CDG airport

Hi, Karen! Don't plan on having any time for shopping or restaurants during this time. CDG can be cumbersome to get through! Google paris.com My suggestion is to get to the terminal/gate for your connecting flight and if you have time and anything's open, go for it!

Karen, We arrived at 6 a.m. and had a train at 10 a.m. last summer. Everything was open. We had plenty of time to sit around on benches, read, and people watch after eating breakfast. But we didn't have to go through a security line, so as stated above you should get to your departure terminal first and then gauge how much time you have.

Thanks! We have only had 1 connecting flight in Europe before (usually have direct) and that was in Amsterdam on the way to Berlin. We had 2 hours and had to quickly find our way through the airport and go through customs and security again. I think we ended up with 30 minutes to spare but it wore me out (we'll I was 5 months pregnant at the time too). If we are flying Delta to Paris and then it says it is an Air France flight the rest of the way then will we have to go through customs or security? As of right now our tickets say both flights are in the 2E terminal. I keep reading all of these horror stories about getting to connecting flights at CDG, including this one: "The problem arises for people CHANGING PLANES at CDG. You MUST take airport transportation because otherwise you will need to go through
security again. Anyway, you do NOT have a choice..." Can anyone explain this? We will be traveling with our daughter who will be 21 months and in a stroller. I'm trying to plan everything out or at least have an idea on what to expect so I can try and make it a little easier for us.

Karen, according to this website there is, among others, a restaurant called "Paul" in Terminal 2E serving breakfast from 6 am. It's all in French but understandable. It looks like it's accessible from both areas, once you have gone through customs but also if you didn't. Could be a "fast food" place.
http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/fr-FR/Passagers/boutiques-services/Se-Restaurer/restaurant-terminal-2e-paris-charles-de-gaulle.htm

Thanks Anna! I'll take a look at the website and see if any of my high school French comes back to me :) We will definitely see if we can find it after finding our connecting flight. My husband always hates the breakfast that Delta serves.

Aeroportsdeparis is bound to have an English version. Look for flag icons. The chance of any enterprise having access from both the public and secure sides is nil since that would be a hole through customs/immigration. This type of confusion ic common when posting from something dug up off the Internet rather than using personal experience as suggested in the guidelines.

http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-GB/Passagers/Home/ is bulging with information. Search around and you can find blow-up maps of the terminal buildings and their services. Print out the relevant diagrams to carry as your security blanket. You should have enough time to locate an ATM to withdraw the euros you will need for Germany. Terminal 2 is a complex of buildings. Unfortunately the site's guide for changing planes, supposedly interactive, is pretty much useless. However, Delta and Air France tightly co-ordinate their operations, making life a lot easier. When you disembark, check the departure screens for your next flight's gate in case of last-minute changes.
Your time for making the change is pretty comfortable so take it easy, and don't get distracted by shopping, at least not until you find your departure gate. You should be fine.

"The problem arises for people CHANGING PLANES at CDG. You MUST take airport transportation because otherwise you will need to go through
security again. Anyway, you do NOT have a choice..." After my arrival on Delta last week, I can explain this. There is a part of 2E that is connected to the terminal by a tram. You must first take the tram to get back to the terminal. Then, you must carefully follow the signs and make sure you get in the immigration/passport control line for connecting flights (and there are different lines depending on what departing terminal). If you don't, you will be forced to exit and could end up like the couple we saw fighting loudly because they were probably not going to make their connecting flight. They had no choice but to go to baggage claim and then get in the security line as if they'd just arrived at CDG. And those security lines can be LONG! I've never had it take that long to get from an arrival gate to baggage claim before. We were probably the farthest gate from the tram, and there was only one official processing passports for the "exit/baggage claim" line. Add in long walks, a wait for the tram and correct stop, and it felt eternal to my tired children. I hope you will have a stroller for your daughter. After this experience, I would never recommend that anyone book a connecting flight in Paris with less than two hours layover. And don't count on airline personnel being around to assist you. There were tons of confused passengers, and we didn't see a single Delta person once we left the gate. That said, I'd concur with everyone else about finding your gate first and then search out food and shopping. At that time of the morning there should be plenty open, and with a 4 hour layover, you should have time to enjoy breakfast.

Thanks everyone! We will most definitely have our daughter in a stroller and always find our gates before stopping for anything, even on our departing flights from Atlanta. I purposely choose this flight with the longer connecting time so we wouldn't have to rush but I will print terminal maps and these tips out before we fly to help if needed. Thanks again!

Paul is a coffee, cake and sandwich chain that can be found throughout France and now also in parts of Britain. The sandwiches are quite nice but don't expect anything more.