Orly to Paris

Orly airport (ORY) is south of Paris and can be a pain to get in and out of compared to Charles de Gaulle (CDG). If you’re flying French Bee from the US, they only fly to Orly airport in Paris (as of June 2023). This was my first time flying in to Orly (first time flying since Covid and incidentally our last trip before Covid was to Paris). Since I had a connecting train from Gare de l’Est the same day, I wanted to avoid road transportation. Unfortunately, there is no direct train from Orly to Paris and requires a little planning and preparation.

There are 4 ways to get into Paris from Orly airport:

1. OrlyVal + RER combo: Take OryVal from the airport (likely Terminal 4 if you’re flying from the US) to Anthony station. There, you get on the RER B train to Gare du Nord.
2. OrlyBus: Direct bus from Orly to Denfert-Rochereau. From there, you can take the metro to get to main train stations like Gare du Nord/Gare de l’Est/Gare de Lyon.
3. Taxi (Tip from a Parisian): Bolt, Heetch, G7, Uber, or Taxis outside the airport.
4. Rental car or Hotel shuttle (if you’re staying at a Hotel close to the airport).

The focus of this article is Options 1 and 3.

OrlyVal + RER combo

OrlyVal (automatic metro) runs between Orly terminals 1-2-3 and 4, and Antony station (RER B). RER is a commuter rail that run thru Paris and its suburbs. While OrlyVal is Free between Orly 1-2-3 and 4, it is ticketed to get to Anthony station.

1. From Orly Airport, terminal 1/2/3/4 (South terminal, exit K; West terminal, exit A departures level), take OrlyVal airport train to Anthony station: ~8min
2. From Anthony station, take RER B train (Direction: Cité universitaire, Denfert-Rochereau, Port-Royal, Luxembourg, Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame, Châtelet-Les Halles, Gare du Nord…) to Gare du Nord: ~35min

OrlyVal + RER Fare: Buy Combined ticket OrlyVal + RER B from/to Paris*: Full fare ticket: €14.10 (June 2023). You cannot use Navigo Pass for this journey. *Does not include Metro transfer (additional €2.10 without Navigo Pass).

Where to buy tickets at Orly: RATP/OrlyVal ticket offices and machines in the South and West terminals. In Terminal 4, after immigration, go left and follow signs to exit the airport which will bring you to Departures level. You’ll see the ticket machines as you turn left. ATM machines are located behind the ticket kiosks across from Starbucks. The ticket machines only accept Card or Coins (If you have bills, you can get tickets from the counter next to the machines).

I was traveling to Strasbourg the same day and had booked the train leaving from Gare de l’Est 3.25hrs after my flight was supposed to land. My flight got into Orly ~10min late, another 40min to deplane, and a total of 1.5hrs later, I was on the Orlyval and got to Gare du Nord a little after 2PM. My train was at 2:55pm. By the time I got out of Gare du Nord and walked over to Gare de l’Est, and got on the train to Strasbourg, I had 5 min to spare which was a really close call. So do yourself a favor if you’re taking a train leaving the same day to another town from Gare du Nord/Gare de l’Est/Gare de Lyon and give yourself a minimum of 3.5 – 4hrs from your estimated flight arrival to clear immigration and make your way to the train station. If you have checked bags or want to grab something to eat after you get off the plane, you might want to add another 1 – 2hrs.

Taxi

Bolt, Heetch, G7, and Uber are a few taxi/ride apps for Paris. If you don’t want to deal with downloads over slow internet connection while roaming, make sure you have these apps download on your phone before you leave on your trip. On our last night in Paris, we booked a Bolt ride from Gare de Lyon to ibis Styles Orly Tech Hotel. You can pay with cash on Bolt. The ride came to €20 with tip (fare is not per person). The following morning, we took the T7 tram ( Direction: Athis-Mons | Porte de l’Essonne) from Hélène Boucher (tram stops right outside the hotel ~2-5min walk) to Orly terminal 4. So in total for two people, the ride from center of Paris to Orly airport was €24.20 which was cheaper than the RER/Orlyval combination.

T7 Tram Fare: Buy t+ ticket: €2.10 (without Navigo Pass as of June 2023).

Where to buy tickets : Vending machines are located on the platform. Don’t forget to validate your ticket on the little machines attached to a pole inside the tram.

Lastly, there’s always Uber and good old taxis outside the airport. If you have already have a Uber app in your home country, you could probably use that in Paris too.