susanteach

irishiningo, ignore the men who think you're being silly! There are neighborhoods in cities all over the world which have higher crime rates against women. It is important to make sure you know what to watch out for. I have only felt a little intimidated in Paris once, and I was actually travelling with my best friend. We had booked a miraculously inexpensive, 3-star hotel in an outer arrond. and couldn't believe our luck! Well, after a day of site seeing, we finally take the Metro back after dark. From the train to the hotel, we were approached multiple times and yelled at from afar. When we ignored them, we got yelled at for that too. No one ever touched us, but we were given quite a fright when a group of 3 young men followed us trying to get us to go to a dance club in spite of being told "NO MERCI" in a variety of ways.

It turns out that the area was the on the edge of a hangout for angry, foreign-born ruffians. We later also heard from the hotel manager that there was a kind of mob-protest deal nearby, similar to the riots in Paris we saw on t.v. this year, but on a much smaller scale.
**It's certainly nothing diff. from DC, Chicago, Philly... (lived in those), but there were no cops around and the idea that no one else knew where we were was scary.

You should make sure your hotel in located in a central area, as close as possible to your priorities (museums, train stations...etc.). Have fun!

francophile03

I believe a local has a different perception about his/her city than a visitor. That's the reason for the questions that are asked about safety when visiting any city.

LoveItaly

I don't understand your comment AnthonyGA when you say "If your French friends are afraid to walk there, how do they know that it's nuts to do so?"

Your comment does not make sense.
Women around the world KNOW where it is not safe to walk at night in the various communities where they live.

How do they know? Well police reports that are published in local newspapers, word of mouth, an experience where they felt uncomfortable, comments from other people in their community (from men and women)etc.

I live in a described "safe community" but believe me I know areas that I would not be found walking along after dark. Every woman I know could tell you the same thing. So again, I truly do not understand your comment.

Kate_W

I live in Paris, and I feel much safer here than I did when I lived in London (2001-02) and New York (1993-1994). There are a lot of people on the streets until well into the evening, except in some small, residential streets, and this increases the comfort factor. In addition to some of the dodgy spots others have mentioned, I would advise you to avoid the Chatelets-Les Halles metro in mid- to late evening.

Dukey

I have to agree with Kate. Another suggestion...try to LOOK as confident as you feel...that can make a tremendous difference.

AnthonyGA

I know that people tend to fear places they've never seen. If there are specific reports on the street in question that show it to be dangerous, or even anecdotal reports of its danger, perhaps you can point me to them.

A lot of visitors to Paris think that the entire city is dangerous, their reasoning being that anything outside Kansas is dangerous by default. Locals should know better, but that doesn't mean that they have a completely accurate picture of the risky areas in the city. If you write off every location that a friend of a friend's son-in-law's brother's daughter's best friend's sister fears, you end up not being able to go anywhere at all.

Kate_W

The only other time I've felt uncomfortable in Paris was when I took the RER (these are the commuter trains that connect the Paris suburbs with the city), within the city, on weekends. These trains are part of the metro network, so you might find yourself directed to take one within the city (e.g. from Odeon-St Michel, where I was staying at the time, to La Muette, in the 16th, where I was working). On weekdays, all was fine - the trains are full of people commuting to and from work. But on a few weekends when I had to work, the trains were relatively empty and there were, shall I say "underemployed youth", kicking up a bit of a disturbance.

On the other hand, as another example of how safe I feel here, I feel quite comfortable walking home from work after dark along a fairly deserted street (but a main thoroughfare) in the vicinity of the Parc des Princes (the football stadium), even on game nights. I would never walk alone anywhere near a British football stadium ...

suze

I don't understand how people can ask or answer this question about and ENTIRE city. Don't you have to take into account all the different districts? I think the mention above of specific spots to be wary of or avoid entirely at night are helpful.

for Irishiningo- from your original post we could not tell that you were well traveled or wondering specifically about walking after dark. my initial reply was going to be to suggest you don't read your map while blocking pedestrian traffic on a busy sidewalk -lol!

SeaUrchin

Love Italy and I are in agreement. There are areas in most every city where a woman should not walk alone at night. It is not a reflection on the whole city to warn a woman about walking in certain areas.

Some areas are perfectly fine up until rush hour but afterwards get deserted and have the potential of danger for a woman. It is naive to think this is not true.

I think it is good to know which areas to avoid at night if you are walking a short cut or coming back to the hotel after dinner, etc.

Aileron

Love Italy, you're correct.

Anthony, I live in New York City. I know what crime is. I used to be a prosecutor. People residing in any locality tend to know which are the dangerous spots.

irishiningo

I love all the advice here and am glad I asked the question. My main concern, as I clarified in the second post, was about walking around alone after dark. (Don't even know what time that will be in Paris.) Walking in a city at night is one of the best parts of traveling to me, and I just wanted to get thoughts based on experience.

So sincere thanks for all your comments; they are very helpful. I'm very excited. I changed a 7-day England trip into a 2-day so that I could spend more time in Paris!

irishiningo

susanteach - cute story I fear my days of being chased by young men are in the distant past.

suze - Unfolding my map is a good excuse to sit down and eat and drink again.

AnthonyGA

At this time of year the sun sets at about 9:45 PM, and it stays light for a while thereafter. By the time it gets really dark, it's already quite late.