Scared of going to Paris Alone

[Aquarius1234]

I have booked a short trip to Paris for two nights, to go to the French Open Tennis for one day.
There is no one close to me that likes Tennis enough to join me, so I randomly booked solo and a single ticket.
But now I am worried about going there alone. Unable to get refunds.

Boulogne-Billancourt
Paris seems like New York 27th Street ?

I've been the French Open a few time. It is really safe and Paris is great. You can uber everywhere if you're worried about getting lost metro etc

Right ill prob eat something at St pancras before going into Eurostar section.

I think it was bloody brilliant to book it. I wish you'd asked me! I love tennis.

Your Eurostar mail should tell you to get there around 45-60 mins before departure to get through the bag screening and passport checks.

I normally aim to arrive around an hour before Eurostar

@crackofdoom “Then last year, I walked right through the middle of area 2 with the kids at midnight (delayed train)- I was expecting it to be dodgy, but it felt absolutely normal, aside from a homeless encampment under the Peripherique flyover.”

I was in area 2 last year. Possibly the same encampment you speak of between my metro and my hotel. It was only 20:00 (though dark) and the area was full of people high on crack. My French colleagues told me it’s known as “Coline de crack”. Someone was mugged about 10m away from me. I looked back down the steps to the metro and was intimated by a group of young men hanging around (but not going through) the ticket barriers. I walked up to the bus stop area, got as far as that flyover and was scared that I instantly had several men watching me intently, then walked back to the main road to get a taxi to the hotel which I could actually see from where we stood. I explained to the taxi driver that I was scared and would tip well, he nodded pretty sympathetically. I speak reasonable French and lived in another arrondisement for a year some years ago. I don’t live in a great area of the U.K.! But even without the crack user mugging a guy in front of me, I’ve never been so on edge.

Ha thanks!

Bumping this.

Anyone been recently alone?
Seems hard work going solo.

I went last year with DP, but he was working so I had 2 days where I just wandered around by myself before we met up for dinner each night and it was glorious.

First day I just wandered around the whole city and saw the sights, walked miles, was completely fine. I ended up shattered, miles from the hotel, so I just got on the Metro back to the hotel we were staying in.

Second day, I took myself off to Versailles on the train and that was great too.

What is it in particular that you're worried about? In a lot of ways, it's easier by yourself because you just do what you want to do and only need to look out for yourself, you don't have to not lose another person on the Metro etc.

Not sure what I'll do for food in the evening. Maybe I'm worried about getting lost which is stupid I know.

Sounds good as you had solo time and company in evening.

I was in Paris lately. They have ramped up assistance in the metro stations in advance of the Olympics. There is a higher security presence too for the same reason. This should make you feel you are in a safer environment. Roland Garros is in the equivalent of leafy Wimbledon!

I'm the same! I've been travelling long haul for forty years, and for 15 I've been solo backpacking all over the world. I love it. And yet...

Every single time I get stressed in the week or two before, wondering why I booked it, and deciding it's all a mistake.
But the moment I step down from the plane, I'm in my element, and all the planning and research makes sense. I don't look back.

So take heart @Aquarius1234 ! A wobble is absolutely normal. But when your feet touch Parisian soil, you'll be fine.

For food, I'd probably eat out at lunchtime and have snacky stuff in the hotel in the evening if I didn't want to eat in a restaurant alone for dinner. Or get a takeaway. I prefer to eat more in the daytime anyway so it suits me.

For getting around, you'll have your phone, but make sure you don't have everything on your phone just in case something happens to it. So print out a map, and make sure you know where your hotel and everywhere else that you want to be is and which is the nearest Metro/tram stop. There are maps at tram stops and Metro stations. Have a rough plan of where you want to go and check out the areas on Google maps before you go.

Bluntly, OP, are you an anxious person? When I first went to Paris I was just turning eighteen, had never before been on a plane or left my home country, or had ever been to a big city, knew no one there, and was looking for a job with my school French. I’d never used any form of Underground, and had only a tiny amount of cash, and the address of a convent in Montparnasse that offered cheap accommodation in exchange for chores. I was fine — you’ll be fine!

Thank you. It's weird to have anxiety but just life. It's the unknown even though it's only Paris. If I'm unfamiliar with an area it takes time to what's the word..
Then once I'm relaxed it's time to go.

I've visited multiple countries solo (going on another solo trip next week, and I've had a few little wobbles). My suggestions would be:

• Check your SIM plan to see if you can get data without roaming charges. If not, see if there's any chance of upgrading for the month.
• Put your itinerary on a Google doc. Make sure you can access it on your phone and have a printed copy tucked away somewhere safe. Install any travel, map or translation apps you need but don't have. I'd also get the Uber app just in case you become completely lost and need to get somewhere fast!
• Make sure you have paper copies of your ETIAS approval, your travel insurance and your accommodation. Keep them in a plastic wallet and be prepared to present to officials.
• Probably common sense but when in an unfamiliar place, always allow more time to get somewhere than you think you need.

OP I was thinking about you and this thread yesterday because I am solo in Paris right now. Weather is a bit humid but otherwise grand! I got the metro and RER at 11pm a couple of nights ago and it was fine.
If you are anxious about eating out alone in the evenings, you can get deliveroo to your hotel but dinner out would be nicer. I'm sure your hotel would recommend something nearby.
I hope you have a lovely time!

OP don’t worry you will be absolutely fine. I just got back from a mini-break there with my 7-year old DS (so not ‘technically’ alone just tbh more stressful than alone as I had to care for him, not lose him on the metro, find last min loo stops NOW etc 🤣). I was apprehensive also as I haven’t been to Paris since a school trip 20 years ago. It was my DS choice and I tried very hard to move him onto a city I knew better.

It was completely fine - the metro felt clean and safe and straightforward. Googlemaps does everything for you now, you just put in the destination and it tells you which metro lines, how many stops, when to change etc. The stations are well signposted. We also got a station taxi on arrival at Gare de Nord and a handful of Ubers, all of which were totally fine. Don’t cancel! Good luck

Anxiety is horrible but honestly the best way to overcome it is to do the thing. I'm an over thinker and over planner too and honestly I've made trips worse by over planning and then being rigid and not flexible when we get there, but I always do the thing. Covid set my confidence back a bit but I've travelled alone with DS a couple of times since then and am getting more confident. Be nervous but do it anyway :)

It’s an adventure op.

Be a warrior not a worrier.

Lots of little bistros in Paris, choose a side street smaller place rather than huge and bustling, take your phone and a book.

Don't eat in your hotel room alone for goodness sake. You're in Paris....experience it. Just go to literally any of the many, many restaurants and sit on a roadside table and watch the world go by. You can't get lost if you've got a phone and a tongue in your head.

You're in Paris, home of some of the best food in the world! If you're feeling very anxious look for places with English menus.