Paris Milan
Paris to Milan runs from three Paris airports into three Milan airports. The right pair lands you 15 minutes from the Duomo. The wrong one adds a three-hour bus ride.
Book Air France from Charles de Gaulle into Linate. You walk out of Linate and you are in Milan. A cab to the center takes 15 minutes. Malpensa, the bigger airport, sits an hour away by train. Air France and ITA Airways run this pairing all day. easyJet fills in the gaps for less.
If you are closer to the south side of Paris, Orly to Linate is a clean match. ITA Airways and easyJet cover it daily, and Orly is faster to navigate than CDG.
Charles de Gaulle to Malpensa runs every hour between Air France and easyJet. That pairing works if you are heading to the lakes or connecting through CDG from somewhere else.
Ryanair flies Beauvais to Bergamo daily for less money than anyone else. Both airports sit far outside their cities: Beauvais is 55 miles north of Paris, Bergamo is 30 miles east of Milan. The bus rides on each end add two to three hours and enough cost to close most of the fare gap with easyJet from a city airport into Linate.
The Frecciarossa runs Paris to Milan in about seven hours, city center to city center, no airport on either end. It does not beat flying on time, but if you have the day and hate airports, it is worth knowing about.
Search engines surface Malpensa first because it handles more international traffic. If you are staying in Milan, search for Linate by name. It does not always appear as the default, but it is the faster door-to-door trip.
Have a specific need? Use the decision guide below to filter by your airline, where you live, lounges, or where you're staying in Milan.
Pick What Matters to You
Best pair by where you're coming from
Best pair by where you're staying in Milan
Which pair your airline flies nonstop
| Airline | CDG–MXP | CDG–LIN | ORY–MXP | ORY–LIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| easyJet | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ITA Airways | — | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| SkyAlps | — | — | — | — |
| Ryanair | — | — | — | — |
| Air France | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| La Compagnie | — | — | ✓ | — |
| Transavia France | — | — | ✓ | — |
Ranked by on-time performance
Lounge access by airport and terminal
Ranked by flights per week
Getting to the airport
Red-eye vs daytime departures
Premium cabin options
Connecting through Paris from a domestic flight
Six nonstop airport pairings cover this route from early morning to evening with dozens of daily departures. A connection through a third city adds three or four hours to a 90-minute flight. If the nonstop fares look expensive, try a different airport pair before routing through a hub.
Paris & Milan Airport Profiles
Each airport has a personality. Terminal quality, transit access, lounge scene, and crowd levels vary dramatically — sometimes more than the flight itself.
Paris Metro
Charles de Gaulle is three airports wearing one name. Terminal 1 is the original 1974 brutalist circle with satellite gates reached through underground tunnels. It handles Star Alliance carriers and has a retro-futurist quality that either fascinates or confuses on first visit. Terminal 2 sprawls across sub-terminals labeled 2A through 2G, the largest section by far, with 2E handling most transatlantic arrivals. Terminal 3 is the budget terminal: basic, separate, and a different experience entirely.
The CDGVAL automated shuttle connects the three terminals in about 8 minutes, but the walk from your gate to the shuttle platform can add another 10. Walking between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 is not realistic without the shuttle. Within Terminal 2, some sub-terminal connections are walkable and others require a bus. Security wait times spike during the morning transatlantic departure push from 2E.
The defining fact about CDG is its distance: 25 kilometers northeast of central Paris. The airport itself is well-equipped, modern in the newer sections, and stocked with restaurants and shops. But everything about your trip includes that commute into the city, which takes longer than many short-haul European flights.
Orly is compact, close to the city, and often overlooked by transatlantic passengers who default to CDG. Four terminals numbered 1 through 4 handle a mix of domestic, European, and a handful of long-haul flights. The terminals connect to each other on foot, no shuttle trains or underground tunnels required, which is a genuine relief if you have ever navigated CDG.
The international arrival areas are smaller and immigration moves faster than at CDG. The terminal buildings are functional rather than architecturally ambitious, though recent renovation has added polish to the arrivals hall and retail areas. It lacks the scale and lounge options of CDG, but what it trades in size it gains in speed.
Orly sits 13 kilometers south of central Paris. For anyone staying on the Left Bank or in the southern arrondissements, the ground transfer advantage over CDG is significant: half the distance, half the cost, and less time stuck on the motorway. The airport operates under an overnight curfew, so late-night departures and early-morning arrivals are not an option.
Beauvais-Tillé is a single-terminal airport 55 miles north of Paris. The distance from the city makes it a budget carrier outpost rather than a true Paris airport. Facilities are minimal: a few cafés, limited seating, and no transit rail link. Expect long queues at peak hours in a building not designed for the volume it sometimes handles.
No jet bridges at most gates. You walk across the tarmac to your aircraft. Check-in counters and security share the same compact space. If your flight is delayed, there is not much to do inside.
Châlons Vatry sits about 90 miles east of Paris in the Champagne countryside. It is a Paris airport in name only. The facility started as a military airfield and handles very little scheduled passenger traffic. A single small terminal covers check-in, security, and boarding in a space that feels closer to a regional bus station than an airport.
If this airport appears in search results for Paris flights, check the ground transport situation before booking. Getting to central Paris takes over two hours by road, and there is no rail connection from the airport.
Milan Metro
Malpensa has two terminals. Terminal 1 handles the majority of scheduled flights. Terminal 2 serves select carriers and sits a shuttle ride away. Check your terminal before leaving for the airport. The walk from security to far gates in Terminal 1 can take 15 minutes.
The airport sits 31 miles northwest of Milan in open countryside. The Malpensa Express train station is built into Terminal 1, making the rail connection to the city straightforward. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout both terminals.
Linate is Milan's city airport, five miles from the Duomo. A single terminal handles all departures. The building is compact. Security lines move quickly on most days, and gates are a short walk from the entrance.
The terminal was renovated in recent years, producing a clean, modern interior. Shopping and food options are limited compared to larger airports. For short European flights, the speed of getting in and out more than compensates.
Bergamo Orio al Serio is a single-terminal airport built for volume. Budget carriers fill the departure boards. The terminal is functional rather than comfortable, with basic food options and limited seating near gates during peak hours.
The airport sits next to the medieval hilltop town of Bergamo, 28 miles northeast of Milan. Security can back up during morning and evening peaks, so arrive with time. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout.
Which Airlines Fly Which Pairs
easyJet serve both CDG and ORY to MXP — airport flexibility on the Paris side.
Not all planes are the same size. The aircraft type below each checkmark tells you whether you are getting a widebody (777, 787, A350) with wider seats and a quieter ride, or a narrowbody (737, A321) with a single aisle. On flights over five hours, the difference is significant.
A220-300, 318
A220-300, A320
A220-300, A321neo
A319, 32S
A321neo
A321neo, 737-800
A319, A320
A320
A320
A320