The Orly bird catches the ....sorry, forget the awful pun! (Paris Orly Airport (ORY))

Member Name: ms_memory

Product:	Paris Orly Airport (ORY)
Date:	15/12/08 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well-connected to Paris, good facilities in departure lounge, atmosphere is not hectic.

Disadvantages: Narrow selection of foreign newspapers and books; announcements difficult to hear

Paris-Orly Airport was a pleasant surprise for me after I'd previously only ever flown to its hectic and shabby cousin, Charles de Gaulle Airport.


ARRIVAL


**Connections to Paris**

Located to the south of Paris, Orly Airport is well served by public transport, with the RER train transporting visitors to the heart of the city. Another possibility is the Air France coach service, which stops at Gare Montparnasse and Invalides in the city centre (10 euro 1-way, 16 euro return, 45 mins). There are also local bus services that connect Paris to the airport. Public transport tickets can be purchased at the arrivals terminal.

Taxis are plentiful and can be found just beyond the bus ticket office. The drive into Paris costs rounghly 40 euro and takes about 45 mins depending on traffic.


DEPARTURE


**Terminals**

There are two departure terminals - Orly Ouest and Orly Sud. It's a good idea to check with the airline which terminal you're flying from, since the taxi and bus drivers don't always know which airline leaves from which terminal. If you do end up at the wrong one, there are free shuttle buses between the two terminals, every 10 mins or so.


**Orly Sud**

This is one of the calmest and most well-orgainsed airport terminals I've ever flown from. Check-in was fast and efficient, and I only had to go up an escalator to get to the security area. The control was also quick, if a little more thorough than I'm used to!


**Facilities**

The Sud terminal has a fair amount of shops and cafes: 3 food outlets and a newsagent landside, one restaurant next to the security control and 2 food outlets airside, as well as another newsagent, 2 duty-free shops, a Swatch shop and a sunglasses boutique. Unfortunately neither newsagent seemed to sell much in the way of international press when I was there, and the only English news I could get hold of was Kerry Katona's latest exploits in OK! magazine.

The landside cafes are patisseries/sandwich shops, with pastries and baguettes that looked like they'd seen better days when I was travelling, but the outlets beyond the security control had a good selection of fresher-looking sandwiches, fruit and salads, even in the evening.

There is free Wifi in the departure longue, with plenty of laptop work stations (i.e. long desks with plug points). There are also (silent) computer games to keep the kids amused and massage chairs - for which you have to pay. The atmosphere is quiet and relaxing, and some areas just before the gates even have chairs that allow you to put your feet up.

The gates are not far away from security, so there is no need to rush to board your plane, and the toilets are plentiful and well-kept.

The only inconvenience I encountered was the PA system - announcements came through too garbled to be properly understood, whatever the language.

**Conclusion**

Orly Airport is a convenient destination for exploring Paris, and a comfortable place to wait for your flight. The facilities at departures are good, and they only start to gradually lose their appeal if you're delayed for hours and hours on the way home by your dodgy airline, but that's a whole other review!

Summary: Paris' 2nd airport - less hassle than CDG Airport