France vs. Italy - or both?

Paris and France in general are far safer than the U.S. But if despite this fact you still have anxiety about visiting France, then postpone it for a bit. Vacation should be fun, not a source of fear.

France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland are all great places to visit and late September is a fine time to visit. You still have time to decide. Get out a map of Europe and note where your eyes are drawn first. Go there.

Paris has been under a State of Emergency since 2015; yet millions of French people are going about their daily lives and tourism continues. There is no "right time" since awful events will probably continue to happen at a time that's not entirely predictable...whether in France or elsewhere. Travel is not 100% risk free, but the benefits are tremendous. You have to make the tradeoff between a tiny risk and a much bigger upside. It's your money and interests, don't let a travel agent project their preferences on you...they are not exactly unbiased actors, they make their money pushing certain products (some of them haven't even been to the places they are touting so heavily).

We were in France last summer, and although you will see a heightened security presence around tourist sites, there is absolutely no reason to be afraid. You're more likely to get in a car wreck on the way to the airport as to have any sort of accident or attack while you are there. We had a fantastic time. The attack in Nice happened three days after we flew out from there - we had been walking on the promenade just days before. We'd still go back again in a heartbeat. This summer, we're off to Belgium and Germany. It didn't even occur to me that there had been an attack in Brussels until someone mentioned it. We're flying into BRU in 3 weeks. I'm not the least bit concerned. Are you afraid to go to cities in the U.S.?

ETA: You don't need a travel agent. Read Europe Through the Back Door by Rick Steves and whatever other guidebooks you can find at your local library, and ask questions here. The folks here know more than travel agents x 1000.

Yes, yes, and yes.

Go ahead with your original gut instinct trip to France (Paris - Champagne - Provence - Nice) This would be very relaxing!

If terrorism is keeping you from going to France consider that London and Copenhagen have had many and some recent attacks...there is nothing you can do but NOT let the thought of terrorism deter you from your normal life.

Beware of organized pickpockets in France and Italy though! LOL

FYI I have flown into Paris stayed a few nights took train but you could fly into Zurich, visit city and maybe Lake Constance area of Germany from the little town of Constance ( total 3 nights) you can take train through Alps down into Milan Italy...visit Lake Como fly home out of Milan. 4 countries if you are counting!

The French live in France so their choices to visit or not visit France are not the same as your choices. That said I don't think any of the dangers in Europe are limited to France. There is some very small measure of risk everywhere, I imagine.

If you think you will be less comfortable in France than elsewhere, then go elsewhere.

Late September is a good time for small-town wine fests in Germany.
Oberwesel, the "town of towers and wine," is an old-world Rhine Valley town worth visiting. Nearby Bacharach, St. Goar, Boppard, and Braubach are great too. Boppard has its fest on two weekends, 9/22-25 and 9/29-10/1. The famed fireworks take place on both Saturdays. There's a wine queen ceremony, wine stands, street music - lots of local color. If you can find a room in any of these nice towns, getting to Boppard for the fest is easy.

You can also tour Marksburg Castle (Braubach) and take a river cruise past all the castles and vineyards.

This recent thread addresses your question:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/is-it-safe-to-visit-paris

Thank you all so very much for your input! You have certainly eased my concerns. I think I will go forward with flying into Paris and building an itinerary around that. I will head on over to the France board and see what I can find about potential itineraries, but if anyone here has a suggestion I would love to hear it! 10 Days flying into Paris, we will do multi-city I'm sure.

I am very excited about this trip!

We'll be spending 10 days in Nice this August and whilst it will be more of a relaxing holiday for us (we have a villa with a pool so persuading the kids to get out and come sightseeing will be difficult) I plan on driving across the border and explore the Italian Riviera on some of the days.

Personally, two weeks spent exploring the south of France and northern Italy would be a great trip, adding Paris would be trying to cram too much in and make for a less satisfying experience.

I'll just add I am currently in France. I spent a week on my own in Paris and noted Parisians going about their lives walking kids to school (normal), going to work and shopping, having coffee or wine in a sidewalk cafe.

I've been on a tour in Brittany and Normandy for nearly 2 weeks and notice even less worry and more normalcy. At the Caen Memorial Peace Museum yesterday there was not any bag security. There were however dozens of school groups so kids were everywhere!!

Once you get here you will feel people getting on with their daily lives.

Don't worry about Paris. I would say go to France, your plan is ambitious enough without adding another country. See Italy on a separate trip when you can focus on it.

I'll be in the area just ahead of you. My next trip is Sept 5th for 17 nights and the plan is to meet my girlfriend in Paris then head south to Chamonix before going to Provence where her son lives. I just returned from France yesterday, so I haven't really started planning - other than already buying my plane ticket (Icelandair).

we are presently in italy, again, and soon will be in france, again for a month. having spent months in both, touring around. for what its worth. they are both great.( just different) but a lot of the places in italy (mentioned by people here etc) are full of tourists, whereas we have not experienced the density of tourists in france. a large generalisation, but anywhere they can get a cruise boat near seems to be crowded by tourists.

Why was the original title of this thread, "Is Paris Safe?", so drastically changed? And the original post by the OP I believe. It changes the context of earlier posts answering your original title and post. I've never seen this happen before.

Susan,

Apologies, but a moderator asked me to make the change. Blame it on the fact that I am new to this site and forum, but I did not realize there was a similar topic in the France board. However, I did as requested as I am sure there was a reason for the request!

Cheers!

No worries jacey, thanks for explaining.
Did the link I provided to that thread help answer your original question?

Both, it;s two of the most lovable place so why you need to choose if you can pick both