Daughter alone in Paris after falling out with friend on holiday

[Bollard]

My DD is in Paris with her friend. They are only there for a couple of days. They have fallen out and the friend has ditched her. DD is in the hotel room, wanting to come home. She doesn't feel confident going around Pars on her own and feels the trip is ruined. Any ideas for anything she could do alone, any group thing she could join? She might feel able to do something in the day, but I don't like the thought of her being out alone at night. I don't know Paris at all. She's staying centrally.

Thank you. You are the second poster agreeing with me.

i for one would not want my on dd implicated in anything so it nb friend’s mum has full knowledge of the departure point. And for her check on her own dd. Op seems only/ more concerned about her dd. In that case, she shouldn’t have authorised this joint trip in the first place.

Any news from her, OP?

Not everything needs AI...

I strongly agree.

I love Citymapper too - it's fantastic for giving you all the alternative routes and taking into account strike actions and closures.

I use it for London as I've never got the hang of Eastbound, Westbound etc! It's also now added an option for "with air conditioning".

Can she book something on Get My Guide, highly recommend the Louvre tour

Time for her to grow up. Dust herself off. Book a boat trip go to a gallery. Take herself off for a fabulous lunch.
I used to go to Paris when I was that age alone for the weekend. It's fabulous alone

What??

How did she get on OP?
I found Paris quite walkable & as others said the night boat tour was fab.

I went in a Paris fashion week & staying not central, Metro was fine but if I’d been your daughters age would have been a bit wary. One thing about central paris is lots of armed police floating around esp near attractions/busy areas.

hopefully she has enjoyed herself & ‘friend’ has also come back to the room safely. A good lesson to learn to be prepared and take part in planning!

Thank you so much for all the replies and suggestions. The main thing is, she is safe and her friend is safe. I’ve spoken to the friend’s mum. My DD went out today, saw some sites, did some shopping, went to a cafe. She didn’t go out this evening. She is very upset and embarrassed. I hope she has some fun tomorrow. In any event, we need to talk about being properly prepared for a trip, taking ownership of a situation, and being a bit more ready for anything.But for now, I just want her home and after a little bit of time, to learn from this experience.

Such a shame she feels embarrassed, she clearly pushed some boundaries and overcame some fears. She should be proud of herself for heading out. Hopefully, in a few days, she'll be able to look back on it and appreciate what she did and got to see.

It isn’t always brilliant for closures - I found myself trying to direct my 15 yo first time in London son away from the Arsenal parade when they closed all the local tubes and Citymapper just kept directing him back to the closed stations
I do love it normally though.
In terms of OP’s DD, I don’t understand why she is embarrassed but can see that she doesn’t want to go out on her own at night. Hopefully she is proud of herself for going out and seeing some sights and they will make up when back in the UK!

She has nothing to be embarrassed about! Plenty of people would feel intimidated in a foreign country alone where you don't speak the language.

Her ex friend should be embarrassed for flouncing off instead of sorting the situation like a grown up.

What a wonderful chance to explore yé-yé music! I'm not gay but they are all so lovely!

Any recommendations for a beginner?

TBF a lot of people do gap years and the age for a gap year is 18 as it's done before uni so it's very plausible a lot of ppl were that confident at 18. And a lot of ppl posting would have done it before smart phones and widespread internet

I was in Thailand in the early 2000s and my parents went days without me contacting them, some times more than a week. Probably didn't know if I was alive sometimes, just when I bothered to find an internet cafe. And I'm by far a brave or overly adventurous person.

Of course it's daunting to be left in Paris alone but I think you're naive to think posters aren't telling the truth. Im glad OPs DD is ok, but an 18 year old with a smart phone and booked accomodation should be ok in a western city on their own for 24 hours so definitely an opportunity to build some life experience.

Stay out of that one, ie messaging the mum. They are 18.

You’ve offered her support. At 18 she is more than capable of catching a bus by herself, or going out for the day. Although, I would understand if she’s emotionally not up to it after a bust up with a friend and then the let down of not being able to enjoy the trip as expected.

You’ve made comments such as boys “seeing her as more adult than she is” when she is an adult. I think you are flapping a bit. Let her get on with it.

Galeries, muséums etc. Shopping!!!! There are lots of museums. Bus tours.
Id say avoid the metro (tube); shed
probably be ok but it is rough! definitely don’t do the tube at night.

Has the friend come back to the hotel? Hopefully they will make up and enjoy it together.

DS is just back from a lads holiday. Two ended up coming home a day early after a falling out so it does happen. DS was sanguine about it.

Good that they are both safe and you were right to check in with her mum. I don't think you are 'flapping' at all. You know your own daughter better than strangers on the internet.

Poor thing, that must feel really upsetting, especially when she'd been looking forward to the trip. If she's staying somewhere central, I'd encourage her to do something gentle in the daytime rather than feeling she has to make the most of every minute. Even sitting in a café with a book, wandering through a busy area or visiting a museum can feel much less daunting than trying to sightsee alone all day. I'd probably suggest she stays in once it gets dark if she's feeling anxious, orders something nice to eat and gets an early night. A ruined friendship is horrible, but it doesn't have to turn into an unsafe situation as well.

She should buy a sturdy phone lanyard, so that if she has to get her phone out for directions etc it is attached to her.