There is no direct train between Paris's two main airports. The cheapest fast route from Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to Orly (ORY) is the RER B train into central Paris followed by Metro Line 14 straight to Orly, which takes about 70 minutes and costs roughly €14. If you are short on time or carrying luggage, a pre-booked private transfer covers the 35 km door to door in about 48 minutes in light traffic. This guide compares every realistic option by time and price, and explains how much buffer to leave if you are connecting between two separate flights.

At a glance, here is what each option costs and how long it takes in 2026:

  • RER B + Metro Line 14: about 70 minutes, around €14. Cheapest, but involves a change and a walk in central Paris.
  • RER B + Orlyval: about 75 minutes, around €15. Shorter connection, slightly higher fare.
  • Private transfer: about 48 minutes door to door, fixed price booked in advance.
  • Taxi: about 50 minutes, metered, typically €80 to €110 depending on traffic.

CDG and Orly sit on opposite sides of Paris

CDG sits in Roissy-en-France, northeast of Paris. Orly lies south of the city. The two airports are about 35 km apart on opposite sides of the capital, and no rail line runs directly between them. Every public-transport route therefore passes through Paris or its southern suburbs, which is why a short hop between the two airports realistically takes more than an hour by train.

That distance is easy to underestimate. Travelers often assume the two airports are close because they serve the same city, then build an itinerary around a connection that was never going to be quick. The figures below assume normal daytime traffic and full RER B service, so treat them as a baseline rather than a promise.

What is the cheapest way to get from CDG to Orly?

Public transport, by a wide margin. Two combinations work, and both cost roughly €13 to €15 for the whole trip as of 2026. Île-de-France has been reworking its fare structure, so confirm the live price on Paris Aéroport's official transfer page before you set off.

RER B plus Metro Line 14 (about 70 minutes)

Board the RER B at either CDG station: Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1 (for Terminals 1 and 3, reached by the free CDGVAL shuttle) or Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV (for Terminal 2). Stay on any Paris-bound train as far as Châtelet–Les Halles, then follow the signs to Metro Line 14 toward Aéroport d'Orly. Line 14 was extended to Orly in 2024, so it now runs to the terminals without a further change. The transfer at Châtelet covers about 500 metres through one of the largest stations in the city, so allow a few extra minutes with bags.

For more on the RER B itself, including ticket types, frequencies and live-traffic quirks, see our Paris airport train guide.

RER B plus Orlyval (about 75 minutes)

The alternative skips the city centre. Take the RER B south to Antony, then change to Orlyval, the automated shuttle that runs up to Orly. The connection at Antony is short, about 50 metres against the 500 at Châtelet, which makes this the easier choice with heavy luggage even though the total time is a little longer. Orlyval carries its own fare component, so the combined ticket usually costs slightly more than the Line 14 route.

Buy your tickets from the machines or counters in the station before boarding, and keep the ticket until you exit, because the RER barriers check it on the way out as well as in. A Navigo travel pass is accepted on both routes if you already hold one.

Private transfer or taxi: which should you choose?

When time, luggage or a late arrival rules out the train, you have two door-to-door choices.

A private transfer is the most predictable. You book ahead through a service such as GetTransfer.com, a driver meets you in the arrivals hall, and the price is agreed before you ride, so heavy traffic does not change what you pay. Door to door, the trip runs about 48 minutes in light conditions. This is the option most travelers pick when they are connecting on a tight schedule, arriving after the trains stop for the night, or moving as a family with several suitcases.

A taxi is available on demand but the fare is metered. CDG to Orly is not one of the Paris fixed-price airport routes, which only apply between an airport and central Paris, so the meter decides the cost. Expect somewhere around €80 to €110 depending on traffic and time of day, and a ride of roughly 50 minutes. Our Paris airport taxi guide lists a typical CDG to Orly fare of about €78 to €88. For how private-transfer booking works and what it includes, see our Paris airport transfers page.

How much time should you leave between connecting flights?

If both flights sit on a single ticket with bags checked through, the airline owns the connection and will rebook you if it breaks. Many separate-airport itineraries do not work that way. You booked two flights yourself, so a missed connection becomes your problem and your cost.

For a self-transfer, treat the airport-to-airport leg as the smallest part of the sum. Public transport alone is 70 to 75 minutes. On top of that, add time to clear arrivals and collect any checked bags at CDG, the wait for a train, and a full check-in and security cycle at Orly. A safe rule is to leave at least four to five hours between your scheduled landing at CDG and your departure from Orly. If the gap is tighter than that, a private transfer buys back the most time and removes the train's variability.

A long wait can work in your favour. Châtelet, where the Line 14 route changes, sits in the heart of Paris. Travelers with a half-day to spare sometimes break the trip in the centre and book a short walking tour or activity through GetExperience.com before continuing to Orly. If your wait is inside CDG rather than in the city, our CDG layover guide covers what to do without leaving the airport.

A common mistake: searching for the old direct airport bus

Plenty of older guides still mention "Le Bus Direct", once branded Les Cars Air France, a coach that linked CDG and Orly without a change. That line stopped running on 1 April 2020 and was never brought back, so no dedicated airport-to-airport bus exists today. If a booking site or blog offers you that route, the information is out of date. Stick to the RER B combinations, a private transfer or a taxi.

One more thing is worth checking before you leave. The RER B sometimes runs reduced service for engineering works, especially early mornings and at weekends. The official RER B status page shows live conditions, and if the line is disrupted, a private transfer is the cleanest fallback.

The pattern holds whichever way you go. Public transport is the cheapest at about €14 and a little over an hour, a private transfer is the fastest and most predictable at around 48 minutes, and a taxi sits between them on price. Match the choice to how much luggage you carry and how much room your schedule allows, and give a self-booked connection far more time than the train map suggests.