Basic overview. You know how you need to be careful and aware of your surroundings anywhere you go? Do that while traveling also. I know it’s easy to get caught up in how beautiful or exciting it is on your trip. Or maybe you feel like you’re on vacation and relaxing. But you must always be a vigilant person. You must always be aware of where you are, who is around you, where your belongings are, etc.
I bought a cross body purse to carry with me on the entire trip. I only carried with me one credit card and my drivers license. I was always attentive to my purse and my phone.
With that said, for my 2023 trip we went to London, Paris and Normandy.
London
London felt safe. I never felt worried in London. I just never felt like we ran into a bad or sketchy area. We rode subways and buses and everything felt fine. We walked on streets at night and down weird alleys and never felt like we were in danger.
Paris
Only one time did I feel like we were in a bad place while we were in France. We were staying overnight near the train station in the 9th arrondissement, and that seemed like a very dangerous and sketchy area. I was thankful we left in the morning. But the rest of our experiences in Paris, I always felt safe. We walked around the whole time and I never once felt like - uhoh we are in a bad area. Paris felt very safe.
Rouen
I adored Rouen. I felt very safe there. However, family that were traveling with us, their rental van got broken into and they lost several things to thieves. Thieves grabbed what they could quickly, backpacks and iPads and wallets. It really put a damper on a very wonderful experience. They had to deal with a police report as well as rental car insurance. The moral of that story is - make sure your stuff is well hidden, that you don’t leave behind important things like wallets, and try to park in more secure locations. We were going to park in the train station parking lot, but instead opted to park on the street near where we were going sightseeing.
Normandy
Normandy is quiet area and we never once felt in danger or concerned at all while we were there.
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Before I left for this trip, Paris had undergone a huge riot after police shot a teenager. There was nonstop footage of Paris burning and looting and riots. But while we were there, we saw NOTHING to indicate anything had happened. There was no rioting, no roving bands of troublemakers, no burning buildings, no boarded up buildings, no trash. Maybe all the problems were happening in another arrondissement, but for us, we never saw anything like what the news had shown.
I also watched many TikTok and Instagram videos about Paris. And every one of them mentioned how bad pickpockets are and how you have to keep your phone on a leash so people don’t steal it. I bought those leash things and I was ready to put them on the phones, but honestly I never felt like I needed it. We never felt like we were being targeted or followed or anything like that. I think it’s good to be aware and vigilant, but also realize that maybe the crime stories are overblown.
Unfortunately, our family members had their car broken into while we were in Rouen. So crime is certainly out there, and sometimes you can’t avoid it. But the best thing you can do is keep your important belongings safe, either by carrying them with you or leaving them at the hotel, or keep everything well hidden and secure in the car.
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