Have a six hour lay-over at Charles Du Gaul. Worth going into Paris?

We found ourselves in this situation last fall with a five hour layover. It was tempting to try to get into Paris but we have friends who live in Paris and they told us not to even think about it--just not enough time. Be warned that you will find yourself in a secured area without many shops, restaurants, etc. It was extremely boring--take reading material, etc. We took turns napping--husband left the secured area to shop & browse while I stayed back with our carryons, laptop, etc.

bummer lara,, but everyone is right, to begin thinking of running into Paris one should have 8 hours at least...

Its just the security at CDG can take so long,,and , I having only flown Canadian airlines have not found the gates/terminals we use to be that bad,, but I know everyone else is not making up their bad experiences .Its not worth missing your flight.

IMHO, not really.

Six hour layover. Assuming you have to clear immigration and customs to go to Paris that's one hour gone or so. (Just depends on the lines to get off the plane, the immigartion lines etc) Now you are down to five hours.

It's about 40 minutes (I think) on the RER to the center of Paris. There and back 2 hours let's say. That means your 6 hours is now down to 3.... And you probably need to arrive at CDG about 2 hours in advance. It's not what one would call and "efficent" airport (Before folks bash, neither is Atlanta where I fly from... LOL!) So one hour? Not worth it IMHO!

It would be prudent to stay put at CDG, but under the following ideal conditions you could do it: 1. Your flight arrives on time. 2. You get through immigration/passport control in under an hour. 3. Since you'll be traveling from one EU country to another, you probably don't need to be back at CDG more than 90 minutes before your flight.

It's a 40-minute ride on the RER B from CDG to St-Michel Notre-Dame. You could take a quick walk through the cathedral and then head back to CDG. Be aware that the RER B line divides northeast of Paris so be sure to get on a train that is going to CDG. For a zoomable map of the RER and Metro system, go here.

Hi Lara,

We also had a long layover (4.5 hours) in CDG a couple of years ago. Upon landing, we asked a few people if we could make the trip into Paris. Not one person thought it was a wise idea.

Paul

Thanks so much everyone! Tim, good point about the subway having two routes. Appriciate it!

Hire the 9 minute driver mentioned in a recent previous post on this forum and you can do it.

Seriously, I don't think I would try it. Some things could go wrong and with such a tight time constraint you would have a problem. If everything went perfect and you just wanted to see Notre Dame it could work but it would be too chancey for me to try.

I thought of one more tip. There are two RER stations at CDG. Be sure you know which one is closer to your arrival terminal and which one is closer to your departure terminal. See this site: www.parisbytrain.com.

Tim, you know your Paris. I will check out that link.

It's been a few years, 2004, but we had a six hour layover in Paris on our way to Morocco. Our luggage was checked through, so we got a cab and went into town. Your time into the city may depend on the time of day you arrive in Paris. We hit a Sat. morning, I believe, so it didn't take long. We chose the Montmartre area, because our friend had never spent any time there. We mosied around and then took the Metro back. We had nice walk and didn't feel rushed. We gave ourselves plenty of time to get back. Of course we were familiar with the city and the Metro, so that may have made a difference.

Maybe a nice little meal in a close neighbor hood let a cab drive advise how far 10 E will take you or maybe 15

ok if you subscribe to the money can buy happiness credo, i would TAKE A CAB (PROBABLY 65 EUROS) and go for it IF you get thru customs in a timely fashion and you have ascertained in advanced what the inter-europe rigamarole is going to be to check back in.

maybe take the RER into town and cab it back. traffic needs to be considered, too. i hate the idea of having six hours in paris and not being able to get to it!!! bummer! what's the worst that can happen? you're late to barcelona? penalty fees?

see if there's anything cool in the surrounding villages (you never know) and go have a nice lunch.