Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Gare de Lyon
CDG to Gare de Lyon is about 27 km; take the RER B and change onto the RER A or metro M14, or a €56 fixed-fare taxi.
Gare de Lyon is Paris's gateway to the south of France and the TGV network, a busy Right-Bank rail terminus. From CDG it connects via the RER B with a change, or a fixed-fare taxi.
How far is Gare de Lyon from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport?
Gare de Lyon is 27 km (17 miles) from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport by road, about 45 min by car outside rush hour. In a straight line it is 22 km. By public transport, RER B + RER A / metro M14 takes about 45 min including a change and costs €14.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: RER B + RER A / metro M14 is the one to take: €14 with a change on the way, and about as quick as going by car.
What it costs for your group
The train is charged per person, while a taxi is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Train (per person) | Taxi (per car) | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €14 | €56 | Train |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €28 | €56 | Train |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €56 | €56 | Train |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | RER B + RER A / metro M14 | From €14, about 45 min, with a change on the way. |
| Speed | RER B + RER A / metro M14 | 45 min, from €14. |
| A group of 4 | RER B + RER A / metro M14 | Four tickets still come to about €56 — less than a car. |
| A late-night arrival | Taxi or pre-booked transfer | RER B + RER A / metro M14 does not run all night; check the last departure before you land. |
By transport mode
Train
RER B to Châtelet, then RER A or metro M14 one stop to Gare de Lyon; the €14 airport ticket covers it.
Where to catch it: Airport RER stations.
Best for budget travellers near a stationTaxi
Fixed Right-Bank fare of €56 — good for luggage before an onward TGV.
Where to catch it: Official taxi rank at each terminal.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
Fixed price, door-to-door.
Where to catch it: Driver meets you in arrivals.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Per day.
Where to catch it: Airport rental centre.
Best for travellers who want to exploreGare de Lyon & Paris in photos
Buying tickets in Paris
The Paris Région–Aéroport ticket for the RER B costs €14 and is valid between the airport and any station in Île-de-France, including the onward metro or RER connection (there are no fare zones on single tickets since the 2025 fare reform). Buy it at station machines, the Île-de-France Mobilités app, or load it on a Navigo Easy card. Keep the ticket to open the exit barriers. Note that Roissybus was discontinued on 1 March 2026; the replacement express bus 9517 links the airport with Saint-Denis-Pleyel and Argenteuil, so there is no longer a direct express bus to central Paris.
Taxi scams & safety in Paris
Official taxis charge a fixed €56 to the Right Bank or €65 to the Left Bank, flat day and night, from the signed rank outside arrivals. The persistent touts inside the terminal, often flashing homemade "official" badges, quote €120 to €200 for the same trip; walk past them. Uber, Bolt and FreeNow are all legal here, but you must collect them at the designated ride-hailing pickup points, not at the taxi rank.
Step-free access in Paris
Charles de Gaulle itself is well equipped; the variable is which rail service you continue on.
- CDGVAL, the free automatic shuttle between terminals and the CDG2 TGV/RER station, is fully step-free: platform screen doors, lifts to every platform level and level boarding onto the trains.
- TGV from the Terminal 2 station is the easiest onward option — a single lift ride down from the terminal, then one train with no change.
- RER B stations run by RATP are equipped with lifts to the platforms, but accessibility across the line is not uniform, and the interchange at Châtelet–Les Halles involves long passages. If you are using a wheelchair or travelling with a lot of luggage, the direct TGV or a road transfer will be considerably less work.
Assistance at the airport is provided through the PRM service and should be requested with your airline in advance.
Getting from CDG to Gare de Lyon
There is a particular anxiety that comes with a TGV ticket in your pocket and a runway still under your feet. Your train south — Lyon, Avignon, Marseille, the Mediterranean glinting somewhere at the far end of the line — leaves Gare de Lyon at a fixed minute, and it will not wait for you. So the journey from Charles de Gaulle to that grand Right-Bank terminus is not really about sightseeing. It is about arriving with your nerves intact, your cases upright, and enough margin to find your platform without breaking into a run. The distance is only about 27 km and the trip runs roughly 45 minutes, but between the airport and the departures board sits the whole of the Paris transport system, and it rewards a little forethought.
Reading the clock before you choose
Everything here bends around one number: the minute your TGV pulls away. If your connection is generous — two hours or more. You can afford to be economical and take the train. If it is tight, or if you have simply flown too far to trust the metro with your onward booking, pay for certainty and take a taxi or a pre-arranged car. Whatever you decide, add a buffer. Gare de Lyon is a large, layered station with mainline platforms, two RER levels and a famously beautiful upstairs restaurant to distract you; finding your voie and settling your luggage takes longer than the map suggests. Treat the 45-minute figure as travel time only, not as your whole safety margin.
The frugal route: RER B, then one stop across the river
The cheapest way in is also the most Parisian, and it involves a change. You board the RER B at one of the airport RER stations and ride it south into the city, alighting at Châtelet — the vast interchange at the heart of Paris. From there it is just one stop onward: change to the RER A or the driverless metro line 14, both of which drop you straight at Gare de Lyon. The single €14 airport ticket covers the entire chain, change included, so there is no fumbling for a second fare. Trains run frequently, roughly every 10 to 20 minutes, which means a missed connection is rarely a disaster.
The drawback, for anyone hauling a large suitcase, is Châtelet itself. It is a maze of corridors, stairs and long pedestrian tunnels, and at busy hours the crowds are dense. If you are travelling light and confident, it is a fine, cheap, dependable option. If you are wrestling two heavy cases and a jet-lagged companion, weigh that transfer honestly before you commit — a bargain fare loses some of its shine halfway up a stairwell.
When the luggage decides for you
Sometimes the sensible answer is simply to sit still and be driven. Paris runs an official fixed-fare taxi from CDG to the Right Bank at a flat €56, and Gare de Lyon sits squarely in that zone. The number is set before you leave the rank, so there is no meter to watch and no route to second-guess in traffic — a real comfort when your mind is on a train you cannot afford to miss. You will find the official ranks clearly marked outside each terminal; join those queues rather than accepting any offer from a tout inside the hall. For a traveller with an onward TGV and more baggage than arms, a single door-to-kerb ride at €56 is often money well spent.
If you would rather not queue at all, a pre-booked private transfer through the likes of Welcome Pickups or Blacklane takes the same door-to-door approach for roughly €60 to €80. The driver meets you inside arrivals, so there is no rank to find and no fare to negotiate — you walk out, you get in, you go. It costs a little more than the standard taxi, but for a nervous connection it buys the reassurance of someone tracking your flight and waiting however late it lands.
The rarer case for your own wheels
Hiring a car makes little sense purely to reach Gare de Lyon. You would be paying to drive into central Paris only to abandon the vehicle at a station. But if your real plan is to skip the train and drive south yourself, the airport rental centre has the usual desks (Hertz, Avis, Sixt) with rates from around €45 to €90 per day depending on the model and season. For most rail travellers, though, this is the exception, not the rule: the whole point of Gare de Lyon is the train waiting on the far side of it. Get there with time to spare, and let the TGV do the driving.
CDG to Gare de Lyon — FAQ
How far is Gare de Lyon from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport?
How much is a transfer from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Gare de Lyon?
What's the cheapest way from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Gare de Lyon?
How much is a taxi from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Gare de Lyon?
Can I get to Gare de Lyon by public transport late at night?
Other destinations from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
