Where NOT to go in Paris
 

I will be in Paris for a month next year. I have certain places and sights I know I want to visit and have been getting additional tips from this list. But are there areas of Paris I should NOT venture to since I will be on my own? From past travels I have found its easy to find oneself in areas that are on the seedy side which is not so bad if you are with other people, but its something I'd rather avoid on my own.<BR>Thanks for any input. Kay<BR>

Being a parisian woman for 50 years, I've got used to go anywhere in Paris during the day. Nevertheless, the north and north east of Paris is considered as more dangerous especialley around the metro stations &quot;gare du nord&quot;, &quot;gare de l'est&quot;, &quot;porte de la chapelle&quot;, &quot;stalingrad&quot;. At night, you must prevent from walking in the deserted streets, even in safe areas. The most dangerous districts are in the north east suburbs and the regional trains are very dangerous at night. <BR>You must also be very careful of pickpokets in the metro who particularly attack tourists.<BR><BR><BR>

I wouldn't hang around the Ch&acirc;telet m&eacute;tro stop late at night.

I just got back and agree with Marie. Our hotel was further north than on previous trips. All the areas she mentioned seemed very scary to my wife and I, and we are no shrinking violets. A couple of subway stops can put you into a whole different world.

Well, Kay, you could find that out right here on the Fodor's website, or persuse one or more tour guides at your local bookstore (see the Chapter/Index &quot;safety&quot;). There is NO place in Paris that is particularly &quot;unsafe&quot; if you know what you're doing, all depending upon the time of day. Surely you realize from &quot;past travels&quot; that, if you &quot;find oneself in the areas that are on the seedy side&quot;, you simply turn around and go back.

I don't quite agree with Mimi that there is no place at all in Paris that is unsafe if you know what you are doing or if it is daytime. There are parts that are not so great even then.<BR><BR>However, there really is little chance that a tourist with a list of attractions or things to see is going to go to them. there are only a couple areas I can think of that I've had unpleasant experiences at that could be near a tourist attraction -- that is an area around the flea market up north (around Porte de Clignancourt metro stop) and the area between the metro stop and chateau de Vincennes. Not that many people go to the latter, but I was bothered by some men around there on the street even though it was day time and I knew perfectly well what I was doing and where I was going.<BR><BR>I have not found it easy in Paris to find myself in seedy areas that much, perhaps you mean some other city? I really don't think you'll have a problem if your intinerary is in arrondisements 1-17. I think Marie's advice was good.

1. Avoiding the Chatelet station after dark was a good advice.<BR>2. I agree about the streets around railway stations as well, Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est being the worst (but the station itself is safe, only the surroundings could be dangerous).<BR>3. The area around the Forum des Halles and Les Halles station can be dangerous at nights.<BR>4. And finally, don't travel on the regional network called RER at nights.

ttt

We will be traveling the rer A back from Disneyland Paris at night. We are a mom and 12 year old son.<BR> Is this OK? I never considered a safety issue until I read this thread. Please comment! PJ

Hi PJ, I cannot speak for all RER lines as we only traveled on one line. I think it was the A line also. Like you I read scary stories about not traveling on the metro/RER at night. We didn't have much choice-well, we could've taken a cab but we were traveling as a family of 5-so we decided to take the RER. It was close to 10:30 p.m. after getting off the Thalys at Gare du Nord. We took the RER from Gare du Nord. It was an experience in so far as that there's alot of long walks to get to the train. But other than that there were many others traveling at that hour; of course, you need to be aware of your surroundings. But like I said many people were in the same car and we were 5 so it felt allright. <BR><BR>Last month we took a taxi from Gare de Lyon as it was just as late as the last journey. It was just for convenience sake we took the taxi-3 of us this time-but we could have taken the RER again.

PJ, I neglected to see that it'll be only you and your 12 yr. old son traveling. In this case, I would recommend that you take a taxi.

Hi, <BR><BR>I also traveled the RER (RER B -- out to CDG Airport) several times at night (10:30-11:30pm) and found no problem with it. But, I was with a larger party of 6 people (3 men, 3 women). Traveling alone that late at night anywhere in the world might not be the best thing to do. But, I never gave it a thought prior to my trip in September or when we were actually on the train itself.<BR><BR>Have a great trip.<BR><BR>John H.

Common sense rules in Paris - Like previous posters state - if you pop out of the Metro and it don't look too good - go back down to another stop. I was there with my family for 2 weeks this year and like many previous - during the day everywhere is fine - I did avoid Les Halles but mostly because it was a labyrnth in the first place!<BR><BR>Common sense and a confident stride takes care of 99.999% of the situation - Paris is wonderful and a joy to experience <BR><BR>Jojo

Since it it only my son and I traveling. Taking the rer A back to Paris from Disneyland is dicey.<BR> We should take a taxi fron Disney to Paris? Anyone been on Rer A from Dineyland at Night? PJ

RER A is OK, and there will probably be lots of families travelling with you, so don't worry. RER B is trickier. A hint though: when taking RER B at night to go to CDG, just wait for the direct one, that doesn't stop between Gare du Nord and CDG (every other one, if I am not mistaken). By definition, you'll only be with fellow travelers or people working at CDG, so you'll feel less uncomfortable than stopping at La Courneuve or Aulnay sous Bois, not the nicest of suburbs.

ttt