I'm doing research for a trip to France next spring. I wanted to divide the time between Paris and some outlying areas. For the city, I am looking at a place on Rue de Gramont, or staying just outside the city at Boulevard du Marechal Foch, Noisy le Grand. My biggestt concern is safety, since we'll be traveling as a family, with grown daughters most likely doing some exploring on their own. I would appreciate any information on these areas.

p.s. I would also like to add that this will be the first trip to Paris for all six of us.

On my first trip to Paris, I would certainly try to be centrally located, so I would go for Gramont rather than Noisy le Grand. Paris is a very safe city in tourist areas. That said, I would prefer to be in the 5th, 6th or 7th district (left bank) rather than the right bank, which I found to be kind of boring after business hours and in the morning. Many Fodorites would agree, though others like the right bank.<BR><BR>Re safety: Took a group of kids to Paris in the 80s and noticed posters for the concert against racism in the Metro. Imagine my !horror! the next morning to discover they had all snuck out and gone to that concert at the Place de la Concorde (400,000 people there), luckily without incident.

Stay in the central part of Paris--you can walk to many of the sites you want to see;stroll after dinner,etc. I don't know the makeup of your family but perhaps an apartment would work well.

Thanks for the input. I don't have a large choice of places to stay, since we are using a time share exchange. The other choice we are considering is is in Branville, which I believe is near Normandy. If we chose that location, we would allow a couple nights in Paris first. It's good to know I should look for a central or left bank location. I have two questions, how convenient would Branville be to WWII memorabilia and also to Paris. Second, can I assume that using public transportation from Gramont would be safe after business hours? Thanks for your help.

ttt

I don't know where Noisy le Grand is, but since it's outside Paris, I would definitely take the place on rue de Graumont which is fairly central Paris. That's near the old Opera bldg, the "Grands Boulevards" , the "Bourse" stock exchange, etc in the 2nd arr. It's a little more business-y than residential compared to other parts, but it's safe enough, even at night, I wouldn't worry about it.