to be a little scared of going to paris

[breathing]

As ive heard its a very unsafe city.?

Paris is a great place to go with kids. Look confident, and you won't look like a tourist and you will be fine.

Don't wear white training shoes you or you will look like an American tourist and will have your wallet taken quicker than you can say Eiffel tower

Will they gran my husband?

They might in Glasgow...

gran? grab

It could be arranged.

Ooh, I bet Stockholm is safe.

I went to Paris by myself last month (also stayed in St Denis) & I felt a lot safer as a lone woman in Paris than I do in Birmingham or London. The men stare more openly (I attracted a lot more attention in Paris than England!) & are more confident about talking to you, but I found that when I told them that I wasn't interested, they just left me alone without any further comment or glaring, unlike my experience in England. I was most worried about pickpockets, but I just stayed vigilant & there wasn't a problem at all :)

thans doughnut

Worst experience I have had as lone woman in European city was Florence. Stupid gangs of men shouting as you go past and then following. I ducked into a hotel lobby and the chap behind the counter sorted them out.

I was knocked down in the street in Dublin. Nice place (er, not)

That's right, you couldn't have been knocked in the street anywhere else I've been going to Dublin for 39 years and have never been knocked down in the street, neither have any of the many family I have living there, which kind of cancels out your experience in terms of how unsafe Dublin is.

I'm sorry you were knocked down, but that can happen anywhere, you're being silly. If you're so scared then stay at home fgs.

I wasnt making any inferences...just relaying my experience in repsonse to katisha relaying hers of florence.

I have been there thrice with similar awful experiences I might add

As with any city there are areas to avoid and tourist hotspots are seething with pickpockets but you won't need anything more than a basic awareness of safety! A certain amount of male attention is inevitable, true, but it's not threatening, more 'makes feminist hackles rise' annoying.

Paris is lovely and really very safe for the most part.

I wonder if the 'unsafe' feeling comes because people equate the visible military-with-guns presence to threats. It's just that sone if the duties the police have in the UK are assigned to armed gendarmes/air force/army personnel.

FFS there are no words for a thread like this, but Squeeky sums it up perfectly Lol.....

It is Paris, not Beirut! what on earth are you afraid of???

Paris is a wonderful city. I have to say though that I feel much "safer" in London than in Paris, I can't really put my finger on as to why.

Big cities can be overwhelming, but the most intimidated I felt was on Exeter high street on a saturday night.

So one bad experience in Dublin and that's you off capital cities for life?? You sound like you need to broaden your horizons a little so the trip to Paris might do you good.

Paris is fine, no more dangerous than anywhere else although the 'friendly' local men can be a pain in the neck if you're a lone woman. If you're with your children, you're unlikely to get that kind of hassle anyway. Your biggest worry might be pushy Parisians queue-jumping or being a bit snooty about tourists who don't speak French.

No city is perfect and you can have an unpleasant experience anywhere, even in a small village. I had really bad experiences in Brussels when I lived there and found it very unsafe and rough but other people who've been there have really liked it. It just depends.

Its not a "city" bias or as a result of any other experiences I have had in any other city. My anxiety is, as mentioned, due to hearing reports of the city being unsafe. No more no less.
Its good to hear otherwise.

Some posters are jumping to some spectacular conclusions here

OP, my advice is not to eat any French food at all. They try to poison tourists. There's a nice MaccyD in the Champs Elysees which is probably safe.

Stay away from the Seine at all costs. Parisians just love throwing strangers into the water.

Watch out for anyone carrying a baguette. The locals put iron bars in them to mug British tourists.

Thank god Im not British eh?

grovel

i would second what someone else has said about watching your bag.I had my purse taken in one of the shops and didnt feel anyone touching or bumping into me.It was the day before we came back so not a lot of money ,But i had my babies curls and a picture of my great grandmother in it.I just sat on a wall and cried ! despite dh and i wandering up and down the road looking in bins i never found it.Also be very careful on the metro system.even be wary of children.

I am happy to hear any suggestions the sity is particularly unsafe are unfounded

I'm sorry to hear what happened to you, mummylin but it's an object lesson in what not to carry around in your handbag. Leave anything precious at home and then if you are unlucky enough to fall victim to a thief you don't lose irreplaceable items. It makes sense wherever you go.