We leave for France soon and were going to take the train down to Avignon from Paris and return by air four weeks later from Toulouse but we now find that it is probably just as cheap to go by air both ways and also we can't seem to get a one way flight so we are now thinking of going Paris - Toulouse return. The flights we want timewise are best out of Orly to Toulouse and return. As we arrive in Paris at CDG airport from Canada would it be easy to get to Orly airport from there to get the Toulouse flight. Are there shuttle buses between airports and how long should we allow timewise to get there. Thanks

have a look at www.adp.fr there are info about connecting between airports

At least one of the Air France shuttles runs between CDG and Orly. If you arrive at terminal 1 at CDG, you can pick it up right outside Gate 34. The shuttles themselves run every 20 minutes, and you need to allow at least 45 minutes for the ride (it makes lots of stops and there is traffic). So you'd need a couple of hours, ideally, to allow for check-in at Orly.

We decided to take the easy fast way. We paid out the money to take a cab between the airports.

The Air France bus IS the fast and easy way -- and it is cheap! I did it last summer, and I had given myself like 5 or 6 hours between CDG and ORY flights, fearing the worst. I ended up fighting jet lag in the Orly airport because the Air France bus whisked me away faster than I'd even hoped.

Sandyeh,

I think your original plan is quite feasible! You probably weren't aware of the discount carriers serving the Paris-Toulouse route.

It's faster, easier and far cheaper to take the train from Paris to Avignon than to fly. TGV trains leave right from CDG TGV station or from the Gare de Lyon in Paris.

Book your tickets in advance (as close to 60 days ahead as possible to secure the lowest fares) at www.sncf.com, select pickup in FRANCE, prepay and depending on the fare you can either print the tickets right out on your printer or they will be issued when you show the clerk at the CDG station (or any other SNCF station or "Boutique SNCF" in France) your reservation number and the card you used to pay for them.

To get back to Paris from Toulouse cheaply, you can fly on Aeris (starting June 2) or EasyJet (starting July 1). Both carriers offer extremely affordable 1-way fares (Aeris starts at EUR 29 + taxes for example), no return purchase necessary.

The Aeris web site is only in french, but it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out. Alternately, you can call them at: 011 33 825 56 56 56, although their cheapest fares can only be booked on the web - phone fares start at EUR 49.

Should you need to get from Orly (where both Aeris and EasyJet land) to CDG, your best bet is indeed the Air France bus, as mentioned in previous posts. At rush hour the OrlyVAL + RER B (train) is probably faster, but I wouldn't want to take it with lots of luggage. I would allow at least 4 hours between flights.

www.aeris.fr
www.easyjet.com

Hope this helps,
Andre

Thanks everyone for the informaton. Andre, I think we will do the TGV one way then. My husband was counting on taking at least one high speed train in France.