Paris - Beauvais

...bus, or train trip into Paris itself that in many cases will take you longer than the actual flight from your departure point.

~ ~ The mad cabbie and family used Beauvais airport on our recent short break to Paris, flying Ryanair from Dublin. As far as I can make it, this is the ONLY major airline that actually uses Beauvais, so the chances are that unless you book with Ryanair then it’s an airport that you’ll never be very likely ...
...Alternatively, you can travel to Paris by either train or taxi. A taxi will cost you €115 (during the day) to €155 (after 7PM) to Port Maillot, which to my way of thinking rather negates the point of purchasing a cheap airfare. I’m afraid I don’t know the cost of a train to Paris, but it does entail you getting a taxi to the railway station in Beauvais village, which will cost you another €10 to €13 each way. (As well as the train fare)

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~ ~ It’s actually slightly misleading to call Beauvais in France a ‘Paris’ airport, as it’s actually located some 90 kilometres from the city, which entails a taxi, bus, or train trip into Paris itself that in many cases will take you longer than the actual flight from your departure point.

~ ~ The mad cabbie and family used Beauvais airport on our recent short break to Paris, flying Ryanair from Dublin. As far as I can make it, this is the ONLY major airline that actually uses Beauvais, so the chances are that unless you book with Ryanair then it’s an airport that you’ll never be very likely to visit.
Ryanair often use airports that are located some distance from a major city (Prestwick in Scotland is another example) in order to reduce costs, but it’s as well that travellers are aware of this before they fly, as it involves extra expense in actually getting into the city itself.

~ ~ At Beauvais, Ryanair have a fleet of air-conditioned coaches that await the arrival of every flight, ready to whisk you into the Port Maillot district of Paris, where it’s relatively simple to pick up a bus, taxi, or the Metro to take you onto wherever you want to go in the city. At €10 per person (one-way) this adds €20 to the cost of your journey. In our case (three people travelling) this meant an extra €60 on the overall cost of our trip, but since we picked up the flights for only 1 cent each on the Web, (€101 return for three people after taxes were applied) then even with the extra €60 added on it was a very cheap way to visit Paris. There’s an automated ticket machine for buying your coach tickets, but this was not operating either on the day we arrived or on the day we departed. So you have to join a (short) queue to purchase tickets from a booth.
What isn’t so much fun is the extra 75 to 90 minutes the coach takes to reach Port Maillot in Paris, which in our case was actually longer than the flight from Dublin itself. (70 minutes) But you pay your money and you take your choice, and we were aware of this slight drawback before we booked the flights.
The coaches themselves are comfortable enough, and I napped most of the way from and to the airport in any case, so hardly noticed the journey time passing.

~ ~ Alternatively, you can travel to Paris by either train or taxi. A taxi will cost you €115 (during the day) to €155 (after 7PM) to Port Maillot, which to my way of thinking rather negates the point of purchasing a cheap airfare. I’m afraid I don’t know the cost of a train to Paris, but it does entail you getting a taxi to the railway station in Beauvais village, which will cost you another €10 to €13 each way. (As well as the train fare)

~ ~ I didn’t get much of an opportunity to look at the airport on our outward journey from Dublin. Beauvais is a VERY small airport, which means there’s never too much of a delay in getting through immigration control, or in retrieving your luggage.
Within fifteen minutes of disembarking from the aircraft, we were through Customs, had our bags and bus tickets, and were sat comfortably on the Paris coach. I did make just one stop to use the loo facilities, which were like public toilets everywhere. Fairly basic, but in fairness, clean enough, with toilet paper, soap, and hand drying facilities all in good order.
The Metro (underground) is within five minutes walk of where the coach drops you at Port Maillot, and local bus services the same, but I had decided to use taxis for transportation throughout our short trip. The taxi rank was literally around the corner, and it cost us a further €15 (including €3 tip) to get to our hotel. (Paris taxis are cheap, plentiful, and very efficient, with ranks on nearly every corner of major thoroughfares, and there are dedicated bus and taxi lanes throughout the city to speed up your progress. The drivers are both knowledgeable and very helpful and friendly.)

~ ~ I got far more opportunity to inspect the facilities at Beauvais on the return leg of the journey. Ryanair insist on you checking in at the airport two hours before the time of your actual flight, which meant catching the coach from Paris over three hours earlier. This left about an hour and a half to kill in the airport itself.
The terminal itself is very compact, and in all honesty not much more than a series of connected concrete outbuildings. (With corrugated roofs!)
The check-in was fairly slow to begin with, as there were a number of flights all checking in at about the same time. The Dublin check-in initially only had one counter, and as the flight was full, this led to a long queue. But they cottoned onto this after about ten minutes, and opened a second desk, which speeded matters up considerably. So no real complaints.

~ ~ Time for a cuppa. The cafeteria was basic, with the usual ‘plastic’ cafeteria food. You could get a hot meal from the counter display, but I’d already had breakfast before we left Paris, and in any case, nothing they were offering looked either very tempting or appetising. Hot dogs, hamburgers, lasagne, etc. In other words, basic cafeteria fare.
The coffee (for me) was like warmed up dishwater, and the tea for my wife was even worse, both being served in the obligatory cardboard beaker. It was hot, which was about all you could say for it, and washed down the choccy biscuit and slab of fruitcake we bought to eat. A Diet Coke for the wee lass, and the bill came to over €16! Certainly not worth the money. Plastic seating, and metal tables that could have done with both clearing and cleaning didn’t help matters. But I suppose allowances have to be made for the fact that the airport was exceptionally busy that particular morning. Oh, the café also sells alcohol, by the way, if you feel in need of a quick snorter to settle the old nerves before taking to the air!
But when you compare the food in Beauvais with the cooked Irish breakfast we had in the business class lounge at Dublin airport on the morning of our departure, it’s a very sharp contrast. Three full fry-ups, (very tasty) with a pot of coffee and tea, and tons of freshly made toast. Served by a waiter, in a comfortable and spotless lounge, and all for only €9 per head!
So the cafeteria/restaurant at Beauvais is not really recommended for anything other than the lightest of snacks.

~ ~ The airport has a small duty free shop, selling mostly perfumes, booze and tobacco. But this is of little use to you unless you are a traveller from outside the European Union.
There’s also a small newsagents come tobacconists, which carries a fairly good selection of newspapers and magazines in most of the major European languages. I was disappointed however, that I wasn’t able to purchase either an Irish newspaper (the Irish Times) or a quality Scottish broadsheet (such as the Scotsman or Glasgow Herald) on the morning of our departure, and had to make do with an International Herald Tribune. This seems a bit short sighted on the part of the airport as two of their main destinations are in Ireland (Dublin and Shannon) and Scotland. (Glasgow Prestwick)
There was a good selection of sweets, crisps, soft drinks and snacks, and also a good selection of cigarettes, cigars and tobacco. The tobacco and cigarettes in France are FAR cheaper (less Government duty) than in either the UK or Ireland, and I took the opportunity to buy myself a further 5 x 40 grammes of Golden Virginia hand rolling Tobacco at only €5.10 per packet. (This is less than half the price I would pay at home in Dublin!)

~ ~ Meanwhile my wife and wee lass were investigating the well stocked souvenir and gift shop, which although on the small side had a fair selection of small gift items, and also some locally produced food produce. (Lots of different cheeses)
Mind you, it’s your own fault if you haven’t bought all your gifts and souvenirs before you get to the airport, as in common with most other airport souvenir shops, you’ll tend to pay higher prices for items than you would in a high street store.
If you’ve run short on the old spondoolicks (money) after your holiday, then there’s a cash machine (hole in the wall) and a Bureau de Change where you can top up your empty wallet or purse. (Always providing you’ve any money left!)
Two public phone boxes were located just outside the main entrance to the airport, and although I didn’t use them I checked them out, and discovered you can use phone cards, credit cards, or good old-fashioned coins.

~ ~ Across the road from the main entrance there are half a dozen portacabin type buildings where the main car hire companies are located. (Hertz, Avis, etc)
I didn’t hire a car for this trip, although I thought about it, and investigated the cost on the Web. I could have had a small air-conditioned vehicle (Opel Corsa or Peugeot 106 size) for only €95 for the three day period we were in Paris, which is fairly cheap. (At least by Irish standards) The reason I didn’t hire a car was that public transport in Paris is both plentiful and cheap, and Paris is a notoriously difficult city to navigate in a car, with VERY expensive parking charges. (I still have nightmares when I recall trying to find my way onto the Luxembourg road from Paris on a trip we took back in 1986!)
But it would certainly be worth considering Beauvais as a starting off point for a trip around France if you were renting a car, as with a good road map it would be relatively simple to navigate your way wherever you wanted to go in the country.
I’ll certainly keep this option in mind the next time we visit France. (Possibly later on this year)

~ ~ I have a major gripe with Beauvais airport though.
On the day we were leaving there were four flights due for departure all within an hour of each other. (Milan Bergamo, Shannon, Dublin, and Barcelona) The departure lounge itself (once you clear Customs) is very small, and it was like a bloody rugby scrum just trying to find out which gate you were supposed to be leaving from, and which queue you should be standing in.
There wasn’t enough seating provided to accommodate the number of passengers, and the loudspeaker system was totally inadequate, (volume too low) which led to us standing for about 15 minutes in the wrong line. If they are intending to expand their operations, (which they are doing) then they should first ensure that the facilities that they have available are able to cope!

~ ~ So would I fly into Beauvais airport again.
Hell yes! Why not, when the prices to get there are so cheap. When all is said and done an airport is only a transit point, and as long as I can get through it and on to my destination without any major hassle, then that’s all I’m really looking for.

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UK Airports served by Beauvais

Glasgow Prestwick

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Irish Airports served by Beauvais

Dublin and Shannon

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Other Airports served by Beauvais

Stockholm/Skavsta
Rome Ciampino
Girona Barcelona
Milan/Bergamo

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Copyright KenJ February 2004

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