Switching terminals at Charles de Gaulle to access duty free shopping?
I am traveling to Paris from the United States (I am an American with an American passport), landing at terminal 1 at Charles des Gaulle airport. After I land in Terminal 1, I want to head over to Terminal 2E to do some shopping, especially taking advantage of the duty-free luxury shopping. Is this possible?
Will I be able to go through security to enter terminal 2E, considering my final destination is Paris, and I don't have any connecting flights? I would like to purchase the bag upon arrival because then I may have a chance of finding the bag I'm looking after in the Paris boutiques, if I don't find it at Charles de Gaulle.
Best Answer
Airports generally have their duty-free shopping at departure gates, so that you can buy duty-free goods and immediately depart on an international flight, taking the item out of the country. If you keep the goods in the country where you bought them, you'd be required to pay duty and tax on them (which would require you to declare them at Customs). In fact, some of my fellow passengers ran into this last year when our US-precleared Montreal to Fort Lauderdale flight was cancelled. They bought duty-free goods before clearing US Customs, then boarded our flight, but we were deboarded and had to re-clear Canadian Customs (since technically we had left Canada, by airport operations rules). I don't think they were charged any taxes, because of the circumstances, but they had to declare the goods.
In your case, if you bought goods after clearing Customs in Paris, you're now in France, and you can't buy duty-free goods anymore.
The time to buy those goods would be when you leave - which unfortunately gives you the complication of whether it's in stock, as you mentioned. Perhaps you can contact the duty-free store in the airport by phone to see if it's in stock. Again, you'll need to be departing from Terminal 2E to do shopping there, so if you're departing from Terminal 1, you'll need to use the Terminal 1 shopping.
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How do you transfer between terminals at CDG?
The green shuttleShuttle available in the international zone (for a connection). The green shuttle provides a link between terminal 2E gate M and terminals 2F and 2E gate L. From 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.: every 4 minutes. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.: every 11 minutes.Do I have to go through customs for a connecting flight at CDG?
You won't have to go through customs or immigrations (assuming you're ticketed through) and you'll be passed through as a transit passenger.Do you have to go through customs on a connecting flight in France?
You must pass through Security control (No passport control nor visa required). Please note ! If you need to leave the transit area to pick up baggage and check-in, you must clear immigration, please ensure that you comply with entry & visa requirements.How long does it take to get through customs at Charles de Gaulle?
4. Re: Transfer from CDG to train - How long does customs take? Three hours is the typical minimul recommended between a flight and train out of CDG, more if you are trying to catch a train out of Paris. As mentioned, passport control (ot customs) can be a 20 minute trip or a 90 minute ordeal.Charles De Gaulle airport Paris Terminal 2E Duty Free Shopping Complete Tour, Gate L
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Answer 2
You can't, for a few reasons:
- T1 is not connected airside to T2. And once you pick up your luggage in T1, the only way you can go is out.
- There are no arrival DF shops, so only departing passengers can buy.
- You don't have an onward ticket from T2, so you can't go airside again.
When you leave, you'll be able to shop at T1, but only there. You won't be able to access T2.
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