I am interested in walking around the St Eustache area, seeing Nicholas Flammel's house, the tour St Jaques, dining one night (Sunday) at L'ambassade D'auvergne late, and I have concerns about the safety of the area. Does anyone have any experience or comment on the area?

Karen, while it's certainly not the very best area in Paris, there is nothing to worry about. Usually, there are people walking around, even late. If you have concerns about getting home after dinner, just ask the restaurant staff to order a cab for you. You might not want to take the metro, depending the time and where you need to go.<BR>Just stay alert and don't do anything you wouldn't do at home. <BR>I think as long as an area are lively, it's a lot safer than deserted areas, like parts of the upscale 16th arr. at night.

The area around les Halles and rue St Denis can get a bit lively in the evenings, but I agree with the above post, lively is definitely better than deathly quiet as far as safety goes! And it is a fairly touristy area (lots of restaurants etc) so you should be fine. Order a cab if you want to be on the safe side.

I'll be staying in the Marais area, nearer the Pompidou than the Bastille, (nearest metro stop is Hotel de Ville) wouldn't it be ok to walk home from the restaurant to there?<BR>

If you're staying nearby then you should be OK walking back to your hotel. The area between the Marais and les Halles is busy and popular, lots of bars and things so there will be people around. The rue Rambuteau/Rue des Francs-bourgeois should be fine to walk along. The times I've felt most uncomfortable walking alone (as a female in my twenties) in Paris at night is in the highly residential areas where there are no people or cars around.