Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to La Défense
La Défense is about 30 km west of CDG. The cheapest way is RER B plus RER A or RER E on one €14 airport ticket (about 55-60 min); a metered taxi takes about 45 min for roughly €60-80.
La Défense is the business district just west of Paris, a cluster of office towers around the Grande Arche. It lies outside the city limits, so the flat CDG–Paris taxi fares do not apply, and there is no direct train: every rail journey from CDG involves one change in central Paris.
How far is La Défense from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport?
La Défense is 30 km (19 miles) from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport by road, about 45 min by car outside rush hour. In a straight line it is 26 km. By public transport, RER B + RER A (change at Châtelet–Les Halles) takes about 55 min including a change and costs €14.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: RER B + RER A (change at Châtelet–Les Halles) is the one to take: €14 with a change on the way, and only about 10 minutes slower than going by car. Timetable: RER B from CDG roughly 04:50 to around midnight; evening works can bring earlier last trains.
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 | €60 | Train |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €28 | €60 | Train |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €56 | €60 | Train |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | RER B + RER A (change at Châtelet–Les Halles) | From €14, about 55 min, with a change on the way. |
| Speed | Paris taxi (metered) | 45 min and door-to-door, from €60. |
| A group of 4 | RER B + RER A (change at Châtelet–Les Halles) | Four tickets still come to about €56 — less than a car. |
| A late-night arrival | Taxi or pre-booked transfer | RER B + RER A (change at Châtelet–Les Halles) stops overnight — timetable: RER B from CDG roughly 04:50 to around midnight; evening works can bring earlier last trains. |
By transport mode
Train
RER B to Châtelet–Les Halles, then RER A westbound to La Défense–Grande Arche. One Paris Région–Aéroport ticket (€14) covers the whole journey including the change.
Where to catch it: RER station at CDG Terminal 2 (between 2C/2E and 2D/2F) or CDG 1 (reached by the CDGVAL shuttle).
Times: RER B from CDG roughly 04:50 to around midnight; evening works can bring earlier last trains
Best for budget travellers near a stationTrain
Avoids the Châtelet interchange: RER B to Gare du Nord, connect underground to Magenta, then RER E west to La Défense–Grande Arche (extended there in 2024). Same €14 ticket.
Where to catch it: RER station at CDG Terminal 2 or CDG 1.
Times: RER B from CDG roughly 04:50 to around midnight
Best for budget travellers near a stationTaxi
Metered: the 2026 flat fares (€56 Right Bank, €65 Left Bank) cover Paris only, not La Défense. Expect roughly €60-80 depending on traffic.
Where to catch it: Official taxi rank outside each terminal's arrivals level.
Times: 24 hours
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
Fixed price for a standard sedan, 1-3 passengers, agreed before you travel.
Where to catch it: Driver meets you in the arrivals hall.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Per day. Parking at La Défense is expensive.
Where to catch it: Airport rental desks.
Best for travellers who want to exploreLa Défense & 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 La Défense
You have a nine o'clock on the thirty-something floor of one of the towers, and a suitcase that still smells of the aircraft cabin. La Défense sits about 30 km west of Charles de Gaulle — Europe's largest purpose-built business district, a wall of glass gathered around the Grande Arche, and the plain fact is that getting there is less about romance than about arriving unrumpled and on time. The district is technically outside Paris proper, which quietly changes the maths on more than one of your options, so it pays to decide before you clear the arrivals hall rather than while a driver is loading your bag.
Reading the Rails to the Grande Arche
The rail route is the one that respects both your schedule and your expenses policy. From the airport RER stations you board the RER B heading into the city, ride it as far as Châtelet, then change onto the RER A westbound and stay on it to La Défense–Grande Arche, which lets you out directly beneath the towers. If you would rather avoid Châtelet, change at Gare du Nord to the RER E at Magenta instead; it has run to La Défense since 2024. Plan for roughly 55 minutes door-to-platform, with trains every 10 to 20 minutes or so, which is frequent enough that you needn't memorise a timetable.
The commercial appeal is blunt: a single €14 Paris Région–Aéroport ticket is valid to any station in the region, so the whole journey (the change at Châtelet included) costs the same as a sandwich and a coffee back home. There is no separate fare to buy for the second leg. The one caveat worth respecting is the interchange itself: Châtelet is a cathedral of corridors, and dragging cabin luggage through it in a rush is nobody's idea of a productive morning. If you travel light and your meeting is not on a knife-edge, the RER is comfortably the smartest use of your money.
When the Meter Beats the Timetable
Some mornings you simply want a door and a seat and no stairs. In that case the official taxi rank outside each terminal is your friend — Parisian cabs run 24/7 on demand, and the ride to La Défense takes around 45 minutes when the ring road behaves. Here, though, is the detail that catches out even seasoned travellers: because La Défense lies outside the city limits, the flat airport-to-Paris fare does not apply. Your fare runs on the meter, and you should expect it to land somewhere between €60 and €80 depending on traffic and time of day.
That is a fair price for the convenience, but insist on the metered, official rank and ignore anyone offering you a lift in the concourse. A taxi earns its keep when you are jet-lagged, over-luggaged, or arriving at an hour when hauling bags between two RER lines feels like a punishment.
The Case for a Pre-Booked Car
If the trip is being billed to a client and first impressions count, a pre-booked private transfer is the quietly professional choice. Operators such as Welcome Pickups and Blacklane run the same 45-minute journey, but with a fixed price agreed in advance, around €65 to €90, and the same figure whether the ring road is clear or gridlocked, and a driver who meets you in arrivals. It is, as you would expect, popular with business travellers for exactly that reason.
What you are buying over a taxi is not really speed; it is certainty. You know the number before you fly, there is no meter to watch, and after a red-eye you appreciate not having to negotiate anything at all. Book it the same way you book the flight — before you leave, and the cost sits neatly on an expense line with no surprises.
Driving Yourself, and When Not To
Self-drive is the outlier here. The desks in arrivals — Hertz, Avis, Sixt and the rest — will hand you a car from the airport rental centre for something like €45 to €90 per day. That can make sense if La Défense is merely your first stop before a week of regional site visits. As a pure airport transfer, though, it is false economy: you inherit motorway tolls, the notorious tangle of ramps around the district, and above all the problem of parking a hire car among some of the priciest real estate in France. Rent one if your itinerary demands wheels; otherwise let the RER or a driver carry the burden while you review your slides.
CDG to La Défense — FAQ
How far is La Défense from Charles de Gaulle Airport?
What is the cheapest way from CDG to La Défense?
Is there a direct train from CDG to La Défense?
How much is a taxi from CDG to La Défense?
What is the fastest way to get there?
When is the last RER B from CDG?
How do I get to La Défense if I land late at night?
Sources
Fares and times on this page were last held against their official sources on 21 October 2026. Operators change prices without notice — if you spot a difference, the operator’s own page is the authority. How we check fares.
- CDG Facile: RER B (fare €14, frequency) · checked 2026-10-21
- Bouger-Voyager: CDG taxi prices 2026 (flat fares, La Défense on meter) · checked 2026-10-21
- Railway Journal: RER E extended to Nanterre via La Défense · checked 2026-10-21
- TheBitJoy: CDG to Paris 2026 (RER B first/last trains) · checked 2026-10-21
- Montransport: La Défense–CDG taxi quotes · checked 2026-10-21
Other destinations from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
