To have found certain parts of Paris edgy

[Sheeled]

I stayed in Belleville, which was ok. Walked ina respectable area today, there was a guy possibly in his 30s, clearly.not right mentally verbally harassing and jostling people asking for money. Didn't see much police presence anywhere.

There were big groups of men, many of whom were shouting at each other and again many looked quite unwell, around the main train stations.

Large areas around the stations smelled I mean really smelled of urine.

A lot of people seemed really unhappy and afraid.

Don't know if this has always been the case or are we simply talking about some areas. I dont think Ill be visiting again in a hurry.

Tbh I have always found Paris on the seedier end of Euorpean capital cities and apart from a few Ive been to over 30 of them and several many times. Ive never understood the love for it.

Why on earth would you be surprised to find that a big capital city has some areas that aren’t as nice as others? It’s a city where millions of people live and work. Of course it has homeless people, drug users, mentally ill people etc. All big cities do.

Guildford = skanky as hell. And you should definitely avoid Esher and Godalming!!!

I think Paris is a large city and has the same social problems as any city or large urban area. I think people have a certain chic image of Paris that’s true of some of it, but you’ll see the same issues in parts of Paris as you get in London, Berlin, New York, etc.

I went to Paris recently and also thought it felt much more seedy and dangerous than London. Lots of men hanging around in groups. Even men on their own openly looking us (women) up and down. There were also a lot of street protests when I was there with no police presence at all and the protesters setting bins on fire in the street. I was actually relieved to get back to London!

All big cities are edgy

Yeah. I had always wanted to visit Paris. We finally did it (this is about 10 years ago now). We had a long weekend there and I was so disappointed because of all the petty crime. In the one weekend, my husband and I had attempted scams pulled on us 4 times (at Montmartre, Eifel Tower and walking by the Seine). This was a very wet, cold weekend in February, so not great crowds around. Totally ruined it for me.

I thought the same last time I was there. More so than my previous visits. Not keen to go back.

Birmingham is def like that.

Oh well, if it's full of immigrants then obviously they're there to do you harm... Jeez!!

Reported.

Unfortunately it's true for the seedy 19th arr in Paris. As much as you don't want to believe it it's not safe for women there. Sorry to spoil your multicultural, happy vision.

I've had to drive and work in Saint-Germain district, I loved it, very cultured and boho and didn't feel unsafe. The only part of Paris been in, other than driving through from the UK.

Paris has always been dodgy, they just have great PR. My mother was Parisienne and she disliked it. She told me that as a young woman, her group always carried metal tailed combs in their handbags for self defense. I can remember going there as a teen (I'm nearly 60) and it was iffy then, especially the stations. Subsequent visits have not changed that opinion.

It was weird in a way, as when I lived in east France years ago and travelled around a bit, everyone there seemed to hate Paris and told me to avoid it. The "edge" really seems to have increased post the 2015 attacks. In London and in Ireland my 2 points of reference the potential to be mugged or worse doesn't seem to be the constant mental presence it is here.

Really odd AIBU. It's a major city, of course there will be edgy bits!

French hating Paris is hardly surprising. Many people in the UK regularly tell you London is filthy and unsafe and you shouldn't set foot into it. Yet, I've lived in London for over 20 years and have never felt unsafe. Not even during riots which were happening two streets down from my workplace. The entire community pulled together to make sure we were looked after (we were three women working till 9pm).

We never used to have to search online for parts of cities to see if they're immigrant areas, and therefore places to avoid due to crime.

And search results on this particular enquiry aren't that reliable either.

What? Really?!? You know what, my hairdresser's cousin went to Blackpool last year and went away from the sea front and there's some rough areas apparently! Not even any rollercoasters or candy floss trucks!!

I won't be back.

Having been to London and Paris last year, yeah I’d say Paris is worse for being sketchy.

Sounds like you have observed people suffering from Paris Syndrome OP- it’s a properly documented physical and emotional reaction to arriving somewhere that doesn’t equate to your longstanding preconceptions.

This would make sense if you saw lots of sad people round gare du Nord - they’ll have arrived at the airport and then discovered the metro system!

Al the deliberately obtuse folk out in force again today I see.
We live in Manchester which certainly has its fair share of questionable areas in and around the city centre - as pp say most cities do - but the only city where my DH even said he felt unsafe was Paris.
I wholeheartedly agree about Birmingham too. I go there a lot for work and the walk to the office from the station is equal parts depressing and disturbing.

Mate you stayed in Belleville - it's fine but not tourist brochure Paris. As others have said Paris is a large international city, not an open air museum, there will be dodgy areas and people on the make. Those guys outside Gare du Nord are a pain but just ignore them

Not sure what you'll make of Marseille if you think Paris is sketchy!

Paris is definitely not my favourite city, but it is no more unsafe than other large European cities.

Paris is like other metropolis - a particularly large city. Europe has only a few cities that are this big so comparison with other cities (general) isn't a fair comparison.

I don't think it's remotely unusual in being plagued with criminals and con artists looking for a mark. One of the issues with being on holiday abroad is you are identifiable as a visitor - from your language, from the way you walk around and from the clothes you wear. If you are from London and go to Paris you will have a different experience because of this even if you are used to living in the city.

It never fails to amaze me how naive and unaware so many people are about this.

If you go to any metropolis, if you are sensible and you do your homework before you go. You don't pick dodgy parts of town to stay. You plan your routes and where you decide to go. You know that you don't eat out on the street in the central tourist area - you pick one a few streets away so you don't get absolutely rinsed for poorer quality food. You understand that areas around stations are dodgy as fuck. You understand how you hold your personal possessions in these areas. You stay away from the crowds at the busiest areas when you can (perfectly possible most of the time even in tourist hotspots). You make sure you are fully aware of who is around you when taking photos / putting your wallet away etc.

And you go and enjoy it anyway.

We were in Paris on Monday. We noticed the spotters - men hanging around looking for targets - they are easy to identify. DH actually saw someone dipping in someone's pocket. We didn't feel unsafe. It just is upsetting to see. We were looking around at all the other tourists slightly baffled by their naivety whilst trying to make ourselves look like we aren't easy targets. Because they will go for the easy marks because there's so many to choose from.

Tbh my biggest beef with Paris is there's no where to stop and sit for five minutes which isn't an extortionate cafe. What spaces there are are either full and insufficient for demand or roped off to protect the grass from wear. Great for business I guess but not so great for cheap skates like me who like to do city sightseeing for as little money as possible. (And the way to see a city is to walk it).

I've not been anywhere in central Paris I've thought is markedly different or worse than any other metropolis. Big American cities have always felt much darker and worse to me. The drugs and homelessness are far more apparent than Paris.

There are lovely places to stay well outside Paris too. An hour's train ride is just 2euros and you can be out in semi rural France. It's not the same as London where the same would cost you about £30.

Paris is Paris. I find it a less nice place than London, but much of a muchness really.

I don't get why people think it should be any different tbh.