jobellview

Hello all,
Does anyone know where the red light district in Paris is?
I'm thinking of booking a hotel in the 17th this summer (rue du Mont Dore, at the border of the 9th) but I heard that the hotel is in the red light district. Should I be concerned? I am travelling with children and grand-parents. Thanks for your help.

Lutece

You will be absolutely fine in the 17th. The area around the Pigalle metro stop on Boulevard Clichy in the 9th is really the main "red light district" and although others may disagree with me, I do not think it is dangerous -- even at night. It is a very small area and can easily be avoided in my opinion.

In defense of the 9th, where the hubby and I own an apartment, check out this great article in Sunday's NYT:
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/02/2...partner=rssnyt

Based on the street your hotel is on, it appears you will be between the Rome and Clichy metro stops, which is a perfectly fine place to be. Get to know your neighborhood and have a wonderful trip!

hanl

I agree with Lutece. I used to live in the 9th just south of Place Clichy and know the area well. The main area to avoid is between Pigalle and Blanche metro stations, along the boulevard the Clichy. The red light area doesn't extend much further than that and, as Lutece says, it's not somewhere I'd class as "dangerous".

jobellview

Thank you for your feedback. Have either of you heard of Hotel Cabourg on rue Mont Doré? It's a very inexpensive 2-star.

Patrick

If they rent by the hour, I'd be worried.

Nikki

I had heard the advice about avoiding the Pigalle metro station at night and was therefore nervous about going there to the theater last week. I was happy to find that the area was filled with theater-goers and perfectly respectable looking people. There were several XXX places in sight, but other legitimate theaters as well, and many cafes. Lots of activity on the street after the theater.

There is construction work at the metro station, and it is closed after a certain hour (maybe 9:00PM), which anyone going there in the near future might want to keep in mind.

hopscotch

There is more than one RLD. What I saw on rue St. Denis is unmentionable. What I heard about in the Bois de Boulogne is really way out.

P_M

I was in Paris in January and wandered into the Pigalle area one night, not really knowing what was there. I was surprised to realize I was in the Red Light District, yet I never felt threatened. Later I told my traveling companions, Dad and his wife, about this area. My stepmom was intrigued and said she'd never seen a Red Light District and insisted we stop by later that night. We did and she found it all very amusing and kept giggling. My conservative dad wasn't impressed, and didn't want to stick around. We didn't stay long, just enough to satisfy stepmom's curiosity, but we never felt unsafe.

fritz77

I agree it's really not dangerous. However, why would you want to potentially expose your children and grandparents to the seamy side of Paris? There are plenty of well priced hotels in other perfectly lovely Paris neigrhoods.

mermaid_

Jo, don't worry about the hotel you've chosen. Rue du Mont Dore is a small street that empties into the larger Blvd. de Batignolles. My husband and I spent a week at a hotel on Rue St. Petersburg, which is less than a few blocks away from where you'll be. The metro stop you will be using is Clichy, which is NOT where the seedy neighborhood is, which hanl describes. Unless you want to, you'll have no reason to go there! (It's not unsafe by any means, but it's no beauty spot either.)

There's an ATAC grocery at the corner on 7/9 Blvd. Batignolles. If your hotel has a mini-bar like our did, it's a good stop for buying cheeses for snack and drinks. A very good cafe at reasonable prices (15&euro; and up for the special of the day) is <b>Le Cafe Jules at 17 rue des Batignolles</b>. We had a wonderful dinner there!

The neighborhood is not as glamorous as some, but it has a nice feel to it and we really didn't think it was an inconvenient place to stay. Enjoy beautiful Paris!

mermaid_

fritz, the street the hotel is on can in no way be considered the &quot;seamy side&quot; of Paris. Batignolles is a nice neighborhood.

cigalechanta

hopscotch, the Bois is beautiful. Did you see the film Gigi? It's true there are some places after dark that cater to the Prostitutes, transvestites, and a few other far out activities but not in the day time. Do you realizze how huge the Bois is. They are not by where we would go. There are restaurants, caf&eacute;s, flower gardens, a puppet show a zoo, a horse trail, so much to see.

jobellview

Thanks for all your advise on this. Although it's safe, yet not glamorous, how is the noise from the Gare St-Lazare in this area? I haven't booked this hotel yet but it's hard to find a quad for less than 100 euros.

mermaid_

You won't hear noise from Gare St-Lazare. Don't worry!