unless I transfer from RER A, otherwise I skip there during rush hours...

San Gottardo

Going veeeery frequently from that part of the 7th to CDG to catch an AF flight around that time. Typically leave around 19h, but have also done 19h15. That is for a Schengen flight, SkyPriority, boarding pass in my pocket, no luggage. Usually leaves me time to take a light dinner at Ladurée in 2F.

I keep an eye on Google Maps and traffic starting around 18h and keep myself ready to leave earlier than 19h in case traffic is worse than usual.

For that trip take a taxi, preferably one of the "better" ones you pay a little extra for (you can order them through the Taxi G7 mobile phone application), not only are you certain to have a comfortable/clean/pleasant car the drivers also tend to be more experienced and have a better "nose" for challenging traffic situations and often know small shortcuts. The taxis will use the bus lanes which is very useful to leave that part of Paris towards the Perioherique and motorways and will speed your trip up significantly compared to the Limo services like Uber or LeCab. I have stopped using LeCab some time ago, they've become less reliable, price difference isn't that attractive anymore, and - this is what drove me away - most drivers sheepishly follow the GPS, have no clue where they are going and how/where to take shortcuts. The fastest way to get around Paris is a combination of Waze (in taxi mode) and an experienced G7 Club Affaires driver who knows how to intelligently use it.

Depending from where exactly you leave you may have a choice whether to go East and A3 or West and A1. Whilst A1 is usually the preferred route because of less traffic, A3 can work out better at that time of day and I often find myself there. But A3 is also less predictable, at any time. Again, Google Maps and Waze can help.

brunos

I hate the train to the airport. But you seem to be an easy walk to the RER C station Musee d'Orsay. Then it is one stop to Saint Michel- Notre Dame where you can catch the train to CDG.

Taxi would be as fast and much more comfortable. I would follow the advice of San Gottardo, but I like Le Cab a lot and find them reliable. Their desire to follow their GPS system is sometimes infuriating, but their route is based on current traffic conditions. Leaving at 18:45 from Assemblee Nationale should be quite fine.

San Gottardo

I wish - but usually not. The most reliable traffic condition-driven GPS in and around Paris is Waze, as you several tens of thousands of users feeding data to the network at any one time (Paris has actually so many more wazers than other comparable cities, no idea why).

However, most Le Cab drivers don't have it, or have and don't know how to use it properly, or refuse to use it "because I don't understand the arrows". Some of them use other systems, but many aren't precise enough, and so in the end they go with GPS systems without traffic information.

Also, lots of time can be saved by knowing tiny little shortcuts, or in which lane to stand, or where not to follow the GPS or the signs. Good taxi drivers know that, the limo drivers usually not.

If on your way to the airport you are happy to add 20 minutes to your ride, a limo like LeCab is fine. But since the cabs go for fixed fares as well (which is not much higer than LeCab) and have the added advantage of being allowed to use the bus lanes, there is now no more reason to go with the limos.