kate

HAH! just a suggestion. i need a cane to walk. the gypsies in italy left me alone.. maybe even making the sign ofthe cross. think they are superstitious...not wanting to bring ill on themselves. all suggestions noteworthy... but this worked for me.

Candace

Years ago while in Paris my sister-in-law almost had her wallet stolen my a child. The little girl had a blanket with some placemats she was "selling" and she was crowding us. We were saying no and she kept advancing and was using the blanket to cover her hands while she was unzipping my sister-in-laws purse lucky for us a frenchman across the street starting yelling at her and she took off before she was successful.

nervous

I just read all the correspondence about pickpockets and am now nervous about our trip to Paris in a few weeks. I usually travel with my SLR camera, worn around my neck since it's too big for any reasonably sized pocketbook. Will this be a problem, since it obviously points me out as a tourist?

sandra

Just got back from London & Paris and we had no problem with pickpockets. My husband and I both wore our money paks that go through your belt and inside of your pants. We carried daypacks that contained our film, passes etc. These packs were worn crisscross across our shoulders and not only zipped but had a flap over the zipper that also buckled. I wore my camera around my neck and it hung inside my windbreaker as it rained almost the entire time we we there. We never felt threatened, always kept our eyes open to people that got close to us and everything was fine. As long as you take precautions and not be careless, you have nothing to worry about. Theres NO way someone could have gotten to our money packs without literally ripping our belts off and other clothes.

Kathy

Some one asked about secure hadbags for women. I bought one from Travelsmith (www.Travelsmith.com) that is great. It is a shoulder bag that has a steel cord in the handle so that thieves cannot cut the shoulder strap and run off with your bag. Also, the top of the bag has a zipper - actually it has two zippers. So if both zippers are zipped closed, a thief could try to unzip one zipper only to discover a second closed zipper. I also carry it cross ways, keeping it in front of my body.

Jim Mohundro

We just returned (July 9) from a week in Paris and a week in London. I think this security issue is probably a greater issue for women because they are (or permit themselves to be) constrained by fashion to avoid "bumps" in their clothing (e.g., lack of pockets in most woman's bottom garments), so I'll pass on a couple of suggestions for men. <BR> <BR>Last year we spent 9 or 10 days in Italy and I was frequently dealing with my money belt even while carrying a modest amount of currency in my front pocket (if you find a public restroom with a private booth, you can make the money belt transfers with relative ease but those facilities are not universally available. <BR> <BR>This year, I purchased a couple of travel cotton chino trousers from LL Bean. The pants has one large zipper pocket inside the regular front pocket and a zipper pocket, under a flat, ijn the rear pocket. It was easy to keep the important, but needed-to-be- convenient stuff (passport, credit card(s)), larger bills of currency in the zippered pocket. It was and felt very secure. I also wore the backup concealed pouch (not a money belt per se) under my shirt and trousers with my belt running through the belt loop (it was very unobtrusive), and kept my hotel and flat keys in the zippered rear pocket of the trousers. Stuff was where I could get at it when I needed it. The pouch, and, especially, the Bean trousers gave me a lot of security and peace of mind together with utility.

ladyjane

About the cane--maybe you are right that the gypsies are superstitious about robbing someone who appears to be disabled. But you remind me of another piece of street-smart advice, which comes I think from the police here in New York--people who are carrying a stick or umbrella are much less likely to be mugger targets, as the stick or umbrella clearly could be used as a weapon and the thief wants to keep it simple.

Linda

I was in Paris last November and had no issues with money or credit cards. I either had my money, etc., in a front pant pocket or a purse over my shoulder. I even went by myself to Normandy and had absolutely no issues. Paris is a wonderful place. Be cautious as you should everywhere but enjoy!

Christina

I don't do anything special except not be careless with stuff and have never had a problem or come close and have never had anyone bother me with all these trapping tricks, but I did just return from Paris and one guy got pickpocketed on the metro while I was there. I didn't actually see it, but he started making a lot of noise and cursing, so I found out what happened. This is what the guy was doing, all of which are extremely dumb things, geez, no wonder he got pickpocketed -- he was an obvious American tourist (speaking loudly in Amer.-accented English to companions, carrying backpack and guidebooks, wearing khakis, etc) and had his wallet just in his open pants pocket (which was probably visible as a bulge) -- then, he does the really dumbest thing of standing in front of the metro door (male tourists love to do that, it seems to me) with his hands occupied with his stuff or up in the air or something -- so, of course, pickpockets target tourists and love them when they are right in front of the door, as they grab their wallet just as the door is closing and run out the door! That's what happened, the guy couldn't even follow him. Really dumb. Oh, this was on a very popular pickpocket tourist metro line in Paris, also, the one with the Louvre stops, in the middle of the day. I don't know what that guy was thinking (or not thinking) and why he was acting that way, but his behavior was a classic example of what not to do. Also, I would recommend people not carry keys around with them in Paris, as someone else was doing -- leave your hotel key at the hotel (most want you to do that) and don't carry around your house, car etc keys on you from home.

Wally

We are just back from a wonderful week in Paris. We had no episodes with actual pickpockets, but certainly saw many individuals to be suspicious of (including the "Ragged woman with baby/young girl asking if we speak English and shoving some card at you"). We had been warned of these and a simple growled "NO!" worked well. We saw the same individuals working both sides of the Champs Elysee. It is our opinion that no one can take something from you without physical force, as long as you use common sense, and pay attention to the advice you read here and in the guidebooks. We kept our passports, travelers checks and spare credit cards in our money belts. Cash and daily use credit and ATM cards were kept in a thin wallet tucked inside the zippered hidden pocket of my Great Escape shirts, purchased from TravelSmith. I had bought three different colors of these shirts to bring, but as we found, you could even get by with one, because they dry very nicely overnight. They have button flaps and full size pockets on both sides, and the hidden zippered over-sized pocket on the right side only. It's long enough to hold your airline tickets. They were kind of pricey, but the peace of mind was very relaxing. A few franc notes and some change in my pants pocket worked very well. It was simple to reach up and unbutton and unzip when the wallet was needed. My wife bought a sleeveless shirt model for herself, and kept her tickets and passport in it while traveling over and back, otherwise she kept her passport and tickets and credit card in her moneybelt. It's not really difficult to be a tourist and still be aware of your surroundings (probably being from NY helps). Trying to blend in certainly didn't work for me, as I discovered that very few French men are six feet tall and/or wear beards! We did see many examples of "prime targets", and sometimes made a game of picking them out. The worst were a man with a FAT wallet poking out of his back pocket, and a woman paying for breakfast out of another fat wallet crammed with credit cards, while her wide open over-size handbag hung behind her. By the way, we saw one set of the "woman with baby/young girl asking if you speak English" working outside the Office of Tourism also. We never felt threatened and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The tears in my wife's eyes when she saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time will always be my favorite memory.

John

I have done a fair amount of traveling and have never had a problem with pickpockets. However, on two occasions, somoene with me has been picked. One was walking right in front of me perhaps 5 feet away at the most. A bunch of kids ran over to him and before anyone knew it - his wallet was gone. I was watching the whole thing and nver saw the wallet lifted or passed. It was over in an instant. The second time was in the lobby of a hotel. I was paying our bill and my friend put her pocketbook down - a fatal mistake as it was - to remove the jacket she was wearing and someone grabbed it without her seeing it or even realizing it until we walked outside. <BR> <BR>Another person told me how she lost everything she was carrying in a fanny pouch which she was wearing in the front of her while on a bus. She felt nothing. <BR> <BR>So I suspect what I have read on the subject that a professional pickpocket is unstoppable and if you get selected -you are going to get fleeced. I think it is only the non-professionals who ever do get caught. <BR> <BR>My advice is not to carry more money than you can afford to lose and to bring backup credit cards with you which you keep separate.

Kayzie

We are traveling to Italy in October and I've been reading up on the pickpocket subject with great interest, debating whether to buy a neck pouch or waist pouch, etc. etc. We have traveled extensively through the Caribbean and Europe and thank goodness never had a problem. But, I've been thinking about the handbag I intend to take on my trip...it has a nice heavy lining and I've been thinking of taking it to the seamtress (I don't sew) and having a zipper sewn across the bottom, kind of like a false bottom? My bag isn't a loose weave so if I put anything between the lining and the actual bag it wouldn't fall through. Of course this wouldn't work if my entire bag was stolen...

Barbara

I read Santa Chiara's comments 6/24/2001 regarding pickpockets Santa quoted an article form the Herald Tribune saying the one of the most dangerous places is the Metro line 4 that goes to Montmatre from Chatelet! We are traveling to Paris next month and our Hotel is in the Montmatre area! Yikes!! Is this an "unsafe" area?

llc

I wouldn't stay in Montmatre. Could you change your reservations and stay in the 5th or 6th? However, this is just my opinion....I am speaking as one who has not been to Paris for many years. We will be taking our trip in September - my husband will be going for 1st time. <BR> <BR>My brother travels there frequently, and he would not stay in Montmatre area at all.

clairoobscur

Montmartre itself is certainly not an unsafe area. It's a really charming one (its main disadvantage being that it's very touristy). At least Montmartre itself. Now if you're staying "close to Montmartre" in the Pigalle district, it's another matter entirely (though I certainly wouldn't consider Pigalle as dangerous, either...but it doesn't look safe, comfortable and secure) <BR> <BR>Concerning the line 4, perhaps statistics shows that it's the line where the most crimes are commited, I don't know. But it has no particular reputation here and I wouldn't be worried a little bit to take it. However, I know that some people are affraid to make a connection late at Chatelet, since there are very long corridors at this station. <BR> <BR>

Barbara

THANK YOU for your comments regarding Montmartre! I love this site!! Very helpful and informative.