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CDG Paris · rules of the Schengen area

Can I leave Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on my layover?

Choose your passport and enter your layover. You get the official entry rule for the Schengen area and a time budget that counts the queue, the trip into Paris and the way back.

Layover length
min

RER B train to Châtelet-Les Halles (25 min to Gare du Nord): official time to Châtelet-Les Halles. Change it if your sight is further away.

Our assumptions (change them)
min
min

Immigration queues are not published anywhere, so these are cautious. Each city transfer also gets 20% extra for waiting and delays.

Choose your passport to see whether you can leave Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Before you go

Going into Paris

Staying at CDG

Who can leave CDG without a visa?

A connection from a non-Schengen country to another non-Schengen country stays in the international (non-Schengen) transit area with no border check; only nationals on the common airport transit visa (ATV) list or on the airport country's national ATV list need an ATV there (France adds the Philippines; none of our other nationalities is on a list for these eight airports). If the journey chains a Schengen flight with a non-Schengen one, the passenger enters (or exits) Schengen at the airport where the external flight lands (or departs), so the normal entry rules apply. Leaving the airport means entering Schengen: visa-free nationals (Annex II of Regulation 2018/1806) get 90 days in any 180-day period and are registered in the Entry/Exit System (EES, fully operational since 10 April 2026); ETIAS is not yet in operation. Self-transfer with bag recheck also requires entry.

PassportLeave the airport
United States Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period
Canada Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period
United Kingdom Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period
Australia Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period
New Zealand Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period
EU / EEA / Switzerland Yes, you are at home here
India Not without a visa · 90 days in any 180-day period (as allowed by the visa)
China (mainland) Not without a visa · 90 days in any 180-day period (as allowed by the visa)
Brazil Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period
Mexico Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period
South Africa Not without a visa · 90 days in any 180-day period (as allowed by the visa)
Philippines Not without a visa · 90 days in any 180-day period (as allowed by the visa)
Japan Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period
South Korea Yes, no visa needed · 90 days in any 180-day period

9 of the 14 passports we cover can leave the airport without applying for a visa first (some need an online authorisation). Other passports: check the official sources linked in the planner.

Transit rules in the Schengen area

Airside transit in the international transit area (non-Schengen to non-Schengen)

Who: Everyone except nationals on the common ATV list (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka) and on the national ATV list of the transit country, unless exempt under Visa Code Art. 3(5).

  • Both flights are to/from outside the Schengen area and the passenger stays in the international transit area (no border check).
  • In Germany only Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg (04:30-23:30), Düsseldorf (06:00-21:00, prearranged) and Berlin-Brandenburg have an international transit area.
  • A connection that includes a Schengen-internal flight means entry (arriving) or exit (departing) at the airport of the external flight.
  • Self-transfer with baggage recheck or a change of airport requires entering Schengen.

Source: European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, European Commission, European Commission, Federal Foreign Office (Germany), Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA)

Entry/Exit System (EES)

Who: All non-EU nationals entering for a short stay (visa-exempt and visa holders).

  • Progressive start 12 October 2025; fully operational in all Schengen countries since 10 April 2026.
  • Registration (face image, fingerprints) at the external border replaces passport stamping; not triggered by airside transit.

Source: European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs

ETIAS (not yet in force)

Who: Visa-exempt nationals (US, CA, GB, AU, NZ, BR, MX, JP, KR) once it starts.

  • Not in operation as of 2026-11-01; no applications collected.
  • Scheduled for the last quarter of 2026; the EU will announce the exact date several months before launch.
  • Fee announced as EUR 20; valid 3 years or until the passport expires.

Source: European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs

Getting from CDG into Paris

We measure to Châtelet-Les Halles. Times are the operators' own figures; ≈ marks a timetable-based estimate where no official door-to-door time is published.

OptionTimeFareRuns
RER B train to Châtelet-Les Halles (25 min to Gare du Nord) source 40 min – every 10-20 min on weekdays, Until 2026-12-11 (Mon-Fri and some weekends): no trains after 22:45 between Châtelet-Les Halles and CDG 2-TGV, replacement bus B4 from Gare du Nord
Roissybus (RATP) to Opéra – – –
Paris taxi, regulated flat fare to Paris right bank / left bank – – 24h

Good to know: RER B works: until 11 Dec 2026 (Mon-Fri and some weekends) the line is cut from 22:45 in both directions between Châtelet-Les Halles and CDG 2-TGV; take Metro 4 to Gare du Nord then replacement bus B4 to CDG 1 and 2. A local strike disrupted RER B on 31 Oct-1 Nov 2026. CDG has several terminals (T1, T2A-G, T3) linked by the free CDGVAL shuttle; RER B stops at CDG 1 (Roissypôle) and CDG 2-TGV. Leaving the airport means Schengen entry for non-Schengen arrivals.

If you stay in the airport

Transit hotel
No airside hotel listed.
Left luggage
Not confirmed.
Free layover tour
None that we know of.

Questions

Do I need a visa for a layover in Paris?

If you stay airside, it depends on your passport: A connection from a non-Schengen country to another non-Schengen country stays in the international (non-Schengen) transit area with no border check; only nationals on the common airport transit visa (ATV) list or on the airport country's national ATV list need an ATV there (France adds the Philippines; none of our other nationalities is on a list for these eight airports). If the journey chains a Schengen flight with a non-Schengen one, the passenger enters (or exits) Schengen at the airport where the external flight lands (or departs), so the normal entry rules apply. Leaving the airport means entering Schengen: visa-free nationals (Annex II of Regulation 2018/1806) get 90 days in any 180-day period and are registered in the Entry/Exit System (EES, fully operational since 10 April 2026); ETIAS is not yet in operation. Self-transfer with bag recheck also requires entry. Choose your passport above for the exact rule and its official source.

How long does it take to get from CDG to Paris?

The fastest public option, RER B train to Châtelet-Les Halles (25 min to Gare du Nord), takes about 40 minutes to Châtelet-Les Halles (official figure). The planner adds 20% for waiting and delays.

How long a layover do I need to leave Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport?

With our cautious defaults (45 minutes to get out, 120 minutes back before departure, the transfer both ways plus 20%), you need about 6 hours for 90 minutes in the city. Below that, stay in the airport.

Rules checked against official sources on 2026-11-01; airport facts from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Found something out of date? Tell us.