Common Tourist Scams in Paris (and How to Avoid Them)
Metro and pickpocket protocol
- The metro overall: world-class network, 14 lines, runs 05:30-01:15 (until 02:15 Fri-Sat). Safe in the violent-crime sense; the issue is pickpocketing volume.
- The pickpocket hotspot lines: line 1 (the tourist axis Champs-Élysées-Louvre-Bastille), line 4 (north-south through Gare du Nord and Châtelet), line 9 (through the Marais and Bastille), line 6 (Eiffel Tower).
- The landmark hotspots: Eiffel Tower (Trocadéro and Champ de Mars), Louvre (Rue de Rivoli approach), Montmartre (Sacré-Cœur steps), Notre-Dame, Champs-Élysées.
- Family protocol: phone in a front pocket or zipped bag, wallet front pocket only, child's backpack in front when crowded, no flashing devices on the platform.
- The petition scam: groups of young women with clipboards approach you (often around Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur) asking you to sign a deaf-mute petition. While you focus on the clipboard, an accomplice empties your bag. Politely ignore; do not engage.
- Strollers on the metro: many older stations have stairs only. Lines 14 (driverless, modern) and the RER are accessible at most stations; lines 1, 4, 7, 9 are mixed; the older lines (3, 5, 6, 12, 13) are often stair-only. A compact umbrella stroller handles stairs more easily than a giant pram.
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