New York to Paris distance

New York to Paris in a straight line

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, New York and Paris are 3,637 miles (5,853 km) apart, 15% of the way around the Earth at the equator. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”. There’s no road between them: the straight line crosses 2,994 mi of sea, 82% of the way.

From New York, Paris lies to the northeast (bearing 54°), and from Paris, New York lies to the west. The straight line reaches Paris on a bearing of 112°: the bearing keeps turning along the way (58° in all), which is why the shortest route looks curved on a flat map.

If the plane kept the same bearing all the way (81°, to the east), it would follow the rhumb line, the one that looks straight on a Mercator map: 3,787 miles (6,095 km), 151 mi more (4.1% longer). That’s why long routes don’t look “straight” on a map: the curve is the short way.

What the route flies over

Under the straight line there are 2,994 mi of sea (82%) and 643 mi of land. In order, from New York: 149 mi over the United States, 332 mi over Canada, 55.9 mi over the United Kingdom, and 106 mi over France.

The straight line climbs to 52.4° N (at 52.3603° N, 25.4033° W), 3.5° farther north than Paris: on a sphere that’s the short way, even if it looks like a detour on a flat map. Planes don’t follow the line exactly: they fly along airways, chase tailwinds and avoid closed airspace, but on long flights they stay close to it.

Halfway between New York and Paris

Halfway along the straight line, 1,818 miles (2,926 km) from each city, is the point 51.5983° N, 38.9967° W. It falls at sea; the nearest town is Nanortalik (Kujalleq, Greenland, pop. 1,185), 638 mi away.

Time difference and flight

A direct flight would take about 7 hr 50 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 5,853 km straight line at 800 km/h (about 497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed. Real schedules depend on wind, routing and airports, and not every pair has a direct flight. Westbound flights usually take a little longer than eastbound ones because of high-altitude winds (the jet stream).

Paris is 6 hours ahead of New York all year (Central European Time versus Eastern Time): when it’s 12:00 in New York, it’s 18:00 in Paris.

With that flight time, if you leave New York at 10:00, you land in Paris around 23:50 (Paris time).

The two cities

Paris is 8.1° farther north than New York and 76.4° farther east. New York has 8.6 million people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025) and Paris 2.1 million people (GeoNames).