Long Layover between flights - What to do in 4+ hours in Paris?

You don't have enough time to do much but see things from the outside. sometimes you need reservations to eat somewhere and without one you have to wait.

For your Tuesday layover it is not quite long enough; consider in one instance it took me about an hour and a half to go through security screening at the airport. I found myself running before they closed the door to my flight back to the USA.

Arrive at 7:30 if on time. 2.5- 3 hours to clear passport, go to RER, buy ticket and arrive in Paris toward 10:00 or 10:30.

Flight at 2:55. Need to check in at 12:55. Need to leave for the airport at 11:55. Time in Paris: 1:30–2 hours.

Take the RER to St. Michel. Come upto the surface to walk along the Seine past famous buildings, parks, have something in a cafe. Start your return no later than noon, assuming this is an internal EU flight to Ireland.

If you are flying outside the Schengen zone, you need to allow 3 hours for check in rather than two due to passport control.In that case, you would have 30 minutes to 1 hour in Paris. Is it worth it?.

I'd decide upon arrival and see how much time passport takes - I know everyone has different experiences, but the one time we flew into CDG (late Sept, 2015), we arrived before 8am and we were thru passport in 5 min flat - there was barely a soul ahead of us - we thought something was wrong! But we just lucked into no other large planes arriving at the same time. So it could take 5 min, it could take 2 hrs.

And the other question - is your luggage checked thru? And we haven't flown out of CDG, but I hear it can be chaos - maybe it's better now on the checking in side.

We just returned from London and Ireland 2 weeks ago. Excuse me for saying, but you seem to be especially interested in Paris. If you have not purchased your tickets, just go to Paris.
We loved the people of Ireland and the Ring of Kerry was especially beautiful. But we found the country kind of quiet. And Dublin was far from our favorite European large city--and very expensive.

I am curious about your going through Paris to get to Ireland. Presumably you are coming from N America? Why not a more direct flight to Ireland?

I think Bets and Jazz+ have good points on how little real time you have for being in Paris.

As Nicole touches on, unless your flights are one ticket ,any checked luggage is not likely to be checked all the way through which means more time spent dealing with retrieving and re-checking before you can head for the city.

If it turns out you have time to do this -- and that will depend a bit on how long immigration takes; usually it takes about an hour but sometimes less and sometimes 2 or more hours -- you probably have 1.5 hours max in Paris. I would take the RER (if it is not a strike day) to St. Michel Notre Dame and get off there and explore that area. Visit the Cathedral, walk around to the back and across to Ile St. Louis -- get an ice cream at Berthillon or a coffee at one of the cafes -- experience the beauty of this area and then hope back on the train to the airport to check in and go back through security.

If it is a strike day you probably don't have time as the RERs are running one n 3 and you can't risk not being able to get back to the airport on time.

As noted above it is about an hour to get to Paris and an hour back including getting to and from the RER station. You need to be back about 2 hours before the flight; 1.5 hours at minimum and immigration takes about an hour. So of your 7 hours 5 is soaked up by logistically issues. While these are conservative estimates, the stakes of missing the flight are pretty dire. And this is assuming your luggage is all checked through and there are not unexpected delays.

Janet as always with sound advice.

This Schengen fella seems a little shifty.

Thanks for your quick and very informative replies! I really appreciate all the information. I am flying into Cork, so I won't need to go through passport control twice. I was assuming first check would take about an hour - maybe I'll get lucky like Nicole!

Seems like the best thing to do is play it by ear. If things move fast, and I end up having several hours, and no train strikes, go for it! Otherwise, just chill and maybe do some light shopping at the airport.

David and Joe, you both commented on my interest in Paris. I retired early a year ago, and immediately made list of top ten international places to visit for a month. I have been to every state in US, most more than once, and have only been abroad to Sweden and Denmark (years ago) and Italy (last year). I picked Ireland this year for two reasons. One, I recently took an immersion class on "Ireland: Culture, Politics, Religion" at a local University that really stoked my interest in this country (and Northern Ireland). Two, I was able to take advantage of airfare wars, getting a roundtrip out of Midwest for under $400... Next few trips are Scotland/England, France, and Spain/Portugal..... I'll still take one or two shorter trips stateside, but am really enjoying ability to take looong trips abroad!

Thanks again for your comments. Would love to hear thoughts about return layover, too.

-Mary

I'm not an early-morning person, so for your return trip where you need to be at the airport three hours before the 10:15 am flight, I'd stay at a hotel near the airport. Go to the hotel when you land and drop off your suitcase unless it is checked straight through. Then follow your plan to use rail or taxi into the city to see the lights and have dinner.

Your layovers are really not ideal.
Not long enough coming and going out is long enough but poorly timed requiring cost of a hotel and not good for the site seeing you want to do.

Coming in, I suspect you would have approx. 2 hours in downtown Paris. Basically you could do 1 of the 6 or so things you mentioned. Keep in mind other tourists, lines, etc... as well as distances between places. Eiffel Towel to Notre Dame for example is an hour away walking. Maybe a little faster via other methods but still a good distance apart ; obviously with 2 hours total seeing both is out of the question.

Is it worth the amount you are going to pay to leave the airport, then getting back to the airport ; not to mention the added stress.

On the way out, your friend's suggestion is good but very expensive.
Hire a cab to pick you up at the airport and drive you around to see the sights at night and then drop you off in the Latin Quarter which will still be lively and safe late. Pick a hotel there for the night and just make sure to be out early in the AM for the flight Thursday. Going to be very pricey for the few hours of enjoyment but may be worth it to you.