scientist_wife

We are flying from Krakow to Paris to US tomorrow early morning. We have baggage checked through, so that's not a problem. How do we or can we visit the arc, notre dame, and/or eiffel tower, not necessarily entering any of them, only for a camera shot and a bite to eat. Tuesday morning from 10:10am to 5:00pm. That's arrival to departure time. Should we even try more than one thing?

Thanks.

denisea

Do you fly into CDG or Orly? From CDG you could take the RER B train into the city. It would be stressful to me to have to clear immigrations/customs, then security on my way back in.

You could probably quickly see one or two things before going back in. Take a look at parisbytrain.com for info ;
The RER stop for ET is Champ de Mars; for the Arc de Triomphe it is Etoile and for Notre Dame it is St Michel (which may be closed right now) or the Metro stop Cite. I am not sure if they are all on the same RER line, probably not. Look at the Paris Metro and RER maps on line.

Christina

I don't ever plan things like that, but since your flight to the US is a long-distance international one that means you should be at CDG by perhaps 2:30. I always get there 3 hrs in advance, but that should be enough given you aren't checkiung baggage. You'll still have to go through security and will you need a boarding pass?

So anyway, arrive 10:10, get off the plane and past passport control by 11 am if you are lucky, probably a bit later depending on how many people are going through it at that time of day. If you had euros on you and/or already had Paris transportation passes and knew exactly where to go to get on the RER and what you were doing you probably could be in central Paris by noon. It sounds like you don't know anything about Paris and the station and how to do all that, so let's say 12:30. YOu have to be back at CDG by 2:30, so let's say since you think you know what you are doing going back, you'll leave central Paris on the RER for the airport at 1:30.

that leaves you one hour. Those 3 sites are too far apart to be traveling around town to look at them all. go to Notre Dame as it's right outside the RERB exit.

c41

We just returned from Paris, flying out of Orly on our way to Ireland. It is a good thing we got there four hours before our flight. The lines were long and security took some time. We went through two security checks. One for customs and one for the security check. It will take you at least 45 minutes to an hour to get to one of the attractions in central Paris. If you haven't taken the Metro, it takes a couple of days to figure it all out. If you speak French, it is much easier. If you go to Notre Dame, expect a very long line to get in. I have to agree with Christina. You will only have about an hour, if that.

Judy

The only possibility is, if you get through passport control quickly, you could hop in a taxi and have the driver drive you past what you'd like to see and take you back to the airport. This would not be inexpensive.

You could probably grab a sandwich at the airport before your flight.

gh21

As others have pointed out, a 7 hour layover is not the same as having 7 hours to see something in Paris. RER B into Paris is 30-35 min plus time to buy tickets and wait for next train. A taxi would take longer than the train, and even longer if there is traffic.

nytraveler

You do not have 7 hours. If your incoming plane is on time you need to allow an hour to get into paris - and you need to leave paris 2.5 hours before your ongoing planes - so you actually have, at most, 3.5 hours in the city. If you cab around you can get outside photos of a couple of places - or can visit one place - assuming nothing is late, you don;t have lunch and you can figure out what to do with your carry-ons.

I wouldn't do it but I've been to paris at est a dozen times. If you've never been and don;t see going soon - make a lan to do it - IF the stars align.

djkbooks

You would need to allow about an hour from landing to curb, an hour to get into Paris, an hour to return to CDG, and be back at CDG at least three hours ahead of departure (because you just never know how long the lines or how many lanes will be open at passport control and security). That's six hours.

There are many contingencies involved. For example, on your previous thread you indicated

<<We'll be shooting to take metro with one change to get to Eiffel tower, snap a shot, grab a bite, and head back, sound right?>>

However, service on RER Line C is currently interrupted, "From july 18th to august 20th, some engineering works on the line RER stop the traffic between Invalides and Paris Austerlitz stations, which means that Musée d'Orsay and Saint Michel Notre Dame can't be reach by the RER. To get there, you can take metro or buses."

If you return to CDG too late to board your ongoing flight, no one will care in the least and you'll have to purchase new tickets home (at exhorbitant walk-up fares) with no credit for the missed flight.

spaarne

Don't count on grabbing a quick bite anywhere in Paris except at a crepes street vendor.

AnthonyGA

There's nothing that you'll have time to safely visit during a 7-hour layover. It's best to stay at the airport.