Safety in Paris, 9th district/10th district

Others will chime in who are familiar with the neighborhood, but a first step should be to look on Google street view and see the area for yourself. Is there a good number of credible reviews both on the site and on another site? Do the deposit and money terms and practices required strike you as clear and not risky? Is the deposit amount exorbitant? Are there good quality photos of all key areas and amenities of the apartment? Answering these questions will tell you if it's truly a place you want to rent. Sometimes I can become unreasonably enthusiastic about a place in the desire to have the search be over. Be honest with yourself and do your homework; keep looking a bit more even when you think you have found a place.
Dave

I like the 10th. It is definitely a younger crowd. Not touristy but hipster. All the hot new restaurants are opening there because the rents are lower. By all means, stop in at Albion just a block south of the Poissonniere Metro stop and book a table. Hayden will be happy to help you. My vote for best value in Paris.

I have stayed in the 9th several times and will again next month. As safe or safer than my home city, which is saying a lot.

We have stayed in about half of the arrondissements in Paris including some on the fringes like the 20th and I believe it is among the most safe cities there are for a traveler. There is very little violent crime like robberies or muggings. Pickpocketing is rampant and you are at greater risk of that in the central tourist areas than in the 9th (although at risk always on the metro if you make yourself a walking buffet by keeping valuables in pockets or backpack). The key thing here is to to do due diligence on the apartment itself through reviews, pictures, talking with the landlord etc. If you are cheated by a landlord in Paris you are out of luck. Most rentals are illegal and there is no way to force return of deposit or even existence of the apartment that will be affordable for a foreigner. You are very much on your own in renting and need to be sure you have done your homework.

I stayed at a hotel in the 9th, on Rue Richer that was fine. Would stay in this area again. When I rent an apartment I always use Google Maps with street view to look at the building and the surrounding neighborhood. I also only rent places that have good reviews from previous guests, and of course a reasonable price and a responsive and friendly apartment owner or manager.

Understand that an arrondissement is not homogenous. It's just an administrative district composed of many neighborhoods or old villages. Move a half dozen blocks and the perception could change vastly.

This becomes even more true the further you get from the lower number ring.

You'd get more accurate responses if you provided street or hotel names.

I rented an apartment that was advertised as Montmartre (18th arrondisement) which, while technically was in this district, it bordered on the 9th. Our closest metro stop was Pigalle. There was an interesting establishment next door,complete with lovely lights that came on every afternoon and stayed on until the wee hours, featuring rather unattractive, rough looking women who would stand outside making all the men feel "welcome." Enough said! We walked by every day on our way to the metro, past the sex shops, with interesting windows, etc. My husband still tells people what a great wife he has!!! Lolol!

We are adults and travel with a fun loving couple and it didn't bother us. We never felt in any danger, but I would have absolutely croaked if I had to walk the kids down the street without blindfolds!

Agree, Google Map it! Very unlikely you'll ever get mugged anywhere in Paris, but you do have to keep control of your bags, wallets, and especially iPhones (yes, we had one stolen but not in this neighborhood.

Have fun in Paris, but the 9th is a little rough for my tastes.

Ugh...we got stuck in a place in Pigalle once as well. We had our 7 year old with us and it was a lot of work turning his attention to the birds and the interesting rocks on the ground to keep his tiny eyes off the surrounding flaura and fauna of the very active sex industry. I highly recommend Google street view as well - just work your way through the neighborhood and look around. You can tell pretty quickly what type of neighborhood it is. As Ed said, things can change quickly in just a few blocks, same as any big city.

Area around Poissonniere Metro stop is not an "adult entertainment" district and nowhere near Pigalle.