Paris Business Travel Guide

From CDG, official taxis charge a fixed fare to the Right Bank or Left Bank; allow 45–75 minutes. The RER B train reaches Gare du Nord and Châtelet in about 35–40 minutes but is often crowded and awkward with bags. The dedicated CDG Express to Gare de l’Est is still under construction and not due to open before 2027.

From Orly, Metro line 14 now runs direct to Châtelet in about 25 minutes. Orly is mainly useful for domestic and short European hops on a multi-city trip; most transatlantic flights from Los Angeles arrive at CDG.

The 8th arrondissement, around the Champs-Élysées, Avenue Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, is home to law firms, luxury houses, private-equity offices and palace hotels such as Le Bristol.

La Défense, just west of the city limits, is Europe’s largest purpose-built business district and hosts many French corporate headquarters. It’s efficient but quiet at night, so many travelers stay in the 8th or 17th and ride Metro line 1 or the RER A out in 15–20 minutes. Opéra and the 9th suit banks and insurers.

The Metro reaches within a few hundred meters of almost every address, and line 1 is the fastest route to La Défense. Load tickets onto a Navigo Easy card or your phone rather than queuing at machines.

Central traffic is slow, so the Metro usually beats a taxi for back-to-back meetings. Check for strikes (grèves) before travel days; stoppages are announced in advance and can shut Metro lines or cut RER and train service.

Formality matters at the start. Say “Bonjour, Madame” or “Bonjour, Monsieur” on entering, shake hands with everyone, and use surnames and the formal vous until invited otherwise. A few words of French earn real goodwill, even if the meeting continues in English.

Meetings are for debate as much as decisions: expect rigorous questions and final calls to come later from senior leadership. Lunch is a proper meal where relationships are built, so don’t rush it or open with figures. Dress is polished and understated, and French law gives employees a “right to disconnect,” so evening emails may wait until morning.

August is the classic dead month, when many companies slow down or close for two to three weeks. May is dotted with public holidays (May 1, May 8, Ascension Thursday and often Whit Monday), and French workers commonly “faire le pont,” bridging to a long weekend.

Hotel rates spike during Paris Fashion Week (women’s collections in late February–early March and late September–early October, men’s in January and June), VivaTech each June and Roland-Garros in late May and early June. The Paris Air Show at Le Bourget returns in June 2027, as it does every odd-numbered year.

A little preparation goes a long way in Paris.