Heathrow or CDG?

Susan, Is there any possibility you could find a flight either into or out of Gatwick rather than Heathrow? That would provide a somewhat easier "travel experience". Happy travels!

Both LHR and CDG are huge and busy airports. Until recently, you could read similar bad things about each one. It seems that now London has a worse than ever situation with immigration lines at arrival. Other than that, the worst problem at each one is changing planes - not arriving or departing. For both of them, you will read lots of "horror stories" interspersed with counter-stories of people who had no trouble. I personally have a good story from last year: my plane into Paris was two hours late, so my planned 3 hour connection was going to be a run, and it involved changing terminals (I believe 2F to 2 E). I ran, and when I got to security, the screener told me to relax. She said I had plenty of time to sit, get a coffee, and meet a girl. Yes, she actually said that, in English. In France, I guess there's always time for romance. Now, I'd have been more interested in meeting a boy, but I appreciated her words of encouragement. I did indeed have time to get some food before I had to board the plane (alas, no romance that day). So, I'd go with whichever itinerary was cheaper. Just don't plan anything time-sensitive upon arrival (like non-refundable connections) - at either one.

I agree with Harold, you could have a good or bad experience at either. If your tickets are purchased and changing would cost you, might as well stay put. That said, my limited experience argues for Paris arrival, which has always gone well for us. The one time we landed in Heathrow, we had to wait on the tarmac at least an hour and never got a gate, only a series of buses that eventually got us to the terminal. We were flying Continental; I've been told that British Airways bigfoots the other airlines for priority when necessary. So if you're flying BA you're probably OK for Heathrow, otherwise not so sure. As for romance, I'd guess CDG is the better bet, France being France and Britain Britain! :)

I've noted that I've flown into LHR nearly a dozen times. Aways take the overnight from LAX via American, Virgin, BA or United. For me it's who has the better ticket price. ONly once were we forced to stay on the plane, sitting on the tarmac for 40 minutes. That's happen 3 times now at LAX upon returning from abroad. Passport lines have occasionally been long but moved quickly. Swear to the travel gods that I'd take LHR over LAX ANYTIME! Flown into CDG once. Confusing, less helpful staffing but doable. Don't plan your trip based on which airport. Plan it on what you wish to see first.

We flew OUT of CDG on United in 2010. The terminal (I think it was terminal 1, but not certain) had almost no amenities - one souvenir shop and two identical kiosks selling stale sandwiches. It looked like a leftover from a Jetsons cartoon! I have heard that CDG has some nice terminals but I think they are all used by Air France.......While you often hear horror stories about LHR, we had no problems at all last month - cleared immigration in, security out both within 10 minutes.

I hate CDG for connections or departures, but I've never had an issue with arriving there. I too have had few problems at LHR, but given all the current reports of immigration slow-downs, who knows what it will be like this year? I'd check and see if there is a difference in price. If there isn't any, it might make sense to start in Paris.

Also consider your departure times from each airport, and the ease of getting there at the right time in the morning.