Hi,

Bonjour! Ca Va
I am going to paris for 3 days. Could you please suggest the safe areas to stay near paris. I will probably book something through airbnb. I was thinking somehwre near Champs elysees or Louvre?
Any suggestions are welcome.
Also, should we always keep our passport with us(just passports) , as they might get stolen otherwise?

Thank you,

What is your nightly budget in euros? How many people is "we"?

All tourist areas of Paris are safe. If we knew more bout you and what you want to do there people could make better recos.

airbnb might not be the very best option because the city is starting to crack down on illegal short term rentals.

Still probably fine but you do need to know that many advertised places are not legal and could be pulled from the market on short notice.

If this is your first visit -- I'd suggest a hotel is probably a better choice.

The Champs Élysées and the Louvre are in Paris, which is very safe in the central tourist area. Some pickpocketing on the Metro. So if you carry your passports, keep them in a money belt under your clothing.

You didn't mention renting an apartment, so I think it would be more correct to say that while many apartments offered are illegal rentals, I believe using Airbnb to rent a room with the owner/renter in residence is not illegal.

If this kind of story is credible, staying in a rental itself entails risks in addition to the illegal rentals: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/15/yo...ecautions.html. However, there seems to be a lack of credible statistics published by a third party.

<i>Also, should we always keep our passport with us(just passports) , as they might get stolen otherwise?</i>

Are you planning on renting a place without a lock on the door?

I read that story in the Times - you are right, it is so scary it is hard to believe (or actually, I'd like not to believe it).

Airbnb's response to the situation might have been legal and probably fit right in with their "corporate policies" but it certainly wasn't a very human response.

That kid is going to need some serious therapy.

- Kevin

Could you please suggest the safe areas to stay near paris. I will probably book something through airbnb. I was thinking somehwre near Champs elysees or Louvre?

in paris not near paris

As others say Paris is safe apart from pickpockets in busy places and in some parts of the underground

Keep a copy of your passport on you, not your actual passport.
The chance that you get into trouble because you are checked by the police is absolutely abysmally slim, albeit the chance of losing your passport (or being stolen) and spending hours getting a duplicate is much less slim.

All of Paris is safe, you might find it less agreaable the closer to some 'portes' (mostly northern ones).

A copy of the ID page and last entry stamp is all you need to have with you.

Renting an apartment for 3 days is not worth either the hassle of trying to find out who is legitimate and who is not, or worrying about security issues. Most apartments do not have safes available. You also won't have the ability to drop off your luggage, if you arrive before check-in time.

But all these problems would be solved if you just book a moderately-priced or budget hotel. Look in the Latin Quarter - 5th and 6th arrondissements - especially near the Cluny Museum, which is a nice area with loads of decent hotels.

As said, central Paris is a very safe place. A budget hotel would be better IMO because you obviously have not been before (no problem there) and would benefit from having a hotel desk to aid you. Even an Ibis hotel which is squeaky clean and very cheap would be a good choice.
The Champs is a very uninteresting part of Paris. Stay somewhere else that will have some interesting cafes and such.

The areas you name are safe, but so are many others, and the ones you named are going to be more expensive, so look in other areas.

Depending on your manor and where you are and how you keep your passport, it could be safer left in the hotel than on you, actually. I always leave it in the hotel unless I have some need for it that day (taking a train trip or something), but I stay in hotels with individual room safes. I also be sure to keep an extra credit card there, just in case (although I've never really had a problem with any theft on my trips). I always carry a copy of my front passport page with me, all the time, whether at home or traveling. It has come in useful a few times. And I carry my driver's license which is usually accepted for ID anyway, and they will take it for security also if you have to leave something at a museum when renting an audioguide.


I don't know the reason for wanting AirBnb, I wouldn't do it, especially if this isn't a long trip and there aren't a lot of people. It sounds like you are alone, so why would you need something from AirBnb rather than a hotel, which will have better services (ie, safe, keeping luggage, etc).

Airbnb says Paris is their largest market with thousands of rentals - recent accords with the French government I read about in the French Embassy's newsletter sounds like everything currently is cool - except of course like in any city the rental is in violation of airbnb policies and rules brokered with the French government.

So don't throw airbnb out IMO - you can save tons of money and look at the reviews of airbnb patrons who actually stayed there first.

We just finish our rental with Airbnb in Paris and you will hear many cat calls about the problems.

They have perhaps 40,000 rental units in Paris, so FEAR not.

Having said that I agree with Christina, why not a hotel?

booking.com/paris

Just decide where you want to stay.

Enjoy and have a great time.

To the twice-asked question regarding a hotel rather than Airbnb, in my experience I've gotten much more for my money using Airbnb. Pretty simple.

Mme, be careful with some!! But I certainly agree.

I'm careful, if nothing else, iris. Fussy and cheap, the perfect combo for Airbnb. Also, I might add, as a host, and from my reviews, appreciated for both those qualities.

Having said that I agree with Christina, why not a hotel?>>

Why a hotel - if the airbnb host is a Parisian he/she can tell them anything and may be more accessible and take more times than a hotel staff - but #1 would be price - ain't airbnb in Paris cheaper than hotels for what they offer?