Paris
Charles de Gaulle is, structurally, an airport built by engineers who hated travellers. Terminal 1 is a brutalist concrete donut that takes thirty minutes to walk across. Terminal 2 is split into seven sub-terminals connected by trains that don't run on schedule. Customs queues regularly take ninety minutes. Against this backdrop, the airport's wine programme is the one thing CDG does properly — Hall L of Terminal 2E has Le Bar Long, an actual glass-pour wine bar that stocks a dozen Burgundies and Champagnes by the glass; 2F has La Plage Parisienne with a similar list. Both are post-security and deserve the early arrival.
City centre · $$
Bonhomie is the casual neighbourhood natural wine bar that the 10th needed. The room is small and unfussy — bare wood, exposed brick, a long bar — and the wine
11e · $$
BapBap Brewery draws a steady local crowd in 11e. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$
Calvados, fresh lemon, egg white, and a touch of honey. The house signature that reveals the bar's respect for French spirits and classic technique.
City centre · $$
Candelaria opened in 2011 in a small Marais storefront. The front operates as a working taqueria — fresh tortillas, four taco options, mezcal flights. Walk thro
The cheat code at CDG is the Sheraton Charles de Gaulle, which is connected directly to Terminal 2 via covered walkway. Les Étoiles, the hotel's bar, runs a small but honest cocktail programme and is empty most of the time. You can also grab the CDGVAL automated train to the Sofitel CDG Terminal 1 — its Echo Bar is similar in quality. If you have 60 minutes pre-airport, the bar at the Hôtel de Crillon is twenty minutes from Gare du Nord by RER B and sets the right tone for leaving Paris.
Plays for Charles de Gaulle: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
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Looking beyond Paris? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.