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.

Again think about why an area is sketchy

I feel the same way about London.

I’ve definitely felt a change in Paris in the last 15 years or so, and worse than other European capitals. In the last couple of years I’ve felt it was a proper sh*thole tbh

I’m sure you’ll be along to enlighten everyone.

Never been to Paris but this has always been my impression of it, always heard slightly worse things about it than other western European capitals to be honest.

Ah do you mean South Ken cos the streets are so quiet at night cos all the houses are owned by rich foreign nationals who don’t live there… that does make sense tbf

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Flags. Defo flags.

I’ve travelled all over the world, often alone, and Paris is the only place I’ve ever felt truly unsafe. Last time I was there I had to physically break up a mugging and the police were completely dismissive and rude. I’ve visited multiple times and this impression hasn’t changed. Make of that what you will.

eta I was born and grew up in London, adore new york and rome, and now live in another large UK city with a reputation for being a bit edgy so am far from a country mouse 😁

This.
People always come on these threads and say what did you expect it's a big city, every city is the same, bla bla
But the facts are that not all cities are the same. Some are more dangerous than others for all residents and visitors across the whole city, and Paris is one of the more dangerous ones. That's the facts.

Sure, but no crime happened. So those facts are irrelevant in this case - she is one of the opposite statistics, she moved about the city perfectly safely - and that is A FACT.

The area around the Gare du Nord is sketchy and I also had the bracelet scammers surround me and grab my wrist at Sacre Coeur. I would say Brussels is also quite dodgy.

I've only been in the centre of Paris and absolutely loved it.

Arriving at Gare du Nord however was not great - felt very fun down and dodgy and was not a good introduction to the city. Same with the metro, plus it was summer so incredibly hot.

However everywhere else we went was brilliant. I've heard there are some terrible areas in Paris, but if you stick to the tourist areas it seemed fine to me.

Paris is a great city BUT, yes, parts of it are very seedy particularly the Montmatre area. My husband felt very intimidated during the day there - and he grew up in South East London! Also, yes, while it is a pretty city, the smell of urine is quite overwhelming.

“Edgy” is such a fascinating choice of word here, because it implies you think you accidentally wandered into a cool, dangerous little art scene instead of… a busy urban area with visible poverty and people having a rough time.

I think the word you were reaching for here is dodgy. And even that isn’t some shocking Paris-only revelation—it’s just what happens in literally every major city on earth once you step outside the part that’s been gently curated for visitors. You went near major train stations (which, globally, tend to attract exactly the mix of transit, chaos, vulnerability, and noise you described), saw some people behaving unpredictably, noticed it didn’t smell like a scented candle, and concluded something unusual was happening.

It isn’t.

I’m from Chicago. We have entire stretches around certain stations where you’ll see people arguing, asking for money, clearly unwell, police presence that feels inconsistent, and yes—smells that could peel paint. New York? Same. London? Same. Paris? Also same. This isn’t a personality flaw of one city—it’s what happens when millions of people, transit hubs, economic inequality, and public space all collide in one place.

What’s actually happening here is you briefly stepped out of the cinematic version of Paris—the one with soft lighting and violins and nobody raising their voice—and into the version where people live real, messy lives. That doesn’t make it “edgy.” It makes it real.

Just stayed near republique with primary school age kids and had a great time. Stalingrad tube was not great in one direction to be fair.
Cities are mixed by their nature and you need to have your wits about you.

Same!

The only piss I smelt was at Nation metro station on a Sunday morning. I became a veritable connoisseur of the Metro system and everywhere else was clean and well presented. I even had someone give up their seat for me when I was carrying loads of bags.

I went to the loo near Montmartre, and it was a Turkish style set up. I had a dodgy knee so that was a bit tricky, plus I'd been on my feet for hours and had been looking forward to a sit down!!! 😆

I stayed in the 12th Arrondisement and it was a great local neighbourhood, not touristy. The old pissoir en route to the supermarket was boarded up, and looked like it had been for a long time!

Last time I was there was just after the terror attacks. Stayed near Eiffel Tower. The air b and b I stayed in the nice owner warned me about pickpockets round that area. There are loads. But as pp said I found the local metro, used it to meet friends who were staying there and we also walked to some areas. It was funny as my friends are American, and they were with their teenagers and they barely spoke French or didn’t want to, so I had to do all the translating. I was shocked most of the Parisian cafe owners were so friendly if you asked for directions as they have sometimes been rude in the past. But they’re city people. I love Paris as it’s so easy to walk around.,

If anyone fancies a funny but sad book about French everyday life in Paris read Sans Moi by Marie Desplechin. Au pair from Hell story but with heart. One of my fave books.

Yes, and don't get me started on Dorking.

Every city, home and abroad, that I have had the pleasure to visit, have areas that are not all Insta perfect. That's the norm, did you think every inch would look like a Renoir painting? Also a bit of reality won't hurt will it.

Personally, I feel it's much improved since the 90s.

I spend a lot of time in france and speak French. I had looked forward to visiting Paris for years and hated it, I found it the worst city I've visited in France. I visited most of the main attractions and more over 4 days. It's grim, dirty, the locals are unfriendly and it's full of scammers and dodgy characters trying to rip off tourists, especially around the Eiffel Tower and Gare Du Nord area. I have travelled extensively around Europe and beyond and constantly felt on edge there and I couldn't wait to get out of there. For a city break in a decent sized French city, Lille, Reims or Strasbourg are all so much better.

Paris is sketchy

The metro is so much worse than our tube