What to do during a stopover at Orly airport?

Published on 24 décembre 2022

aéroport

1. Layover in Orly: visit the airport! 🛩

Do you have 3 hours to spare at Orly Airport during a layover? Take a guided tour of the airport that will occupy you for about 2.5 hours.

Open to everyone from 8 years old, it is suitable for both solo travelers and families with children. The tour covers the 4 terminals and ends on the panoramic terrace, on the top floor of the old Terminal 4, which is also the oldest building in the airport complex. From there, you will enjoy a unique view of the tarmac and admire the uninterrupted ballet of planes landing and taking off.

2. A gastronomic stopover at Orly airport 🛩

ladurée aeroport orly bluevalet

While passing through France and more specifically at Orly airport, where you have 1 to 2 hours between two flights, you may want to indulge in a gastronomic stopover. After all, France is the country of pastries and good food!

  • For tea time, stop by Ladurée, at Orly 2. There, macarons come in all the colors of the rainbow, and the decor itself looks like a candy store!
  • Are you in the mood for urban and Parisian cuisine? Treat yourself to a meal at C.U.P. and discover the pleasure of tasting truffle macaroni in a half-bistro, half-Pop Art ambiance.
  • And if you're more of a gourmet type, don't leave without buying fresh baguettes and crispy pastries at Paul, at Orly 2 and Orly 4.
  • While at Orly 3, stop by the counter of Gontran Cherrier, who revisits traditional French bakery with rigorously selected flours and original ingredients such as curry, sardines, and chickpeas...

3. Between aeronautics and painting, the museums of Orly 🛩

musee concorde delta olrly aeroport blue valet

A layover of 2 or 3 hours at Orly Airport is the perfect opportunity to explore the Delta Museum, located in Athis-Mons, at the end of the runways. If you have always dreamed of seeing a Concorde airplane up close, or even getting inside, this is the time or never! When you leave the museum, head to the terminal where your connection awaits, the sound barrier will no longer hold any secrets for you, nor will the cockpit.

Do you prefer painting to airplanes? Good news: the Val-de-Marne Museum of Contemporary Art, located in the city center of Vitry-sur-Seine, is only 5 km away from Orly airport. Permanent and temporary exhibitions, themed tours, festivals, the cultural program is very rich and offers options for the whole family.

4. A walk to Rungis Market 🛩

marché rungis aeroport orly

To fill up on colors and scents during a long layover at Orly, nothing beats a stroll in Rungis.

In 5 minutes by car or 10 minutes by bus from your arrival terminal, you will land in the colorful universe of the world's largest fresh produce market. Seafood, meat, charcuterie, cheese, yogurt, fruits, vegetables... The stalls are a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. If it's very early, even better.

Indeed, guided tours are offered to individuals from 4:30 am. A dawn landing is therefore perfectly compatible with discovering the market, provided you book in advance.

5. A breath of fresh air and history near Orly airport 🛩

Paris-Orly

Do you have a half-day to spare between flights and the weather is nice? All the conditions are right for visiting the Val-de-Marne rose garden, less than a 15-minute drive from Orly airport. On the program, a stroll through the French-style alleys of a 1.5-hectare park, among thousands of roses, some of which belong to the oldest species in the world. Enough to turn a slightly too long layover into a real poetic or romantic, in any case fragrant getaway!

You don't mind an outdoor walk, but you'd also like to visit a castle? Colbert's former residence, now the château de Sceaux 2C musée,17h de novembre à février.), is only eight kilometers from Orly Airport! You can complete your knowledge of the evolution of urbanism and architecture over the centuries and walk along the banks of a miniature Grand Canal. And since you're there, why not head to Versailles, just a half-hour drive away?

 

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