Average time to clear customs at cdg

You won't even see customs unless you're carrying huge amounts of money or contraband.

If you're talking about passport control, I'd never allow less than three hours between arrival and catching a train.

And even then I would catch a train to Paris, spend the night, and move on the next day

I’m with Simon. I don’t know where you’re planning on catching the TGV to but that airport is probably the most inefficient one in the world. You might make your train - but do NOT count on it.

Have cleared CDG passport control anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. No hard and fast rules other than lots of flights from the USA all dump passengers at the same time in the morning. Also do not try tight train connections.

You would think 2.5 hours would be plenty, but as you said yourself, lots of variables.

Buy a ticket, but spend more to get one that allows changes or will allow you on a later train, space allowing. Do not go the bargain basement, non-refundable route. Your other option is to wait and buy a ticket once there, the only drawback to that would be a risk for a sold out train or higher cost.

It was 2 hours from landing to the cab line for us this spring. We stood in the immigration line for 90 minutes while they fed the entire line through one automatic gate that didn't work very well though there were a dozen gates next to it that appeared functional.

If you have carry on luggage and are luckier with immigration you might make this train but it is a risk. If the plane is half an hour late, not likely. Most international flights now arrive a bit early and so maybe. WE average about 60 minutes to clear immigration but it is not predictable.

I done it many times in 2 hours, changing at CDG Terminal 2 to the train. BUT, a Saturday in late August is a very heavy traffic day with French people returning from vacation. That means a lot of planes to unload, personal experience from late last August, it was longer than usual. I'm usually in the front of the plane and one of the first off. Where is your seat in the plane? Will your luggage have a priority tag? I arrive in Terminal 2, just a walk away from the train station. If you are on United, you'll arrive in Terminal 1 and need to change terminals via the internal train system. Do you have a biometric passport and no children with you? Children can't use the quick kiosks, so you have to go through the passport line.

My son is arriving on United in T1 on a Saturday, with our grandchild who is too young to use the biometric passport booths. They have a train to catch two hours later. To avoid missing the train, I've hired a concierge service to get them through passport quickly and onto the internal train to Terminal 2 where the train station is located. Hope these differences help you judge for yourself.

Taking none of the above into account, in April, according to government statistics, average time was 20 minutes to get through passport control.

Thanks for your comments. They were all very enlightening.

We arrived at CDG terminal 2 from BOS a week ago on Sat May 27 at 8AM. The passport control hall was massive and packed but we did get thru in about 1.5 hours. Our TGV to Reims left at 11:22AM. We had about 20 minutes to spare after finding the station, doing a WC stop and buying a snack. We had only carry-on luggage. Signage was very confusing getting to the station and at the station.

We cleared immigration / passport control at CDG about a month ago on a Wednesday morning in about 30 minutes. The plane taxis after landing for an extremely long time at CDG, feels like at least 20 minutes. The deboarding from the plane to a bus that carried us to another terminal, with a very long walk to passport control, took about 30 minutes. The line for US passport holders with the biometric ID check was relatively short, and the equipment was in good working order, so 30 minutes. I can only imagine how long it could take, though, if those machines are not working. We picked up our bags only having to wait about 10 minutes for them, and we walked through customs and out to the taxi line, so while I didn't clock it from when we landed to when we got into a taxi, I think it was under 2 hours total, maybe around 90 minutes from landing to taxi, but I did not put a stop watch to it.

The takeaway from my anecdote for you is that I have given you what is likely a best case scenario for timing from landing to taxi or train. You are getting good advice here, from taking a later train to delaying your TGV plans to the next day, but I assume you have already booked your hotel or rental wherever it is you intend to travel to via TGV, and you want to get there that day. Well, book a later TGV from CDG, and if you end up having to wait on the later train, so be it...better safe than sorry...

FWIW. Twice at CDG the 'priority' tagged luggage has been delivered last on a flight we were on. I assume this is a conscioius F U by baggage handlers. literally last. All the normally tagged luggage on our flight appeared and then finally, the priority tagged bags.

Twice at CDG the 'priority' tagged luggage has been delivered last on a flight we were on. I assume this is a conscioius F U by baggage handlers. literally last.

Our priority tagged bags were among the first on the CDG conveyor last month, so who knows? Checking bags is a pain, but I do it on every flight, so I just deal with it...if we have to wait, we take turns going to the restroom...it works out in the end.

Maybe your suitcase were the first loaded into the plane, way into the back of the cargo hold by the Chicago crew, Janet? Maybe the Chicago crew thought priority meant to load first. It's never happened to us when we're priority but we usually fly Air France or Delta, not United. I'm not sure how you can assume you were being deliberately given an FU instead of poorly trained employees inadvertently screwing up the luggage arrival.

I flew YUL-CDG on Air France in April, this was Sunday 16 April. I didn't time passport control but it was busy, but w the new Electronic gates (for US, Canadian, EU passport holders) it was maybe 30-45 minutes? And luggage was ready after we got through the gates.

When I did the Loire Valley to south of France Tour last fall, it took about an hour to get through passport control. Make sure you go to the bathroom ahead of time. Nothing worse than waiting in line with a full bladder! Once you get through that, you can collect your luggage on the other side and beyond that you can exit the airport. It was all pretty straightforward.