One last night in Paris--stay in Paris or CDG for convenience?

I would definitely stay in Paris to enjoy every minute there! In fact our flight leaves at 10:30am and we're staying in Paris.
Enjoy!

Whoa!

Assuming you need to be in line to check in three hours before a flight and the flight leaves at noon -- that's a nine am arrival.

Working the time line in reverse:

RER at CDG to departure gate: 20 min

RER to CDG: 35 min

Metro platform to RER platform: 10 min

Metro ride: 10 min

Hotel to metro walk: 10 min

Bite to eat/coffee: 15 min

Check out of hotel: 10 min

Wake up, wash teeth, pack, etc: 45 min

Total above: 2.5 hours. Add 30 min for waiting for trains or looking under bed for lost sock and call it three hours even.

That's feet on the floor at 6:00 for a noon flight, 4:30 am for Darcy, and 6:45 for Solo.

If you've never done it before, you're not going to have a lot of confidence in your ability to do it in the alloted time. That makes it kind of gut-wrenching and a horrible start to what's already going to be a miserable day of sitting on an airplane.

Well, Ed, I'd have to disagree with you there. We took our first ever flight out of CDG at 10:30, and had no problem making it. We caught the first RER, maybe at about 5:30 am. We'd arranged the night before for a taxi to the Denfert-Rochereau station, and all was well. But maybe he'd feel less rushed if he stayed at the airport, and just took the last train out of Paris at night.

It can be done, you just need to consider all the elements and what you're comfortable with.

Solo Steve,

Given that your flight isn't until 12:45, I'd probably consider staying in Paris for the last night. You could either use the RER or catch an early Shuttle (ask your Hotel to pre-book one the night before you'll be travelling).

I was faced with similar circumstances on a trip a few years ago and used a Shuttle, which worked well. The important point is to allow adequate time which means you'll have to get moving fairly early.

The alternative would be to stay at CDG. As I recall, there's a Hilton (or other large Hotel) right in Terminal 2.

Happy travels!

We've had many "last nights" in Paris and we always just hang out in the Notre Dame area. We walk along the river, through Ile Saint Louis, around Notre Dame and Ile de la Cite, take a boat ride, and have dinner at our favorite cafe on Ile Saint Louis. I would definitely stay in Paris on the last night. We always do, no matter how early we have to be at CDG. We take a shuttle that picks us up at our hotel. Bonne Vacances!

For a departure at 12:45, I would definitely stay in Paris. Had a similar schedule on my last trip to Paris and still had time for a quick walk around the neighborhood and a coffee in the morning in Paris.

I would also stay in Paris for a 10:30 am departure. Personally, I would not have to get up at 4am to make that flight, but the most important thing is to figure out your own schedule and allow time. CDG is probably about my least favorite airport in terms of efficiency. On last trip had four queues just in the airport. Queue to check in at machine, queue to talk to security, passport control queue, and queue at gate to go through security.

You'll have time to make the flight, but I would suggest the RER method. Any shuttle trip will be caught in rush-hour traffic on the way out to CDG....and one little accident could cause you an enormous amount of trouble.

Hi Steve, We have stayed at the Ibis CDG Aeroport/Terminal (Ibis #1404) many times prior to early morning flights back to San Francisco. It is clean, breakfast starts at 4am, and it is next to the RER station. A 24 hour shuttle takes you to any terminal. Be sure to book the Ibis #1404 as there are several other Ibis hotels in the area and they are not convenient to the airport. Have fun on your travels.

There's actually another Ibis hotel at CDG, #3299. It's about a 15 minute shuttle bus ride from the RER station, then a 5 minute walk to Terminal 3, or the aforementioned shuttle (CDGVal people mover) to Terminal 2. While it requires an extra bus ride, it can be considerably cheaper than the Ibis at the RER station. Find it here.
The same company, Accor hotels, also has a less expensive Etap hotel at the same spot. Both have ensuites and both are quiet comfortable...especially if it's just to stay the night before your flight.

I'm with the others who recommend staying in Paris. Why not stay at the same hotel you plan to use for your prior week in Paris? You can get from nearly anywhere in central Paris to CDG in around an hour by Metro and RER so you don't need to stay close to a RER B station. The main thing to be aware of is that the RER B line divides northeast of Paris. Be sure to get on a train that is going to CDG.

I would say it depends on what time you'll arrive back in Paris the day before. Last summer, our train didn't arrive in Paris until 10:30 pm, so it made sense to just take the train all the way to CDG and catch a shuttle to an airport hotel. Sure, one last romantic night in Paris would have been nice, but realistically all we would have done in any hotel was sleep, shower and eat breakfast. Being near the airport was definitely convenient.

If we'd arrived in Paris earlier, with the opportunity for a nice dinner and a stroll, then we would probably have chosen a hotel in Paris.

I'm with Maggie in that the deal breaker for me would be: When and where are you getting back to Paris the day before since getting to CDG the next morning from Paris for a 12:45 pm flight should be no problem. Unless you are return to CDG at night or late evening the day before, I would stay in Paris.

We had three children in tow when we were there last summer. 2:05 flight out of CDG. We walked out of our apartment door right by Notre Dame at 11:00 AM. It worked perfectly.

Granted, we stayed only about 200' from the RER station, so that was a snap, but still, there is no way I would have stayed in some american-styled sterile hotel by the airport when I could take a morning stoll over to see Notre Dame bathed in sunlight one more time instead.

Enjoy your trip!