Last time when I went to Paris, my flight was departing from Orly Airport, the second largest airport in Paris. Many cheaper Airlines operate at this airport and it seems only be used for shorter distance flights, within the EU. Orly is located in the South of Paris and reachable by a number of different ways.
The cheapest way to get to the airport from the center of Paris is taking the subway all the way to "Port de Choisy" station on line 7. You need one ticket T+ ticket for that. Then you get off and take the 183 bus straight to the Orly airport with another T+ ticket. That's two tickets for a total of only 2.30 Euro! Be prepared that this bus ride will last another hour. AND BE SURE to take the right 183 bus! Not all the 183 buses go to all the way to the airport. There are two bus stops. Take the one on you left, but check the bus caption and timetable. There is an electronic display that shows you where the next two buses go. If unsure you better ask the bus driver before boarding. I didn't know that and almost missed my flight because the 183 bus to Orly Airport only departs every 30 minutes or so. I was too fascinated by the area around "Port de Choisy".
If you cross the street from where the bus stop is you land in Chinatown! I don't know if this district is mentioned in any guide book; at least in mine it was not. I didn't expect to find so many Chinese shops, restaurants and Chinese people there: mothers with their children, elderly Chinese in the park, workers coming home eating at restaurants or buying Chinese food in one of the many Chinese shops there. It's definitely worth a visit. And if you need to go to Orly Airport anyway, it makes up a good combination; have an authentic Chinese meal at one of the many restaurants or buy some snacks for your flight.
If I needed to go to Orly again, I would definitely do it in the same way. It may take a little bit longer than the train, but it's cheaper and you get to see some outer parts of the city that most tourist even don't know of. Just be sure too have enough time on hand.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
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Hi!
I was just googling and stumbled upon your blog post. I thought it is helpful, but do have something else to ask and wonder if you could help, if you could remember!! :)
Do you know if there's a bus that goes from Orly to Chinatown? (since you mentioned that the bus stop you took was in Chinatown.) I will be arriving at CDG and will be using this (http://www.easycdg.com/pages/cdg_airport_access_by_air_france_coachespag.html) to go to Orly where I have another flight to catch. But I do have a few hours to kill and was thinking about going to Chinatown for some food after checking in for the next flight at Orly.
So, basically:
CDG - ORY airports (done)
Check in.
ORY airport - Chinatown (need help)
Chinatown - ORY airport (need help)
Thanks.
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