Is it possible to leave the airport and have lunch in Paris for 2 hours if I have a 4.5 hour layover at the CDG airport?

It will be on December 21st... not sure how busy the airport, trains and the city (traffic-wise) is...

Thank you in advance for any help and suggestions!

nope. By the time you clear customs, get to RER, get to city, eat, get back to airport, clear security...your plane is gone

I wouldn't recommend it. It's usually an hour from landing to the curb. And, you have to figure on about an hour each way to/from CDG/Paris. Then, you have to be back at CDG in plenty of time to catch your ongoing flight, even if your bags are checked through and you have boarding passes in hand for your ongoing flight.

I don't think so given that if you leave the secure area you have to be back at least two hours before departure, three if it's holiday bedlam.

aaahhh.... that's very unfortunate! Thank you kindly for your quick and useful responses...

would you have any recommendation as to where to go for a nice relaxing lunch around the airport to get away from the airport madness?

absolutely not. And food options in the airport are less than stellar.

Go to the CDG Sheraton and relax a bit/eat something. But you really won't have even much time for that.

wow it's that bad?! lol

alright... airport madness and food it is then!

Thank you very very much again for your help!

OH - my "absolutely not" was in response to your OP. I didn't see your second question since we were posting at the same time.

An airport hotel restaurant (like the Sheraton) is about the only way to get out of the airport madness

Sheraton is probably a good idea if they have a restaurant. Other than that, I've only seen fast food/cafeteria type places. I don't think you even realize how long lunch takes at a traditional French restaurant, anyway. So the idea that you could go to/from the airport to central Paris, go back through security, and have lunch in 4.5 hours is just impossible.

I don't think of the airport as madness so much as just really dull. But there might be some regular restaurants in nearby towns/suburbs, of course. I'd suggest you just go to the village where the airport is, Roissy-en-France. Here is their tourism website, see if you can find some restaurants on there
http://www.hotels-roissy-tourisme.co...-hotel-roissy/

Are you going to clear customs? Outside of customs there is a Patisserie Paul on the upper level at the RER station. It had OK coffee and sweets.

Thanks Christina... I'll look into..

@ Michael: no I won't have to clear customs... I think I've seen the patisserie before... thank you anyway

Clearing customs and passport control are two different things. Rarely does a connection not require going through passport control and leaving the secure area.

4.5 hours is really not long enough to leave the airport and not as long as you would presume to spend at CDG/get to and board your ongoing flight.

There is no way to leave the airport and return in that time period unless you are going no farther than Roissy-Village, where 90% of the hotels are.

You can shop and get some delicious cheeses, etc.

To play it safe, I wouldn't leave the airport. We got to the airport quite early heading home to the states in October and going through security, getting boarding pass, etc. went very smoothly, so we were faced with a long wait in the airport. We spent time looking in the shops etc. and the time flew by faster than expected. Avoiding a little bordedom isn't worth the chance of missing your plane. I'd be anxious about missing my plane, which would negate any benefit of leaving the airport just for a lunch.