CDG Airport Terminal 2 to Paris

Arrival at CDG T2 Get to Train Station Station Photos Money, Left Luggage
Train Tickets RER B Trains TGV Trains Timetable / Schedule
CDG Airport Terminal 2 Train Station Atrium

CDG Airport Terminal 2 Train Station Atrium

This is a step-by-step photo guide of how to take the RER B train from CDG Airport Terminal 2 to Paris city centre. From the CDG arrivals area to central Paris, I’ll guide you step-by-step on how to make this transfer. If you’re arriving at Terminal 1, see the CDG Terminal 1 to Paris photo guide.

For RER B train details such as scheduled hours of operation (04:50 – 23:50), RER B ticket prices (11.80€ adult / 8€ kids), maps and other details see the Overview CDG to Paris by Train article.

RER B Service Disruption

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Safety/Security: Thieves work on this train!

Arrival at CDG

Upon arrival at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 2 the first thing that will happen after exiting the plane is immigration/passport control, which can be very quick depending on where you are sitting on the plane.  If you’re seated near the front of the plane and are the first to exit, you’ll be the first to go through immigration screening by French national police.  You could be past immigration within 5 minutes (or 40 if you’re the last to exit a large plane).

Next you’ll collect your baggage at the carousels.  Estimate a good 30 minutes for this.  Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of expediency, perhaps even a little slow.

Customs control for baggage is next, which is separate from passport control and handled by customs officers near the exit of the baggage collection area.  In general the customs officers spot check passengers and only stop those who (rarely) rouse their curiosity.  After this you’ll exit into an unsecured area of Charles de Gaulle Airport free to make your way to Paris or other cities via train.

If you happen to be arriving via Terminal 2G, the new Schengen (Euro Borderless Zone) terminal, you’ll need to take a shuttle bus to Terminal 2E/F in order to catch the RER train.  The shuttle buses, circulating every 4-5 minutes, can be found just outside the arrivals area of 2G.  [Thanks to Lynne P. for this updated information].
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How to Get to the Train Station at CDG Terminal 2

Immediately upon exiting the baggage collection area doors of any CDG Terminal 2 sub-terminal (T2A through T2G), you’ll see the sign below providing directions to CDG Ground Transportation options.

I’ve circled in red on the right side Gare SNCF / Railway Station and also Paris par Train / Paris by Train.  Follow these two signs to get to the trains from CDG Airport Terminal 2 to Paris.

CDG Airport Terminal 2 Arrivals Area Sign

CDG Airport Terminal 2 Arrivals Area Sign

The CDG Terminal 2 arrivals area hall will look like this:

Notice the blue overhead signs? Those will point to Gare SNCF / Railway Station, Paris par Train / Paris by Train. Follow these signs to make your way to the train station located right within Terminal 2.

Here are some close-up photos of signs pointing to the CDG Terminal 2 train station:

At the end of each of the terminal buildings (there are seven sub-terminals at Terminal 2: terminals 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G) will be a large sign noting how long it will take to reach other terminals and the train station. In this photo, we see that the train station at Terminal 2 is 3 to 5 minutes walk from Terminal 2F.

Here is a map of Charles de Gaulle Airport showing the layout of CDG Terminal 2. Also visible are Terminal 3, Terminal 1 (which has its own train station) and CDGVAL shuttle train between CDG’s 3 terminals and parking structures.

Map CDG Airport

(Courtesy of ADP)

The moving sidewalks between Terminal 2’s sub-terminals definitely speed up walking times:

CDG Moving Sidewalks

CDG Moving Sidewalks

Closer to the train station area you’ll find more signs directing you down to the station.

And signs very close to the CDG Terminal 2 train station are very large and visible. The sign pictured below reads vers Paris / to Paris and Grandes lignes / Main line – TGV trains.

CDG Terminal 2 Airport train station sign - Paris & Grandes Lignes (TGV)

CDG Terminal 2 Airport train station sign – Paris & Grandes Ligns (TGV)

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Train Station Photos

When you’ve arrived at CDG Terminal 2 train station, you’ll be on Level 4 of an atrium.  In the photo below you can see:

  • Departures information board in the center with vertical curving display (
  • CDG information booth the far end, mostly obscured behind the arrivals/departures display board
  • CDG Airport Baggage Storage services (orange color, run by Baggages du Monde) on the left of information booth
  • Escalators down to Paris city trains (RER B) and Grandes Lignes trains (TGV intercity trains)
CDG Airport Terminal 2 Train Station Atrium

CDG Airport Terminal 2 Train Station Atrium

One floor down from CDG T2 arrivals level is the large departures & arrivals board showing all flights at CDG Terminal 2. If you go another level down, you’ll arrive at the CDG T2 RER train station.

On the left of the photo below you can see signs down towards “trains to Paris” and “Grandes Lignes“. You can access the T2 train station from either side of the departures/arrivals board, both by stairs and escalators. There are elevators for CDG Terminal 2 train station at opposite ends of the building. Standing in front of this big board, looking left and right you’ll see elevators at both far ends.

CDG T2 RER train station departures board & signs to trains

CDG T2 RER train station departures board & signs to trains

The older wide angle photo below gives you an overview of CDG Terminal 2 RER B train station. Visible in the below photo of CDG T2 RER train station:

  • Metro & RER Train Ticket vending machines
  • TGV Train ticket vending machines
  • Paris & Region Ticket Office
  • TGV (Grandes Lignes) Ticket Office
  • Entrances to train platforms
  • Video displays showing RER train departure times & destinations
  • Video displays showing TGV train departure times & destinations
CDG Terminal 2 Train Station Ticket Offices Atrium

CDG Terminal 2 Train Station Ticket Offices Atrium

In the photo above you can see:

  • escalators down to CDG Train ticket offices level
  • seating / waiting area for Grandes Lignes / TGV trains departing CDG Airport train station on left side
  • train ticket vending machines, green, yellow and blue (although the location & colors have changed as of 2020, see next photo below for updated machine photos)
    • Green train ticket machines (now white & blue): Paris and suburbs city trains (tickets for Paris RER, Paris Metro, Transilien)
    • Yellow train ticket machines (now white & black): TGV / SNCF and other highspeed/normal speed intercity trains (Thalys, Lyria, Eurostar, ICE, Intercities, Corail, etc.)
    • Blue train ticket machines (now white & blue): same as green machines – RER B tickets, Paris Metro, Versailles, Disneyland, etc.
    • Red machines are food vending machines for snacks and hot & cold drinks
  • Overhead departures video screen showing next RER B trains departing to Paris (there will be other screens with green background for TGV intercity trains)
  • Paris RER train ticket office at extreme right, selling Paris Metro / RER tickets, Navigo Day pass, Navigo Decouverte, Navigo Easy, Paris Visite

This photo below is more recent. RER Metro train ticket machine are now white and blue color. Their location is now lined up against the escalators, on both sides.

CDG T2 RER train station ticket machines area

CDG T2 RER train station ticket machines area


If you look closely you’ll notice a change machine in the middle between the ticket vending machines. When working, you can exchange Euro notes for coins from this machine for use with the train ticket vending machines. Train ticket machines rarely take cash notes & mostly only coins & credit cards. On the arrivals level, two floors above, is a HSBC bank & ATM from which you can withdraw Euro cash notes or exchange money/currency.

More information on train ticket machines below.

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Money, Information, Left Luggage – at CDG Terminal 2

A full service HSBC bank is available at CDG T2 train station (barely visible on right side of below photo).  You may wish to withdraw some Euro cash notes from the HSBC bank machine or exchange money from the clerk.  If you have non-smart-chip/PIN-protected credit cards, they generally won’t work with the automated ticket machines.  Thus you’ll need Euro cash to buy your tickets from the ticket office.  The automated train ticket vending machines don’t take Euro cash notes, only coins. There is now a change machine in the CDG Airport train station, accepting 10 & 20 euro notes and producing one/two euro coins. The bill change machine is in the middle of the train ticket machines.

CDG T2 - baggage storage, info booth, bank

CDG T2 – baggage storage, info booth, bank

Closer photo of HSBC bank at CDG Terminal 2 train station.

CDG T2 Train Station Bank

CDG T2 Train Station Bank

CDG Airport left luggage / bag storage services handled by Baggages du Monde.  On level 4 (same level at which you walked here to arrive). Contrary to what some information people are finding on other websites, left luggage services at CDG are open/running/in operation.  They are not closed due to security threats.

CDG T2 Bag Storage

CDG T2 Bag Storage

Another photo of the left luggage / baggage store entrance with opening hours of 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Sunday, 7 days a week. The baggage storage store is operated by Baggages du Monde, not CDG airport authority.

Entrance to bag / luggage storage at CDG Terminal 2 with opening hours

Entrance to bag / luggage storage at CDG Terminal 2 with opening hours

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Paris Metro/RER Train Tickets at CDG T2

CDG Terminal 2 train station has two train ticket offices. One ticket office for TGV trains and another for Paris RER trains and Metro tickets, Navigo passes and any fare related to Paris area.

Paris Metro / RER tickets and Navigo passes for traveling within Paris and the Ile-de-France area (Disneyland Paris, Versailles, etc.) has a sign outside the ticket office reading Billets Paris et Ile-de-France visible in the photo below.

Paris RER train ticket office CDG Terminal 2 airport train station

Paris RER train ticket & Navigo pass office CDG Terminal 2 airport train station

This CDG Terminal 2 RER B train station ticket office is open daily from 6 a.m. till 12 a.m. (midnight) every day.

Paris Metro RER Train Ticket Vending Machines

Throughout CDG Terminal 2 train station are boxy white & blue ticket vending machines labeled as Tickets Navigo Paris et Ile de France – train, RER, bus, tramway, metro.

CDG Train Ticket Machine - white

CDG Train Ticket Machine – white

To buy single RER B train tickets to Paris at train ticket vending machines you can pay using: credit cards or Euro coins (not cash notes). Credit cards with a smart chip + PIN will most likely work, but if you experience troubles with declined transactions, try again at the staffed ticket office pictured above. If you’re looking to use Euro coins at the train ticket vending machine to buy RER train tickets, there’s a change machine accepting 10€ and 20€ notes available on-site to produce 1 and 2 euro coins.

Although these ticket machines read: Tickets et Navigo, you cannot buy the Pass Navigo from these automatic train ticket machines.  You can recharge your Navigo using these ticket machines. To buy a new Navigo card, you must visit the Paris Ile-de-France ticket office to purchase the Navigo Pass due to the plastic physical card.  (This ticket office is visible in the photo above with sign reading “Billets Paris et Ile-de-France”.)  The Paris Visite multi-day train ticket you can buy from these ticket machines.

Bear in mind that these machines will most likely not work with credit cards without chip+PIN, although this is becoming pretty uncommon circa 2019 / 2020. Also, be sure to not mix up the Paris Metro RER ticket vending machines for the TGV ticket vending machines (shown below).
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TGV Train Tickets

To buy or collect TGV Train tickets at CDG Airport visit the Grandes Lignes train ticket office on the opposite side of the atrium, across from the Paris et Ile-de-France ticket office. The Grandes Lignes ticket office deals exclusively with TGV train tickets and also other brands of intercity trains (Thalys, Eurostar, ICE, etc.). This includes sale, collection, refunds and changes of train tickets going between cities in France and to other European countries. Trains traveling to other cities within France (or other countries such as Belgium, Germany, England), are known as the Grandes Lignes trains. Popular France destinations include trains to Disneyland Paris, Lyon, Avignon, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux, etc.

TGV Ticket Office at CDG Terminal 2 train station

TGV Ticket Office at CDG Terminal 2 train station

A closer photo of the entrance to the CDG Terminal 2 TGV ticket office:

Entrance of TGV Ticket Office at CDG Terminal 2 train station

Entrance of TGV Ticket Office at CDG Terminal 2 train station

Buying or collecting TGV train tickets can be done from TGV ticket vending machines such as the one pictured below:

TGV train ticket machine

TGV train ticket machine

Notice the sign atop the machine reads: Billets Grandes Lignes

RER B Paris Train Departures

Overhead displays for RER trains throughout CDG Airport train station have a blue background color. These RER train displays show:

  • departure time of upcoming RER trains
  • final destination of the train:
    • Massy Palaiseau*
    • St-Remy-les-Chevreuse*
    • (rarely) Gare du Nord
  • lane or platform (voie) the RER train to Paris will depart from

*Both Massy Palaiseau & St-Remy-les-Chevreuse RER trains will stop at Gare du Nord as well as all the other central Paris stops. (i.e. St Michel Notre Dame, Luxembourg, Port Royal, Denfert Rochereau, Cite Universitaire.) The only time CDG Airport RER trains will terminate at Gare du Nord is during strike action or rail line works. So normally you will not see Gare du Nord listed as the destination/terminus.

CDG T2 RER train station train departure displays

CDG T2 RER train station train departure displays

Another thing to note about the two different final destinations of RER trains: Massy Palaiseau trains will be express RER trains making no stops in between CDG & Paris Gare du Nord. See the “RER B Express Trains” section of Paris RER B Timetable page for more information on CDG Airport express trains.

Paris Train (RER B) Entrance & Gates

After buying your train tickets or passes it’s time to pass through ticket gates and descend onto the train platforms using escalators or stairs.

Be sure to follow signs for “vers Paris” & RER B when looking for the train platform entrance and not “Grandes Lignes“. One side of the CDG T2 train station is for TGV high speed intercity trains (Grandes Lignes). The opposite side is for RER B trains to Paris.

CDG Terminal 2 train station signs for RER Paris trains and TGV Grandes Lignes

CDG Terminal 2 train station signs for RER Paris trains and TGV Grandes Lignes

The Paris RER train platforms are marked as “Voie” (“platform or lane”) 11 and 12 and also show “RER B Paris par Train“, the Regional Express Network trains that operate between Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and Paris city centre.

CDG T2 RER B Paris Train Entrance Area

CDG T2 RER B Paris Train Entrance Area

 

CDG T2 RER B Paris Train Entrance Doors

CDG T2 RER B Paris Train Entrance Doors

Entrance and gates to RER B Paris train platforms at CDG T2 train station:

CDG T2 airport train station gates to RER B train platform

CDG T2 airport train station gates to RER B train platform

CDG T2 RER B Train Platforms

This is a photo overlooking Paris bound train platforms 11 and 12 at CDG Terminal 2 Station.

CDG T2 RER train station platform

CDG T2 RER train station platform

On the platform itself you’ll see signs noting that all trains are going to Paris (tous les trains desservent Paris). Since Aeroport Charles de Gaulle is the northern terminus or end-of-line station for the RER B train line all trains must be going south towards Paris.

CDG T2 RER Train platform signs

CDG T2 RER Train platform signs

A closeup of the overhead displays on CDG T2 RER train platform, showing upcoming train destinations, and all stops the next RER train will make from CDG to Paris.

CDG T2 RER train station platform displays

CDG T2 RER train station platform displays

You might notice the above Massy Palaiseau express RER train CDG to Paris only stops at CDG 1 train station (serving CDG T1/T3), then the next station will be Gare du Nord, skipping all the stations in between.

Note that although the platform sign here reads Aeroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV, this platform is not the TGV train platform, it’s simply the name of this station as a whole.


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Intercity (TGV) Train Platform

The CDG Airport TGV train platform entrance is located immediately left of the Paris Train platforms through a door marked “Porte S” leading to voie (lanes) 3 to 6.  The video screen overhead shows destinations of TGV Trains leaving CDG, train departure time and from which lane (voie).

CDG T2 TGV Train Platform Entrance

CDG T2 TGV Train Platform Entrance

If you’re taking a TGV train to another city besides Paris, the train platform area should look like the following:

If you’re taking the RER B to Paris, remember to keep your train ticket with you at all times throughout the journey.  You may be asked by a ticket controller to show a valid fare or otherwise pay a penalty fare of 35€. The tickets are also required to exit the arrival station in Paris as there will be turnstiles protecting the exits, just as they protect entrances.

Finally, your RER train ticket is also good for connections onto the Paris Metro and other RER train lines once you’ve arrived in Paris given that:

  • your connections are made within 90 minutes (counting from ticket validation time at CDG Train station turnstiles/gates)
  • you don’t leave the confines of Metro/RER stations after arriving in Paris
  • you aren’t transferring onto buses or trams –  your RER train ticket isn’t valid for them. You must purchase a new Metro/Bus/Tram ticket to transfer onto buses & trams.

The first Paris city centre station will be Gare du Nord, requiring about 30 minutes for the voyage from Airport CDG Terminal 2.  Paris stations along the RER B line after Gare du Nord will be Chatelet Les Halles, St. Michel-Notre Dame, Luxembourg, Port Royal, Denfert Rochereau and Cité Universitaire.
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Schedules

For RER B train timetables leaving CDG Terminal 2 towards Paris please see the Paris RER B First / Last Trains & Timetable page. As the timetable/schedules are a bit complex to read at first glance, here’s some guidance & instructions on how to read Paris RER Timetables.

Finally here’s a video detailing the Facts & Figures about the RER B train line in Paris.
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Hi my name is Ben and I’m the creator & author of Parisbytrain.com. I want to empower you with the knowledge & confidence to travel Paris like a local through personally researched, in-depth articles like CDG to Paris by train and the Paris Metro. I moved to Paris in 2006 and started Parisbytrain.com in 2008 to share what I’ve learned about the vast & comprehensive Paris train network. Have Paris train questions? Ask them here. Have a great visit to Paris!
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CDG Airport Terminal 2 to Paris was last modified: February 6th, 2024 by Ben

5 thoughts on “CDG Airport Terminal 2 to Paris

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  5. Susan Graham

    This is a great site, answered several of my questions. Love the picture format.

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