Terminal 2E Gates K — Attraction in Meaux

WHATTA MESS ! On Oct 8th we headed to Paris Airport to catch our 3pm flight back to LAX in California. NOT A GOOD START ! Unfortunately our limo driver did not show up at the appointed time of 11am to drive us to the airport. In the end we were finally able to hail a taxi but we lost over 30 minutes of crucial time. It's a very busy airport as we found out....and a strange layout. SECURITY ! We can always appreciate the need for security at any international airport but we had to show our passports at least 6 times at various check points..it was never-ending and very frustrating. We took the train to Terminal 2E where we hoped to have time for a relaxing lunch. NO SUCH LUCK ! After walking past a bunch of fashion shops and a few basic looking crowded kiosk style cafes we headed to our departure gate at the far end of the terminal..M50. LUNCH ! We planned to sit at our gate and grab some lunch before our flight departed at 3pm. It was only when we got to the very end ( quite a long walk with our heavy backpacks ) that we could see there were no restaurants, cafes, bars, eateries, kiosks of any kind within 100 miles of our departure gate M50. BACK WE GO ! We walked the long distance back mostly on the travelator ( moving walkway ) to where we saw a Paul cafe on the way in. The plan was to have sandwiches and cappuccinos for lunch plus buy a few sandwiches & sweet pastries to last us for the 11 hour flight home...no airplane...

Connecting from another EU country to the US with a 6 hour layover, landed at 2F and needed to get to 2E. Passport control wasn't bad (used the automated line). I arrived early in the morning so it wasn't busy. From there I saw signs for 2E, but then it said K so I was confused (and so were several other travelers). You should study the map ahead of time. The problem is my gate wasn't announced yet so I had no idea if I was going to the right place. Very few signs, maps or staff to answer questions. I finally found a passenger walking with purpose that confirmed we were still in 2E (even though it said K). It wouldn't be a big deal but you have to exit a 'clean' area to get int K, so I didn't want to have to go through security or immigration again if I'd made a wrong turn. I'm glad I had plenty of time to kill so my stress was low - but it's confusing for tired travelers. After confirming I was in the right gate area for my flight I checked out the Air France lounge. Clean dishes and cups were scarce. I did find a seat where I could charge my 3 devices (using 3 different cords - a plug, USB and USB C) so that was a plus. Food wasn't stellar but got me through. Bathrooms and shower were old and dirty in the lounge. Dirty but newer in the public areas. It's under construction so hopefully it will improve, but I will avoid CDG if I can. The airfare was cheaper than I expected...

Not overly impressed with the amenities that are available in 2E gate K. Five of us expected at least 2 or 3 bars / restaurants that we would be able to kill 3 hours for our connecting flight. There was a sign for bars upstairs beside Starbucks but when we got there nothing. Only Starbucks. Maybe still under construction. Went downstairs to the air France lounge to ask could we buy seats in there which were €75 each, but where told it was too busy and no space for single non subscription sales. Eventually went to Les Halles where we saw small bottles of wine in the fridge and polished glasses waiting to serve. They also had a wine dispensing machine behind the bar. With seats available we ordered 10 small bottles however were told "they were not licensed to sell wine at the bar", however were happy enough to give us wine to go. No cups available at the bar for takeaway but the lovely woman ran after us after going to another store and getting some cardboard cups for us. What a wee legend! All in all, wouldn't really rate this terminal very high. Only reason for 2 stars is because it has a lot of high lifestyle shops to go to if you were inclined to buy before you fly. Do not expect bars and restaurants to hang with your friends before a flight if there for a long connection. Even the lounges I had access to with Revolut were too far away to go while still being in the 2E...