Safe Arrondissement to Stay in Paris

The Hotel Carvelle, on rue des Martyrs, in the 9th, is walking distance from the Gare du Nord. It is a nice little hotel, 3 star, I think, with lots of restaurants, etc. nearby.

As in any large city, train stations aren't the most scenic, most quiet places to stay. With the excellent transportation systems Paris has you need not stay close to a train station. Depending on the destination, trains to cities in Europe leave from all Paris train stations not just the Gare du Nord The 10th covers a lot of territory besides the train station so labeling it as not very safe is misleading to say the least.

If you want to be around other tourists, especially Americans, the Ile St Louis is a good choice. The Marais is also popular. We enjoyed the Latin Quarter (Hotel des Grandes Ecoles) and felt quite safe there.

If you're going to be "commuting" from Gare du Nord, you may want to look for a hotel near Metro line 4 or 5. Line 4 runs through the Marais and Ile St Louis.

Not all trains to other cities go from Gare du Nord--it's not the only station.

The metro line #4 stop at Gare du Nord is closed until at least June 12, 2018.

Totally false - the people who say the 10th is unsafe are almost always ones who have never actually stayed in the 10th - they stay in places like the Marais or Latin Quarter but base their perception on the 10th on some 1 block radius immediately around the train station. In any major city in the U.S. you'd likely encounter the exact same thing. And previous poster is correct - the 10th covers a lot more ground than just a block or 2 around the big train stations.

I'm a woman and have stayed in the 10th on my own, coming and going at all hours of the day/night and often popped into Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est, took plenty of different Metro lines in the neighborhood, bus service and also the RER.

If you want a hotel that's within walking distance to both those stations, but not so close that you'll see the homeless or the occasional adult book store that gets so many worked up thinking the 10th is "unsafe", then I would recommend the Ibis Chateau Landon Gare du Nord. The area immediately around the hotel was mostly residential with some local groceries, bistros and cafes mixed in. The residents were a mix of white collar and blue collar Parisians - plenty of families and singles. And if you are going during the summer, that Ibis has a/c in the rooms.

Paris is a very safe city so far as violent crime is concerned; we have stayed in about half the arrondissements including those near the edges and have never felt unsafe. Pickpockets work where crowds of tourists gather and particularly on transport and museum lines but robbery and muggings are very rare. Terrorism is not predictable by its nature. We were at the Opera Garnier for a performance Friday night; Saturday a terrorists attacked people and killed one of them near the Opera Garnier. You can't plan on such things just like you can't know if you go to church or school or the mall in the US if this is the day a domestic terrorists will arrive with an assault rifle. The 10th is not unsafe but there is no reason to stay near Gare du Nord either. There are half a dozen train stations in Paris and you will use different stations depending on where you are going. for example when we came from Rome to Paris, the station was Bercy; when we went to Amsterdam and London it was Nord. We are going to a town in eastern France tomorrow and our station is Est; when we went to Giverny and to Bayeux it was St. Lazare and we have a trip to Brittany at the end of the month that will depart from Montparnasse. Choose an area to stay that has some charm.

I'd vote for the 14th arrondissement. There's a lot to do there, and good transportation.
If I had my druthers, I'd vote for the Hotel le Six, it's not far from Montparnasse station.

The Gare du Nord is closed until March 12 to June 12 2018, for extensive renovations.

The Gare du Nord is closed until March 12 to June 12 2018, for extensive renovations.

Chexbres, can you please clarify that. Gare du Nord cannot be totally closed. Eurostars are running. Thalys is running. AFAIK RER is running. Exactly what part of the station or services are closed?

Since the dates she mentioned are those of the #4 metro closure at GdN I think . . . .

That's what the bus driver said.

We took the Thalys from Gare du Nord to Amsterdam on the 7 May and the gare was certainly not closed!