CDG is in zone 5, but I have yet to go beyond zone 6-8, so I don't know the price difference.

I would pay the extra and buy Visite in the USA, just to spend an hour or two in the city. But this is all based on Amanda's preferences!

find a hop on hop off bus or double decker tour bus and ride around the city..it will be worth your effort.

zone 1-5 Visite is only 17 euros so about the same if bought in France.

$26 + $18

That's what you'd pay thru RailEurope or any US agent for the only version, all zones of the Visite pass sold here

You could pay only $5 postage if order thru BETS (800-441-2387) i believe but still the $26 p.p. for the pass. so save quite a bit by getting the zone 1-5 pass at CDG, though in my experience there can be long lines at the RER ticket window - i assume but not sure they sell it there.

CDG is in RATP Zone 5.
A round-trip RER ticket to Paris is €16,20, which will get you to any Métro station.
A Paris Visite is €18.60, and includes CDG and all RER, bus, and Métro within Paris.

My math is predicated on the fact that a Paris Visite costs only €2,50 more than a round-trip on the RER. This means that if one wants to grab a bus and start hopping off and on, the fares are covered. If a single destination is the objective, then the RER ticket will suffice.

One used to be able to acquire a Paris Visite at the RATP boutique in JFK. I don't know if this is still possible.

So it hinges on whether Visite passes are sold at CDG or not - if so the extra 2 euros would be well worth it. As usual Robespeter has the definitive word on Paris transports!

Hi

If I only had 5 hours I would not take the chance to get into Paris. It will take you at least an hour to get into town on the train and hence there will not be much time downtown.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

The RER schedule calls for 31 minutes from CDG to Gare du Nord. I've never been on an RER train that was more than a minute or two off schedule. (No, I've never been in a strike.)

With 5 hours I would not even consider taking the RER from CDG to Paris and back. From the time you arrive at the gate until you clear customs and immigration and take the shuttle bus to the RER station you have lost 45 minutes. The train takes another 30+ minutes to Gare Nord and you are still at the north end of the city and 30 minutes and a metro ride from anything you want to see. You have now used up easily 1 3/4 hours. The return will involve about the same amount of time so you have used up 3 1/2 hours and that's if you know exactly how to navigate the RER and Metro systems without delays. You certainly want to be at the gate 30 minutes before your flight so that leaves you with 1 hour in Paris. The only way I would consider going into Paris would be by taxi if you think it's worth the expense which it may be if you think you will never again get that close to Paris.

Good luck,
Larry J

"The train takes another 30+ minutes to Gare Nord and you are still at the north end of the city and 30 minutes and a metro ride from anything you want to see."

This is factually incorrect.

St-Michel Notre-Dame is 5 minutes further down the RER B line, and once there the Eiffel Tower is 11 minutes away via RER C.

If you get off at Châtelet-les-Halles (3 minutes from Gare du Nord), you can ride the RER A to the Arc de Triomphe in 7 minutes.

Want to stroll around the Luxembourg Gardens? The RER stop is 7 minutes from Gare du Nord.

I suppose there ARE places that are 30 minutes plus a Métro ride beyond Gare du Nord, but I can't recommend visiting any of them.

Hi

When I was referring to an hour I was referring to getting through customs, immigration, taking the bus to the train station, lining up to get a ticket, waiting for the train etc. Things take more time than we plan :d

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

And even things like changing at Saint Michel for a novice metro user can be perplexing - even getting on RER C going the wrong way perhaps - put in the eyes of a first-timer it takes longer than expected and can be down right confusing.

Robespierre,

Let's examine a little further your own example of a trip to the Eiffel Tower:

I estimated it would still take 30 more minutes from Gare Nord to popular sites in Paris. If from Gare Nord it is 5 more minutes to St.Michel + 11 minutes on line C to the nearest station to the Eiffel Tower (Champs de Mars/Tour Eiffel) and 5 minutes walk to the tower from there we have 21 minutes. Since there will be some wait time at St. Michel for the line C train of at least 5 minutes we are at 26 minutes. You are calling me "factually incorrect" for 4 minutes? You are a tough guy.

Actually if it were me I would take the suggestion of Dave in Paris and take the Eurostar or even take a cheap Ryan Air flight to London after spending some time in Paris.

Larry J

I have to agree with those who say to take Ryan Air or train to London in order to extend time in Paris. With that said, all that train information is waaaaay to overwhelming for someone who has never travelled the Metro before or can't speak French (don't know if you do or don't Amanda, but the people in the Metro do not necessarily speak English) and it is soooo easy to get lost under the city.
If it were me, I wouldn't even attempt the traffic in and out of the airport on a Friday afternoon in Paris...like everyone else said, this is way too tight and too many things can go wrong.
Perhaps arranging for a tour van or taxi ahead of time that can whip you around for an hour might be an idea, but for what you will pay for that, you may as well buy a ticket on ryan air and stay longer.
Don't forget, you will probably see the Eiffel tower upon landing and taking off from cdg.

Can you really? I've flown into/out of CDG many times, but have never seen the slightest glimpse of the city or the ET from the air. Is the ET really visible from the airport?

If Amanda has ever used public rail transit in any major city, the metro won't be difficult, she just needs a metro map. (Have you ever taken BART, the el, the subway?)

Maybe allow 10 minutes for checking/re-checking your metro map in various stations to ensure you're getting on the right train and heading for the right platform.

The timing is very tight so if you're an easily stressed person, this won't be fun. But if you're very enthusiastic and not an anxious stress-case, it will be an exhilerating mad dash.

But you <i>did</i> say &quot;anything you want to see.&quot; The Eiffel Tower is the worst case you could have chosen. The fact remains that Notre Dame is 5 minutes from Gare du Nord, and Luxembourg is 7.

The best use of Amanda's time might be the N&deg; 42 bus, as outlined above. Here is a map showing the sights it passes before reaching the Eiffel Tower:

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...&amp;nompdf=42

Op&eacute;ra, Madeleine, Place Concorde, Tuileries, Petit and Grand Palais, Champs &Eacute;lys&eacute;es, and (visible across the river) Les Invalides.