Taxi Fare from CDG

It's 50 euros to any location on the right bank, 55 euros to any location on the left bank. That's good for four passengers plus luggage. If you have more than four passengers, it's 4 euros additional per passenger. Follow the signs in the terminal to the taxi line, and do NOT be tempted by any of the crooks who will approach you IN the terminal asking if you want a taxi. Get in the line and take a taxi from there.

Kim's advice is spot on. Another thing you can do is have your hotel/apartment/B&B address written down for the taxi driver if you are not fluent in French.
Enjoy your trip. 9 more months until I return.

I paid 62 Euros on Sunday. Our hotel is within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower in the 15th arr, so maybe a bit outside the 55 Euro range? I was surprised but too tired to discuss. We are glad we took the taxi, instead of the RER and metro, which award the original plan.

The law governing rates has changed since 2004.

emd, Did you get a legit taxi from the taxi rank at CDG? How many people were you? How many pieces of luggage?

From CDG to the 15th is 55E for 4 and luggage; there are not extra fees. There is actually no way it can be 62 Euro -- it would be 63 Euro for 6 people. Really disappointing when cab drivers are so short sighted. This is how they lose their jobs to Uber et al. It is a good idea to give the driver a piece of paper with exact address and then 50E or 55E on the paper depending on which side of the river you are going. 62 is not a terrible price, but you were bilked out of 7 Euro -- He probably ran it on the meter. The moment you see the meter going from the airport you need to let them know it is '55' or whatever it is.

emd9330 - were you arriving in Paris (i.e. going from airport into town) or departing from Paris when you paid 62 euros?

There's a 7-euro fee that gets added on for reserving your taxi the night before, so those leaving Paris will pay this (or 4 euros if they call and reserve the taxi at the moment they want to leave, but that's a bit riskier). But if you were headed from the airport into the city, indeed you were overcharged.

What someone paid in 2004 is irrelevant. The city of Paris has since instituted the flat rates I mentioned.

What about taking the metro or a bus from CDG to your hotel? I thought that was the most economical way to go. Has anyone done that- is it too hard. Wondering if there's a long walk from the airport to the metro location?

cw, the RER is the cheapest, fastest way to get to/from CDG. Super easy. Just follow the sign at CDG.

That 7-euro fee is for any advanced reservation be it the night before or 15 minutes before. There is a 4-euro fee is for for the "send the taxi, I am ready right now" call. I hope that emd9930's taxi ride was for six people and the driver gave them a 1-euro discount.
@cw37, you can take the RER B (a suburban train line) or any of a couple of different buses from CDG into Paris. The metro does not go all the way to CDG but you can transfer to the metro (if needed) within Paris. Depending on the number of people in the travel group or the location of their accommodations, taxis might be a better option for some travelers. It's not "too hard." I've done it but I do not do it anymore. The RER B does stop at Terminal 2 and at a second stop at CDG that is convenient to the other terminals. I don't think the walk is especially long from the terminals to the train station.

Do these taxis take credit cards or will I need cash?

Some taxis take cc, many do not. You have to ask before getting in.

They are supposed to take credit cards but always make sure they do before getting in as sometimes it is 'broken'. The most important thing is to use the official taxi queue and not be diverted. ONe current scam is for a helpful taxi dispatcher to approach you as you enter the line and say 'oh this line is for the suburbs, the line for Paris is over there'. and if you follow him, you are had. The official queues are well marked and obvious and drivers do not get out of their cars except to load luggage -- so anyone who approaches you before you get to the head of the line is a thief.

The RER is 10.30 to any destination in Paris via commuter train RER and then any metro required. Using the metro will means climbing stairs -- maybe lots and lots of flights up and down -- with your luggage. Be sure if you use the train that you are pickpocket proof. I use an under clothes money belt in transit like this. Never have wallets in pockets or backpacks and be sure you are in full control of your valuables like computer bags or purses. It would be rare for someone to grab a suitcase, but smaller bags are vulnerable. We have done it many times and it is cheap and for some destinations will be fairly easy but you are at a moment of peak vulnerability with all your stuff and tired. We take taxis these days but we are also Olds. In our youth and middle age we took the train.

What about taking the metro or a bus from CDG to your hotel? I thought that was the most economical way to go.

the RER is the cheapest, fastest way to get to/from CDG.

It depends how many are in your party. The RER costs 10.30 euros, the Roissy Bus costs 12 euros. For one person alone, obviously the RER is cheaper. However, if you have 3 people and taking the RER, you're already at ONLY a 20-euro difference for taking a taxi door-to-door vs. schlepping your stuff in the hot sweaty RER. If you're four people, the value for money is much better for a taxi vs. taking the RER or bus (even if the RER costs less at 41.20 for four ppl vs. a taxi at 50 euros for 4 ppl. . . you're talking about a two-dollar "premium" per person to be picked up and dropped off right at your hotel. Often your time and convenience (i.e. lack of hassle) is worth more than a few euros.

And for super cheap, there are also buses 350 and 351 (3t+ tickets for the trip and about 1.5 hours from CDG to the last stop in Paris). Bus 351 goes to Nation and from there you could take a bus or buses to your destination without needing another ticket or for another ticket to take the Metro to your destination. Bus 350 goes to Gare de l'Est with the same transfer options as Bus 351. Back in my younger days, I tried just about every way except bus 350 to get to Paris from CDG. Nowadays, taxis or private shuttles are my preferred options, but if I were trying to get to Paris for the least amount of money, I would take bus 350 or bus 351.
There are so many factors in deciding the best option such as the following. Are you traveling alone? Is the budget extremely tight? Do you have loads of time to get to Paris? Do you mind making transfers? Where is your accommodation? Are you familiar and comfortable with mass transit? Are you like my husband and hate to use mass transit? Is it really warm so you do not want to be on a hot train? What time are you arriving in Paris?

Lots of excellent advice is given in the above posts. For what it's worth, for me, a taxi is always the way I go after a long overseas flight of 9 or more hours, jet lag, fatigue etc. I don't want to be bothered with stairs, ticket machines, finding strange locations, luggage schlepping and all that folderol. I just want to get where I'm going with all my stuff intact and a minimum of additional aggravation.

JHK has got it right. The hotel we like to use is on rue Philippe-Auguste at Place de la Nation. The Bus 351, which we pick up at Terminal 2, terminates at Pl de la Nation. When you step off the bus there is a taxi rank right under your nose if you want one. We just walk around the Place to “our” street but there is a metro station in the centre of the Place also. Journey is about an hour with an interesting view of some Paris suburbs, not all of them attractive.

Thanks for everyone’s experience and advice. I took the advice of writing the address, which the driver didn’t understand so I had to pull up my reservation, which had the same address. We used a cab from the cab line, which was monitored by an airport employee at CDG Terminal 3. I noticed there was 7 Euro on the meter already, so with the 55 added that would be the 62. There were just two of us with 2 suitcases, mine a backpack and hers a medium hard case roller. My daughter kept her carryon backpack in the cab. Also I wrote my vacation started on Sunday, but it was Wednesday at 11:00am. So basically we were ripped off since it was past rush hour.

We did not do train/metro because of her larger 4 wheeled luggage - The girl packs a pajama for almost every day and two bags of makeup and toiletries! Every time we were on the metro and walking thru those big connecting stations with all the stairs, we were glad we cabbed it. However, I am doing RER with my backpack carryon to CDG for the next leg of my trip while she stays in Paris for a film class with NYFA.

I am sorry that the taxi driver ripped you off, emd. The 7 euros on the meter means they were greedy and took advantage. I guess we can just be glad it was "only" 7 euros. That's a shame.