In October, I will be a joining RS tour of Istanbul and I want to incorporate a long layover (24 hours) in Paris (CDG) on my return.
My main concern is will I be allowed to leave the airport and reenter? I have read/been told conflicting answers.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Since Turkey is not in Schengen area (not even in EU) you would have to go through the immigration in Paris because you would be entering Schengen area. Otherwise you would be just transferring to the plane to the US without going through the immigration with Passport control. All this assuming that you have US passport which allows you to enter any Schengen area country without visa (up to 90 days). To conclude - yes you will be able to leave the airport and reenter.
I can't imagine why you would think that you would NOT be allowed to leave the airport.
The only potential problem is if you are traveling on a passport from a country that requires a visa to enter France, and you did not get this visa. For instance, for those traveling on a US passport, this is a potential problem changing planes in Russia. Without a Russian visa, you can't leave the airport.
However, if you are traveling on a US passport, you can leave CDG without difficulty. If you are traveling on the passport of another country, you need to investigate the rules for citizens of that country to enter France.
I'd think that the easiest thing to do would be to reserve a room at one of the many airport hotels. At the airport, not nearby. You could then leave your luggage at the hotel, and take the train or a taxi into Paris. Spend the day, have dinner, and return to the airport hotel. Even if you can't check into your room, you can probably leave the luggage.
