bobbye7

I've booked a tour for early May to France, with 3 days in Paris. Our hotel there is the Mercure Montmarte, in the Montmarte/Red Light Quarter. I've heard this is a somewhat slummy district. Will it be safe for a single woman to walk there at night? Are there any decent affordable eateries/grocery stores nearby? I'm on a very tight budget plus I want to make the most of my free time by walking wherever I can and seeing nearby sites.

Christina

Parts of it are sleazy, but Montmartre as a whole is certainly not a "red light district" nor quarter. That arrondisement (18) is huge and that is just a small part of it. The Mercure Montmartre is kind of fairly close to the sleazy part, though, and businesses -- it's just off bd de Clichy a bit on rue Caulaincourt.

Sure, there are affordable places to eat, just walk north on that street there are several cafes on Caulaincourt, and also over on rue Lepic (which is a market street, actually) which is parallel to Caulaincourt, and just a bit to the east.

I wouldn't go to Paris with the idea of only seeing the sights within walking distance of my hotel. You can easily go anywhere by metro, and it's not that expensive. I really wouldn't limit my visit to Paris to the surroundings of that hotel.

I don't think you'll want to be walking the streets around there at night, no, especially not the main ones. I gather you do understand there is a lot of sex business around there.

kerouac

Is the Mercure Montmartre the one at Place de Clichy? It is not in the red light district, although it is just at the tip of where it begins.

You can therefore avoid the rather nasty (?) boulevard de Clichy if it appalls you, but I actually think that you will find that it is not a problem. There is a large central neutral zone all along the boulevard where people can walk if they do not want to approach the specialized shops and shows of the area.

bobbye7

if one wants to go out at night, how can you avoid walking? is it unsafe even to and from the metro? or would a taxi be better in the evening? i'm traveling with a group but not part of a "couple" so i don't know whether i might have a companion on such outings.

djkbooks

Take a look at the reviews for this hotel on TripAdvisor.

We prefer the buses to the Metro and that hotel is very close to bus route 80, which connects to the Montmartrobus (very handy for avoiding all those hills in Montmartre).

kerouac

>>is it unsafe even to and from the metro?

It is not unsafe at all. Who said it was unsafe?

Travelnut

To catch the metro, night or day, you'll walk along a very broad busy avenue, lots of people, tour-buses... so it won't be unsafe.

If you go up rue Lepic and onto rue des Abbesses, there are quite a few cafes and shops.

If you go north of the hotel, you can explore an interesting cemetery - but not at night, of course!

oakglen

Le Maquis is a fine restaurant on rue Caulaincourt; good prices with a resonable prix-fixe for lunch. You must reserve.