Paris CDG Airport

I had a connecting flight intra Terminal 2E from Paris to San Francisco and it went pretty well. The signs were plentiful and more than helpful and the staff spoke understandable English. I used a shuttle to move from Gate K to Gate L in less than 10 minutes and had a lot of remaining time before my flight to the US.

Awful airport! RER B from central Paris got off at stop and wondered where the heck we were. Finally got out of the train stop - had to use our tickets to get back out - and onto another train to Terminal 1. By the way Terminal 3 is between Terminals 1 and 2. Go figure. Got to Icelandair ticket counter in Hall 2 3.5 hours before our flight to find 100+ people already waiting to check in but no agents in sight. After waiting in line (with empty stomachs) for at least 2 hours we got checked in and luggage sent off. We weren't given any instruction on where to go next but when asked the agent said it was just around the wall. That entryway was closed so we walked to the next and went up the very weird escalator tube. Getting through security was no problem but much to our dismay there was hardly any food available on the other side. We had to settle for some horrible over- priced sandwiches. Nowhere to sit except on the floor since there aren't enough seats. Take out the stupid Playstation 3 machines and put in more seats! So much for skipping breakfast thinking we would have plenty of time to sit down to eat at the airport.

My trip began from Melbourne (Australia) via Singapore. After the experience in both airports especially Changi I was shocked when I first walked off the plane and entered terminal 1. My first expectations of Paris was very disappointing. So old looking some parts smelt of the toilet. Before walking through to customs the amount of people who came off the A380 walking around the terminal made it seem quite squashed. Signage in terminal 1 is poor and whatever you do do not catch the train with your luggage during peak times. Terminal 2 which was less stressful.

As a Frenchman sadly I can only 100% agree with the comment of another Frenchman. My specific complaint is about the rude attitude of the security staff at Terminal 1 (gate 30-34 May 9). To cut a long story short one of the security staff talked back to me in a way that is by any standards unacceptable. I complained to the "manager" on the spot I was told that this is the not the 1st time this lady has created similar problems and that he would talk to her about it - most likely this would have no effect. I also complained to the airlines manager on the spot who told me he hears similar comments regularly. Appalling.

As a Frenchman I am able to confirm most negative impressions. CDG definitely has the worst airport design worldwide (even JFK looks good in comparison) it takes forever to reach any of the terminals as these are spaced miles away from each other. Add to this the terrible signage: I use CDG quite often I am a native french-speaker and even I get lost easily I can't imagine what it must be like for foreign travelers. Granted some restrooms have been refurbished and are now nice. Yet this airport's dining facilities are also the worst ones I have experienced (and I have been to many many other airports). I mean how come Istanbul Riga Athens or Boston Airports all have much better ones when Paris is supposed to be the capital of fine dining? Let's also not forget the ludicrous prices (I paid 3.50 euros or $4.80 for a 50cl bottle of water) and overall lack of service. The rail transit (RER) to get to Paris? Derelict sometimes broken down (this has happened 3 times to me already) smelly dirty. If going to Paris avoid CDG whenever possible. Use Orly Airport instead or transit through another major European hub (AMS LHR) this one is really best avoided.

One of the worst I have been to old and filthy. What a shame in the first tourist destination of the world talking about Terminal 1.

This review is regarding terminal 2G. This is important as performance varies a lot in this huge and very heterogeneous airport (although never outstanding). 2G is dedicated to "Schengen" flights (to and from countries under the Schengen agreement no passport control) for the AF group. For commuting passengers it is important to know that the usual commuting nightmare at CDG is a the worst if one of your flights is from this terminal as it is far away from the other ones and the only access is a bus shuttle. When you fly from this terminal the positive point is that queues both at luggage drop off and at safety control are usually very short. Also positive is the fact that you walk to the (small max is 100 seaters) planes to board like in a small provincial airport. Now the negative points: I don't know who selected the food "services" in CDG. Except for 2 decent places in the whole 9 terminals it is always bad but the only one in 2G is just terrible and much too expensive for what it is eat a sandwich at the small stand before safety control if you can. The terminal itself is bland and as everywhere in CDG the seating is insufficient. They call the doors in theory 20 minutes before boarding but manage to be a little late making boarding more mess that it should be. The AF lounge is ridiculously small not very comfortable and with minimum amenities. This is supposed to be a place where you don't stay long but you need to always take a good safety margin when you drive to the Paris area so waiting here is not a very pleasant experience. Luggage unloading is quicker than on other terminals but too long for small planes that are sitting "next door".

What an awful place CDG is we tend to avoid it like the plague unless we have to. Booked a flight from the UK transferring in CDG only to find that the connecting flight was cancelled then it appeared to be delayed then it became a technical issue. Air France clearly could not make up their mind what was the problem but it was clear that they just pushed all passengers on the next flight so the delay (in the end they settled for a delay even the airport information signs changed from cancelled to delayed as otherwise they would had to come up with compensation payment of course) and accidentally the delay was rectified at the exact same time the next flight was meant to leave. Clearly there weren't 2 aircraft's waiting they just bumped us on the next one. We were stuck at the airport for six hours with a child oh dear what a disaster. Don't know what they were thinking when they designed the place but it's just such an awful place to waste your time. The design of the place is bland industrial soulless and boring and there is absolutely nothing to do but feel sorry for yourself having to spend time there. They have a handful of shops but many of these sell overpriced French design stuff which an average passenger can never afford. Staff in the shops make you feel awkward. Having these shops just sums up what this airport is about presumptuous style of substance. To make things worse the airport staff do not exactly understand the meaning of what good customer support is about. Some staff are rude and one just made us wait just to finish a chat with their colleagues with a queue waiting to speak to them. Again avoid the place. If you need a good transit airport in Europe go for Schiphol.

Transit through here 3 years ago and as they were undergoing renovations was a bit chaotic to find where my terminal was. Roll on 2014 and it was just the same the shops were not the best as the choices were limited and once you left the main terminal and went across to terminal 2 there were no lounge seats so not comfortable at all when you have a 12 hour wait. Food was pricey as well and not particularly nice definitely not going through this airport again.

If you want to experience flight cancellations (AF) more than 2 hours queue at the customer service (2 hours) super-slow and uninterested personnel new boarding pass issued for the wrong day another boarding pass issued unfortunately sharing the seat with another gentleman in a sold-out flight (yes we both had assigned the same seat). If you want all of that go to CDG! I've been going via this airport for 20 years and every time it's worse. All what is said about the absence of good shops baroque procedures incredible closing times of services and shops narrow spaces in some areas (especially older buildings of CDG2) is unfortunately true. It was one of the best in 1994. No discussion. Until possible I will exclude CDG from my next itineraries.