Montmartre (Safety?, Red light district?)

Wes: Re your question immediately above, it appears you're asking specifically about safety/crime issues, and I looked at the street view you imbedded (very helpful!) and while I don't claim to be an expert on Paris crime statistics, I'm not aware that the area you're in is unsafe. The seedy shops you referred to are in the Pigalle neighborhood on the other (south) side of Blvd de Clichy (not that I claim any familiarity with said shops!). Of course it's a big city so you would follow common sense safety precautions you'd follow anywhere. It's often said here (but I don't have the stats) that in terms of violent crime you're safer in most European cities than you are in comparable US cities. More pick-pocketing but way fewer guns over there.

I'm with Kent - Montmartre is my favourite area of Paris, partic. the square and little streets behind the Sacre Coeur basilica. Some excellent little restaurants. As long as you don't mind walking up and down hills! Pigalle at the bottom of the hill is pretty seedy, yes, but not dangerous.

Well, safe perhaps. But it surely is sleazy! I would never take a lady there.

Our soldier boys didn't nickname it "Pig Alley" for nothing!

(I am talking about the red light part, not the top of the hill).

You soldier boys named it "pig alley" because they could not pronounce the French word "Pigalle".

Sorry, Norma, but it was because of the prostitution! And, it's still alive and well. I was propositioned twice (on the street) last June on my way up to the Basilica.

Jusst because you are in the Monmartre area doesn't mean you must be in the Pigalle area. It's very easy to avoid!
When flying out of CDG, we usually spend the previous night in Montmartre -- no problems!

There's a handy MP3 audioguide to Montmartre that you can download here : Montmartre

I've got a couple of photos on Flickr from a mid-January visit to Montmartre a few years back Montmartre

Montmartre is really safe and charming. I go to France often, and stayed several times in Montmartre. Pigalle and Place Clichy are a little bit seedy, but it is not in Montmartre!

Actually the paste doesn't give you anything. It opens a signon screen requiring a login name and password?

Okay, I see the problem, this is a broken link. His first post on this (subsequently deleted by him) gave a good link that took you right to the property. He deleted that and reposted a new topic, this one, and I guess the link is broken. The position of the neighborhood he was asking about the safety of was right in about here:http://www.google.com/maps/mm?hl=en&q=&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=48.890639,2.337127&spn=0.006095,0.021029&z=16&iwloc=mpl1the link I just now provided doesn't point to the exact spot but it's just northeast of the cemetery and northwest of Sacre Coeur, roughly between the two, and so you can see it's not in the Pigalle area and not really even close to Pigalle.

sorry! and thanks to all!

And "Pig Alley" was derived from Place Pigalles. Just like "Can o' beer" in Marseilles was from the Rue Canabieres.

Exactly, Doug.