Charles de Gaulle Airport

A recent flight NCL-CDG then CDG to DXB involved a 4 hour layover outward and a 3 hour stay at the dreaded Charles de gaulle airport. Any thoughts of a nice French dinner whilst awaiting the overnight flight were quickly dashed as the full horror of the available catering at Terminal 2F struck home.

I could either have the cafe, with ample used gauloise smoke to confirm that recent price hikes have not reduced the French desire to commit the most expensive and slowest suicide known to man. Chosing not to be gassed a trip to a %26#39;Rapid Resto%26#39;, the star of the terminal 2F menu resulted in featureless service of a very limited fare at prices that would shock even the Sultan on Brunei. For 11.50 Euros you could have a microwave meal fresh from a nearby hypermarket at a fifth of the price. You then took this concoction to the cash desk and then heated it yourself having shelled out the ransom. How about some delicious french bread? You are having a laugh and only nasty UK style sandwiches with limited filling and a price tag of 5 Euros. camembert- tiny morsel at 1.40 Euros. Drink? For onyl 3 Euros you could have 50cl of sparkling water, whilst the still type was a mere 2.50 Euros. And not a smile to be seen, no doubt that would be extra.

Other shops seemed equally hell bent on pricing that is tantamount to larceny. Duty-free best avoided- selection good but prices cheaper in Tesco. I love French cheeses but their delicatessen managed to totally price themselves out of my market.

For sheer boredom, CDG takes the 1st prize- only the architecture gave any degree of satisfaction.

If Air France is to market itself as a hub for those like myself from N E England who are fed up to the teeth of Heathrow, yes things can get worse even if the sardine effect has yet to penetrate this gallic showpiece.

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With a 4 hour layover, you would have had plenty of time to get on the RER, enjoy a 2 hour+ leisurely meal inside Paris and get back on time for your flight... Since when do you expect airport food to be good value?

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Thanks for the warning about what is available at CDG. I thought that it would be good to destress a little bit there and now I can see it will only increase my stress if I was hoping for a good meal!

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I will admitt that CDG is not the most pleasant airport in the world. I%26#39;m told that would be Sinapore. On our last trip to Paris we had a short laytover in Detroit. I was very surprised at how nice it was . Beautiful shops and eating places. We%26#39;ve been going to CDG for years and I have not seen any improvements. The lines to check in for flights are rediculously long and to tell you the truth, by the time we get checked in, go through passport control, and then security we%26#39;ve not had time to think about finding anything to eat there. I%26#39;ve not seen any restaurants only kiosks selling sandwichs and drinks. I wanted to buy a longchamp bag but the line was too long. All things considered, try not to let that airport taint your views of the rest of the city. I did buy some Absinth at the duty free shop for my son.

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I have traveled a bit over the post years and i still haven%26#39;t found in any country i visited an airport with good and cheap food.

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The nicest airport, in terms of shops and

dining was in Korea.

I always try to get direct flights and have

been sucessful SFO to CDG except the last time

in September. I had to fly from CDG to

Heathrow and stay overnight in order to catch

a plane to SFO the next day. The airport was

as bad then as it had been when I was there

for a flight Scotland in 1989. Airport

transportation to the motel was as outrageous

at the dollar to pound conversion. The food

at the motel %26quot;diniung room%26quot; was terrible.

One bright spot - it can only get better.

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I agree. I think CDG is one of the worst airports ever, not even talking about the food, overpriced and tasteless. I hate the set up of the whole place, how crowded it is when you exit from customs fighting your way through huge crowds with people pushing carts loaded with giant boxes and suitcases. It needed to be twice the size it is, but I doubt if that will ever happen. I hate all of the glass as well-it gets really hot in the summer.

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I agree that cdg is horrible.As for us gateways,I like SFO,SEA,and believe it or not EWR!! All of the above have decent restaurants and EWR is a giant mall where you can at least kill time!!!

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Yes, CDG is not good. But I%26#39;m surprised to see that the previous poster finds that SFO is one of the best airports. I hate SFO as much as LHW.

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To theflyingdoctor :

Seriously, did you expect %26quot;a nice French dinner%26quot; with %26quot;delicious French bread%26quot; in an airport terminal, which caters primarily to an international clientele, which is consequently offered what it primarily requests in terms of food, meaning bland and international? You can%26#39;t both want %26quot;local colour%26quot; in airports and expect all places to be like Singapore!

Concerning the cigarette smoke, I agree it is still a problem, alhough smoking is theoretically prohibited in all public places. It is not as bad as it was. However, leave the Gauloises to 1940%26#39;s films : most people smoke US brands!

At CDG, the old 1970%26#39;s terminal (terminal 1) is under repair. I agree its layout is difficult to many people.

Contrary to what you seem to suggest, Air France doesn%26#39;t own or operate CDG. It is merely a client like the orther airlines, which probably has little power on CDG concessionnaries. Do you get cheap stuff, excellent service and broad smiles in UK airports? CDG is operated by ADP, still a state-owned company. If you think this is the source of the problem, wait, as ADP is due to be privatised shortly. Then CDG will be exactly like Heathrow...

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Lest we forget, flying is a form of public transport.

I try to remember the public transport aspect and that usually puts things in perspective real fast. It also makes me appreciate the fact that I made it to my destination in the first place.

I think the OP was being rather facetious in his post as well.