I will be in Paris this summer with my 16 yr old daughter(just the two of us, and I haven't been there in 25 years). A friend told me that we shouldn't go to Monmartre or the flea market by ourselves. No one else I've talked to has mentioned that. Anyone have any comments on safety in Paris. Thanks.

What your friend told you is nonsense. Obviously you should use common sense as you would anyplace in the world. But it's completely safe. The biggest problem are pickpockets, so don't hang your bag out for someone to grab. <BR>For more Paris information e-mail me: [email protected]

I spent a month in Paris last May(2 weeks solo) and never felt afraid anywhere. Montmartre with my sister and a flea market by myself. Just don't hang your bag out for pickpockets or where a backpack in a crowded area. Keep your major money/cards in a money belt and you'll feel very safe.

I returned recently from 10 days in Paris, and felt very safe everywhere. I was solo, and wandered around Montmartre in the back streets behind Sacre Coeur for half a day - beautiful, peaceful and safe! I will admit I did most of my wandering around Paris during the day. At night you will probably be in areas frequented by alot of people. Paris is very much alive at night - I don't think you have a thing to worry about. Have a wonderful time!

I just eturned from Paris on Monday. We were told by the guy at the hotel not to go to the market at Clingancourt.He said it was "dangerous". I think he meant pickpockets. After asking another hotel employee who said it was ok but be alert, we went. It was fine. There were some crowds but no problems. It was not an interesting market, mostly clothes & shoes but my 16 year old found some shoes & clothes to buy very cheaply. If you are alert then you should be ok during the day.<BR>As for the other places, we were out til rather late & never felt unsafe. On Rue St Michel there is a wide assortment of places to eat & it got crowded but never unsafe feeling. The Metro was safe as well.The musicians on the cars were a treat but beggars are everywhere.<BR><BR>Have fun!

Just back from Paris also -- was there for a little over a week and, while I did not linger in the main tourist locations long, I never saw anything that looked like a pickpocketing or a potential pickpocketing scam on the streets or the metro/RER. [The mustard, drop something, bump kind] I WAS looking as I wanted to report back to you folks. My valuables were under my clothes and my purse was across my body and I wasn't wearing much jewelry. Like other aspects of life -- it just takes a bit of judgment.

I have heard from several sources (including a middle aged French acquaintance who is in close touch with friends and relatives in Paris and reads French newspapers daily) that there's been a sharp and serious increase in violent crime (knifings, beatings, etc.) in Paris, especially in the Metro, since the beginning of this year, and that Parisians themselves are very concerned. The problem has gone beyond pickpocketing which rarely hurt anyone, except economically and perhaps psychologically. <BR><BR>A friend of mine was mugged in the Metro in early evening this past winter, but other than that had a nice time. That incident doesn't prove that it is or isn't dangerous.

I spend a great deal of my time in Paris in neighborhoods that are well off the beaten path. Other than the metro station Barbes-Rochechouart (and the area around it) and the Bois du Boulogne, both at night only, the areas that most tourists will find themselves are safe at all hours.<BR><BR>Pickpockets work the crowds, like on the metro or at tourist sights or shopping area, but if you keep your documents and monetary items in plain view (like in a purse worn across your chest) or out of easy reach (like in a buttoned front pocket or in a safety pouch under your clothes), you won't have problems.<BR><BR>Did your friend who gave you these warnings have a bad experience while s/he was in Paris?<BR><BR>

Was in Paris with my adult daughter in April. We never felt unsafe, but did take the precautions mentioned in all above posts. I use a "healthy-type" bag and wear it across my chest when near others. We saw a few begging women, but they were sitting on the ground. We never saw anything resembling pickpockets (yes, I know we were lucky). We rode the bus and metro and walked at night. Montmartre and the flea market are places you would do in the day anyway. Go, be aware and enjoy!

It's possible that person doesn't know much about Paris and has only been there a few days as a tourist herself as some people are a lot more nervous about doing things alone outside the center than others. Some people just have diff. thresholds for warnings, also. I was attending music school in Paris last summer and several foreign women (not Americans, actually, one was Russian) in their 30s-50s wanted me to accompany them on the metro to a music store which was just around the rue de Rome area on the border of the 8th and 17th. They were just nervous about being on their own in a foreign, big city where they didn't speak the language. <BR><BR>IN any case, some people might advise that strictly for pickpocketing reasons, but the remark about not going alone sounds like a physical safety issue. I've been both places alone (espec Montmartre) but wouldn't go to Montmartre at night alone, either and lots of people do what to do that, there are some clubs up there. Also, I have been approached by a creepy guy near Porte de Clignancourt, even in the daytime, and I saw him going up to other women, also. I'm not too intimidated about those things and know French so told him off, but there are some creepy guys hanging around Clignancourt in-between the metro stop and the flea market (which is not clothes and shoes, I think the person above wasn't really at the traditional antique Saint-Ouen Flea market, there are lots of vendors of various stuff on the streets in that area). I think this advice depends on the person and how street savvy and used to urban environments they are and how careful (or careless) they are with their belongings and interactions with strangers. I will not have anything to do with street persons but I'm surprised how many people on this board talk about responding to (like answering questions or giving the time) etc., these folks on the street or in metro/train stations (who are usually women with or without kids/babies).

My girlfriend & I met two people from Paris in Rome this past April at our hotel, and had dinner with them on a Saturday night near the Spanish Steps.<BR><BR>I can't remember where the guy lives (in the 2nd, I think) but the woman lives in Montmartre, near Pigalle. Because there's been a lot of questions about that area here -- and since I've only visited it once, on my first trip to Paris in 1987 -- I asked her how safe she felt in, specifically, the Pigalle area. And she surprised me by saying "very safe." <BR><BR>Anyway, I'm certainly not suggesting she has the definitive answer as to crime/safety in Pigalle/Montmarte -- after all, it's just one person's opinion -- but I thought her perception was very interesting, coming from a woman who actually lives in that area.