mugging?

From my understanding, mugging is not common in Paris, right? If I take the normal precautions about pickpockets and scam artists, should I be concerned about wearing a nice watch with locking wristband?

I%26#39;ve been to Paris once about a year ago and felt completely safe, although I remained alert and vigilant. Should I worry about carrying around an expensive camera at night in certain areas? It%26#39;s an SLR too big to keep out of view... Thanks

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I don%26#39;t think muggings are common though opportunistic theft and pickpockets are around. I might be careful about wearing any very expensive jewellery, I don%26#39;t take the good stuff with me, apart from engagement/wedding rings. I just don%26#39;t need to worry about it. I guess the rule is don%26#39;t take anything you would be devastated to lose.

As to the camera, I carry one too but either in a camera bag that has secure closing, not just a zip, or inside a capacious handbag, again with secure closure. I have had a digital slr removed from a camera bag that was on my shoulder while I was walking about 200 metres. Didn%26#39;t feel a thing. I found a hand inside a zip top bag on the metro while the lady had her back to me and was about to step off the train.

And when you sit, secure the strap with your foot and keep it tucked under the table.

Just take precautions.

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Leave the expensive watch at home - the French won%26#39;t be impressed and a good %26quot;dip%26quot; (pickpocket) can remove it without you knowing no matter how secure the watch band is supposed to be.

I only carry my Leica gear when I have someone to watch my back - and carry the bag - otherwise, it%26#39;s just a digital.

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Yes, I think I have a permanent lopsided walk from lugging the slr, even though I pruned to one 18-200mm lens for travel. In the evening we quite often carried just a tiny digital that fitted in a small handbag. Good enough to photograph the food.

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No....muggings (at least not in the central portions of the city) are a fairly rare occurrence. Contrary to popular %26#39;urban myth%26#39;. pickpockets and most other forms of petty-crime-of-opportunity and other scams are not all that frequent either. Paris is a large, busy, crowded city, so SOME petty crime does exists that you must be mindful. But hysteric exaggeration could easily lead one to believe that there are marauding hordes of %26#39;..gypsies, tramps and thieves..%26#39; rampaging through the streets of Paris, preying, pillaging and plundering hapless foreign tourists. It just ain%26#39;t so.

So with this in mind, simply take the same reasonable, common sense precautions that you took during your last visit and remain %26#39;situationally aware%26#39; of your surroundings....and you%26#39;ll be safer in Paris than you would be crossing the parking lot of your local shopping mall in Anchorage (no stampeding herds of caribou, no ravenous polar bear, no gentle breeze off of the tundra to freeze your blood solid in a NY minute).

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%26quot;....and you%26#39;ll be safer in Paris than you would be crossing the parking lot of your local shopping mall in Anchorage (no stampeding herds of caribou, no ravenous polar bear, no gentle breeze off of the tundra to freeze your blood solid in a NY minute).%26quot;

Ha, you%26#39;re not far off, I have pictures of moose bedding down in my backyard. This summer I had to avoid a big pile of bear scat while mowing the lawn!

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We, too, wondered about muggings but found Paris to be very safe.. we even found ourselves wandering backstreets and never felt threatened. I wore my Tag which has a lockable wristband and really didnt have a problem.. avoid the gypsies if you see them with their %26quot;ring%26quot; scams etc and you%26#39;ll be fine. Take, as KDKSail says, all the reasonable precautions and I doubt you%26#39;d have a problem. I did hear of one instance when in Paris where an old man (tourist) with a walking stick was robbed by two young teenagers on the Metro of his wallet.. they reached into his pocket and ran.. but I think this was opportunistic. I carried a backpack at all times with my SLR in it.. perfectly safe. If anything, keep it in front rather than hanging from the back and you%26#39;d be fine

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Leave the watch at home and then, just before you leave Paris, nip into Cartier the Jeweller on the Champs-Elysees and pick up a bargain watch.

€30,000 should buy you a reasonable one!

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I didnt take my Heuer to Peru or SE Asia, but didnt think twice about not wearing it in Paris. I wear it here, I wear it there (I even wore it in Mexico City). I would dress the same way in Paris as I would dress at home, or any other major city

While I fell into the fear before a trip to Barcelona when my digital SLR was brand new, I wouldnt go anywhere without it now. Its been to much more %26quot;dangerous%26quot; places than Paris.... The first thing I did was ditch the strap with the huge %26quot;Canon EOS Digital.%26quot;

I dont ever walk around a city with the camera around my neck - its in the bag until I%26#39;m ready to shoot. And, my Crumpler camera bag goes across the chest and looks more like a messenger bag than something holding expensive camera gear.

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Pickpockets exist in Paris and throughout Europe. Muggings are rare: Europeans are more subtle.

Do NOT put your wallet in your back trouser pocket: it will go (voice of experience here). Do not use a %26quot;bum bag%26quot; around your waist outside your clothes.

Keep your credit cards, driving licence, and any surplus cash in a money belt worn inside your shirt.

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