Originally Posted by
Steve007NY
Arriving from TLV at 11:45 AM on Sunday, January 23; flight to JFK leaves at 19:10. Will have to check our luggage through and only have something like a backpack. Flying both legs Air France in J.
I can speak passable French and have been to Paris a number of times although none recently. My brother has never been before and is unlikely to get there again so his only chance to even fleetingly viewing the sites will be on this layover. These were relatively low mileage award tickets, so not much of a chance of changing them. Haven't been through CDG security in a while. Is it feasible for us to grab the metro into town and perhaps do A stop at Notre Dame (cité), a quick run to the Eiffel Tower and make our departing flight? I've done a similar "OK, now you can say you've been there" with my father-in-law and my niece in the past but have no idea how security lines, etc. have changed over the past six or so years.
i know my brother would be happy simply to have a couple pictures of himself in front of famous sites. Is this feasible these days?
You have plenty of time to go to Paris, but the whole question is how you want to do it. Once you factor in exiting, getting the RER to Paris, and getting the RER back from Central Paris to make it back to the airport without feeling worried about being there too late, you really have less than 4 hours in Paris. If it were me, I'd indeed take the RER to St Michel Notre Dame, you can have lunch in the Quartier Latin, wander around the Ile de la Cite, Ile St Louis, Quais de Seine, or even to either the Marais or the Louvre area, have a nice coffee, and pick the RER back up at Chatelet.
With that programme, however I'd see the Tour Eiffel from far rather than going there. It's quite a bit further west so going there would effectively either mean taking another metro to get there (I personally prefer to walk) and changing on the way back, or sacrificing your lunch and some of the wandering.
Because of security at TLV, you will have woken up quite early so I'd personally choose a version to take it easy rather than go to the Tour Eiffel just to "tick a box".