I am planning on visiting Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. I have been reading about an increase in violent crimes and pickpocketing in both Madrid and Barcelona. I am beginning to wonder if I should cancel my trip. Am I being too concerned about the crime? Please advise.
Thank you,
Jo Jo

Do not cancel your trip! I would have absolutely no compunctions about going back to Madrid or Barcelona (if I had any money)--and I am a white-haired 70-something female.

My recommendation would be to keep your money and credit cards in a money belt, don't go down dark streets, and in general, just be vigilant.

Have I missed something? I haven't heard of violence in Spain. Some pickpocketing, of course, but not violence.

there have been a number of threads re: the same subject.
A recent poster's purse was stolen
in Barcelona. Some people have been pickpocketed in Madrid.
We have been to both cities more than once and had no problems.
As a matter of fact, my friend and I are heading for Barcelona in 4 weeks.
Love it!

If you want security without taking any defensive steps, then yes, neither is a good city for you to visit.

Then again, so are many other cities.

I would neither say that it is safe or that I did not have any incidents. I expected pickpocket attempts and took defensive steps so I could relax and not to be paranoid about environment. Yes, someone got into my daypack in the subway in Barcelona. But so what? I expected that, so all it contained were maps, a water bottles, a sweater, and a guide book. The camera was under my jacket, money and credit cards and most cash were in my neck pouch or in my money belt.

There has been a lot of pickpocket activity on the Barcelona Metro FOR YEARS...if you are careful with your personal belongings you should have little if any problem.

Barcelona and Madrid are BIG cities..any "increase in violent crime" probably wouldn't have any direct affects on you anyway so i think cancelling a trip because of that would be shortsighhted.

These places are pretty safe if you practice common sense. One word of advice - watch your stuff very closely at La Boqueria market in Barcelona.

Regards and have a nice trip,
Oleg C.
www.Olegis.com

Madrid and Barcelona are safe cities - much safer than most U.S. cities. You won't encounter street crime. The only risk is pickpocketing - but with the usual precautions you will be on the safe side. Enjoy your trip!

..."These places are pretty safe if you practice common sense. One word of advice - watch your stuff very closely at La Boqueria market in Barcelona."

make that "everywhere".

You should be AWARE of the petty crime, but perhaps not too CONCERNED about it.

Do not cancel your trip but DO take seriously all these suggestions and advice to keep yourself and your property safe from these delinquents we have here that seem to be waiting for their prey to get distracted.

It isn't going to go away anywhere in the world so travellers must learn how to be smarter than the thieves.

A lot of travellers have learned that.. others have not learned it but been lucky, and some have learned it but let their own savvy guard down for a moment and gotten stung.

You can only do so much, but DO IT!Enjoy your trips and your efforts should be rewarded.

One safety tip (for your belongings), and this applies <i>everywhere</i> -- Do not hang your purse or backpack on the back of a chair or lay it by your feet and, in fact, don't put it on a table at a cafe ---- it's very easy for thieves in tourist areas to run by, grab the item and be gone.

FWIW, I was in Madrid last summer with my daughter. We took &quot;normal&quot; precautions, such as above, and had no problems or incidents.

I go to Madrid and Barcelona a few times a year and have never been robbed, but then again I do not take the Madrid metro from the airport, but the bus.

I have been witness to the thievery groups working other metro lines and buses I have been on, and starting to follow people on the street.. whom I have notified and warned.

I came back from Spain last week - spent three days each in Madrid and Barcelona. I didn't have any problems with crime. I did leave my passport and money in the hotel - in my Madrid hostal there was no safe and the owner said there had never been any thefts there so I just hid my passport and extra money in my suitcase - in Barcelona the room did have a safe. I rode the Metro from Madrid airport, had to make two changes with my suitcase on wheels. I am a New Yorker so I tried to be alert. ;-)

Several years ago I bought a light weight travel vest from Magellen Travel store. Its great for stashing all your stuff. That way you won't have to carry a purse, or if you do, just put books in it. I also use a small safety pin to pin the zippers closed on my many vest pockets too.

My daughter just moved to Malaga, Spain. Within a week of arriving she had her handbag stolen which contained cash (only a small amount); ATM and credit cards, mobile phone and worst of all passport.

But she was silly. She was in a restaurant with a group of friends. Got upt to go to the toilet and left her bag on her chair, thinking that it would be safe with the group of friends.

Well hopefully she learnt her lesson. I wouldn't do that at home (Sydney), much less when I was carrying pretty much all that is valuable to me in aforeign country. But then I am not 21 any more either.

As long as you take care, and remain aware, you will be fine.

Enjoy your trip.

I second the comment about being careful in La Boqueria. My sister's purse was stolen at a restaurant there by a very clever thief. Fortunetely, she had given me her debit card and passport to put in my money belt, but she did lose the expensive camera that was in her purse.

I suggest looping your purse strap around your chair leg. If anyone tries to make off with your purse, they won't be able to take it without a big fuss.

Common sense precautions are all that are necessary. If you are reasonably careful with your valuables on a regular basis, just be extra cautious when you travel and there should not be any problem. It probably helps to NOT advertise your relative "wealth" and make yourself a target. Use small bills, don't wear excessively expensive jewelry, pay attention to your surroundings when using an ATM...common sense.

I think that you are right to be aware of crime in both cities, but please don't cancel your trip! I have visited both places and in my opinion, petty crime tends to proliferate more in summer during the high tourist season than at any other time.

Be especially aware of your surroundings at major tourist sights - Las Ramblas and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Plaza Major and Plaza Sol in Madrid - and while on public transport. Tourists are not targeted because of their "relative wealth" as one previous poster said (Spain is not an impoverished country), but because they are on holiday and are not as aware of potential dangers. On a bike tour of Barcelona we met two German tourists who had had their pockets picked twice on the same trip - yet they went in to visit the Sagrada Familia and left their backpacks behind on their bicycles - dumb, dumb, dumb!

Buy a money belt or a wallet that can go around your neck under your shirt - and use it. Keep small denominations of cash - no more than about €20 - in your pocket.

It is good that you are aware of potential problems - but try not to let that dominate your trip. Both cities are terrific places to visit and are loads of fun. Just be aware that they are bit cities with the crime to match.

Where do you live? Is it a city?

If so you probably are just as "safe" there.

I have been mugged once... and it was in Atlanta GA! LOL!
And in truth it was MORE dangerous here. Criminals in the US are MORE likely to have a gun!

I haven't read anything about recent increases, so I really don't know about that. But I don't think Madrid is so bad, when I was there a couple years ago. I do think you have to watch out more than you might in some other cities.

I do not agree with Carol that any city in the world is as dangerous as Madrid/Barcelona, and am sure she has no stats to back up her statements.

BTW, I do not wear a money belt or around the neck wallet, either. I carry a purse, but the one concession I make, to the fact that as a tourist I will probably be more distracted, is that I wear a purse with a cross-body strap, so the purse is always in front of me. The one I have (pictured here) is perfect size to hold money, glasses, camera and passport, and the wallet is attached to the purse so it won't get lost. This is what I used for Egypt, Madrid and London last summer.

http://tinyurl.com/dzoubc

For those who tell us that theft and street crime is not a problem in Barcelona -

from <i>The Sydney Morning Herald</i> 20 February 2009 -

"A who's who of the mobile industry... is in Barcelona this week for the Mobile World Congress...

Pickpocketing, theft and street crime has been rife during the congress, leading to calls for the event to be moved.

The Inquirer, a technology news website, reported that congress organiser GSMA told the mayor of Barcelona another city would be chosen if the level of theft did not decrease... "

Here's the full story -

http://tinyurl.com/dkayo8

Perhaps now with the big end of town involved and the prospect of Barcelona losing lucrative conferences, the local authorities may take an interest.