Be sure to leave yourself plenty of time if taking a taxi to CDG airport from central Paris. Due to bad traffic, our taxi from Left Bank hotel took 1 hr 45 minutes this last Tuesday. We departed hotel at noon, so this was not rush hour. Our driver said his previous fare coming from airport to Left Bank that same day had taken 2 hrs 30 minutes..
Granted this was the Tuesday after a long holiday weekend, and it was raining, but best to leave plenty of time in your schedule..
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2545 posts
Great reminder. The convenience of a taxi (vs the RER) comes at the cost of stress due to traffic, especially when you have a flight to catch. We experienced this on our last trip as well. Big accident delayed us by about 45 minutes. Not fun watching the clock tick while you are not moving. I’d give myself an extra hour to get to the airport by taxi, just in case.
Posted by
Chicago
8551 posts
Wow never heard of it taking that kind of time. We went from the 13th to Gare du Nord on Wednesday in the pouring rain and I thought I had left plenty of time but we were pretty tight -- I was afraid we would miss our train. It took 50 minutes for that short trip.
Posted by
Paris
10193 posts
The only thing that helps with that stress is that at least with the fixed taxi fares the past few years, you are not ALSO worrying about the taximeter running up up up !!!!!
But yeah getting into or out of Paris can be a drag.
Posted by
Upstate NY, USA
892 posts
AND - it's also important to pay attention to RER closures; I took a cab on a Sunday morning b/c the RER was closed for maintenance (diverted, really), so apparently LOTS of us took a taxi! Definitely took an hr plus, and I was in the 10th, not on the Left bank!
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
Traffic made headlines this past Tuesday, it was so bad!
But yes, it can happen! The only time of the day when traffic issues would really be unusual (except the last stretch on airport grounds which is always jammed) is before 7.15-7.30 AM, making cabs the most reliable option for morning flights.