Charles de Gaulle Airport, in Paris, France.

What is the difference between CDG and LFPG?

CDG is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. LFPG is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

Is CDG the same as ORY?

No. ORY is orly, south of Paris, older and mostly domestic and Mediterranean. PAR covers both collectively.

What airport is CDG?

CDG is

Charles de Gaulle Airport

Paris, France

Why the code is CDG

The initials of Charles de Gaulle.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

The airport

IATA code: CDG
ICAO code: LFPG
Airport: Charles de Gaulle Airport
City: Paris, France
Opened: 1974
Code origin: Documented

Also called Roissy, after the commune it sits in, which is what French rail signage and locals use. Terminal 1 is a circular building with escalators crossing an open central void, a piece of 1970s futurism that is admired and detested in roughly equal measure. Part of Terminal 2E collapsed in 2004, a year after opening.

Codes people book by mistake

Code	What it actually is
ORY	Orly, south of Paris, older and mostly domestic and Mediterranean. PAR covers both collectively.

The other code, LFPG

Every airport has two codes. The three-letter IATA code, CDG, is the one on your boarding pass and your luggage tag, and it is assigned for commercial use. The four-letter ICAO code, LFPG, is the one pilots and controllers use, and it is assigned geographically: the first letter or two identify the region, so every airport in the same part of the world shares a prefix. That is why LFPG looks nothing like CDG.

Common questions

What airport is CDG?: Charles de Gaulle Airport, in Paris, France.
Why is Paris's airport called CDG?: The initials of Charles de Gaulle.
What is the difference between CDG and LFPG?: CDG is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. LFPG is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.
Is CDG the same as ORY?: No. ORY is orly, south of Paris, older and mostly domestic and Mediterranean. PAR covers both collectively.

France Capital, area, population and currency
The flag of France Colours, symbols and lookalikes
Airport codes in France 2 here
What airport is ORY? Orly Airport
What airport is ORY? Orly Airport, Paris

Sources

Official vendor product documentation — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked