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I'm arriving late at night (after 10pm) at gare du Nord and will take the metro to a friend's apartment in the 20th near square charles pixerecourt. Will I have any problems safety-wise? I heard the train station and 20th arrondissement is not safe at night.

Mountain Trader

While problems can show up anywhere, I think you should be fine with a good plan and some common sense.

Inside the Gare du Nord station is usually ok, and I've never encountered worse than an occasional beggar in there. Outside is another matter but you can go from a train, buy a metro ticket and get to the Metro without going outside.

You'll want the #5 metro-have your friend map out the best way to get to the right Metro station and especially from the final station to his/her apartment. It seems you'll take the #5, then change trains at Republique to the #11. I've changed trains at Republique late at night and a lot of the walking is through a larger common area, often with other people around, unlike some big stations that force you into narrow passage ways that isolate you.

When you get to the place to wait for the Metro trains, try to stay near other people who look ok-don't isolate yourself if you can avoid it. Make sure your belongings are locked up and not an easy target for pickpockets, which are by far the worst problem in the Metro. If you can sit down on the Metro with your stuff next to you-it's much easier to pickpocket someone standing up.

Tell you friend that you're concerned and be sure to get from him/her exact directions on which exit to use at the final Metro stop and how to get from there to his/her apartment. Get directions that are clear and use terms like "turn left" rather than "go down".

That area of Paris is quite charming and something of an old time Parisian residential neighborhood I enjoy it and I think you probably will too, though English will be hard to find.

slawecki

some outlying metero stations close. pretty early at that. confirm the one you are using is open at that hour.

pititom

Directions given by Mountain Trader are perfectly exact but I would suggest another way :

Take bus n°26 right in front of Gare du Nord station ("Nation" bound) and step off at "L'Ermitage", which is about 100 meters (110 yards) from the named square. I see many advantages to this solution :

- Subway is not convenient with luggage (lots of stairs), and especially when transferring at Republique or exiting in Jourdain or Telegraphe.
- No transfer, more direct and at this time of day, bus may be as fast as subway,
- There are no safety issues in the subway but pickpockets, but as bus is attended, you may feel safer.

Mountain Trader

I don't think stations close before the last train servicing the station has gone thru. Some entrances and ticket booths do close earlier so getting local info from the OPs friend would be a good idea.

Mountain Trader

I don't disagree, but I note that I don't know exactly where the Nation bound #26 stop is and I would not want to walk around outside Gare du Nord with luggage late at night looking for it. Also the OP should know that buses that late usually run every 20 minutes or so, and be aware of when to signal the bus to stop.

keisari

you are staying for free in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
why not just pay for taxi.
My guess is less than 20 euros.

menton1

Yes, taxi is the way to go. My guess is that it might even be under 15E.

NickB

ratp.fr's maps are your friend: the stop for the Nation-bound 26 is right in front on the station, on an island on place Napoleon III in front of the Mercure Terminus Nord (street view in google maps will give a physical view of the bus stop).
Ratp buses nowadays have both visual and aural indications of stops. Bus route maps are also available on ratp.fr (Link to route 26 map) as well as timetables (click on afficher les horaires de la ligne from route map page). If the OP becomes remains alert two or three stops before the required stop (l'Ermitage, in his case) and press on the request stop button just after passing the previous stop (Jourdain), there should be no problem.
Plugging in the itinerary from gare du nord to square pixerecourt in ratp.fr at the relevant time and specifying 'bus/tramway' and 'least walking' in advance search should give the routing with the 26 bus, with maps at both ends.