The Worst of Paris

This is a photo of Charlles de Gualle airport AKA Roissy AKA Dante's 10th circle of hell.

Your experience of it can vary depending on which terminal you're in but if you're unlucky you'll be faced with navigating through a huge ugly concrete mess of a structure with endless passegways and a maze of escalators seemingly leading nowhere.

If you're arriving in Paris for the first time it can be a shock. Not only do you have to put up with the worst major airport in the world but no doubt you'll end up on the train that leads you to Gare du Nord through some of the worst neighbourhoods of Paris. It's not quite the city of light that you imagine.

This weekend I had to fly out of Paris from Charles de Gualle airport. I got past the passport and security checks and had half an hour before I had to board my flight. Unfortunately, in my haste, I had forgotten to pack some essential toileteries. I wandered into the shops in the airport shopping mall and found, much to my annoyance, that you are able to buy indispensable items such as Beluga Caviar and metre long bars of Toblerone but you cannot buy a toothbrush!