I will fly to Japan soon & have 5hr between changeover at France. Can i leave the airport?

Question

It is not a stopover, thought i would have liked to have a day or more. Anyhow, i have booked a flight from England to Japan, and there is 4-5hours between the next flight (which is quite a long gap).

I would like to know if i can leave or go outside the airport, maybe take a train to Paris and back?

Answer 1

Better not as the time to go through custom again in CDG might take 30 minutes or 2 hours depending on your luck.  RER train from CDG to Paris center varies from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on direct train or not.  

Answer 2

You CAN.

I think you'd be foolish to do so.  There is too much risk of missing your next flight.

You'll probably have to go through customs again if you leave the airport.

It's a confusing airport, too.  Watch out for falling ceiling beams.

Answer 3

I wouldn't if i were you. You probably could, but there's always a chance that you will miss your flight. Plus, you're going to have to go through all the security again.

Yes, 4-5 hours is a long time. You could read, call family, explore, etc

Answer 4

It depends where you are from, if you don't need a visa for France then you can leave the airport. 5 hours doesn't sound like a lot of time, it takes about 35 minutes on the train from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the centre of Paris and I don't know how often the trains run. If you can check in for your Japan flight before you go on the train, then you might get a couple of hours in Paris.