We have not been in Lisbon in 30 years and are THINKING about going. That long ago we were walking in the Alfama and the Portuguese were telling us to be careful about theft.

Is that a bygone thing?

We have been to northern Portugal on day trips from Galicia, but not Lisbon.

Thanks for the information.

We were for 4 days in Sept......never felt threatened anywhere, and we walked a lot, Day & night.

Nowhere is safe in Europe

In more than one place in Lisbon I thought I needed to be mindful that people might be interested in pickpocketing me. I never felt threatened. I just felt there were a lot of people hanging out in Lisbon who'd be interested in some extra change if it was easy to nick. In the supermarkets there was a very obvious presence of security guards, watching for shoplifting. I thought a lot of this was about young people, including young foreigners, who adopt Lisbon as a cheap hangout music place, just to bum around. Use to run into the same crowd in Greece. Didn't feel it was a aggressive or team work, like have felt in tourist zones in Spain (where it has actually interfered with my enjoyment of Spanish cities, but not so in Lisbon).

Thanks all.

Felt very safe during our week in Lisbon. We always take the usual precautions but never felt dangerous to us at all.

Spent about a week there in late 2016. After doing lots of online reading, had images of gangs of Angolan and Mozambiquan immigrants lurking around every corner, ready to pounce, or to offer drugs. Having said that, we were never in any area that seemd the last bit shady, and never out past 11 or so at night. Surely there are "bad" areas but we never found them. Took taxis (very moderate price-wise) to get to various restaurants, etc at night. We stayed in Bairro Alto which was lovely, but there is such good transport, it probably does not matter all that much where you stay.


Very surprised at the amount of Portuguese who were fluent in English; English proved far more useful than Spanish. I was just thrilled that we took that trip, and would like to try the Porto/Galicia combination very soon.

We were definitely being targeted by some pick pockets after coming out of the metro - also the public trolleys are excellent set-ups for the ne'er do wells. Isn't that where Rick Steves got pick pocketed? But just carry limited amounts of cash and have at least one credit card back in your hotel so if you do get "hit" it won't be a disaster.

Thank you Michele, Eks and Sue.

Eks, can help with Galicia.

IMDonehere: I loved Lisbon, and long to go back. I could move there. I did not feel nervous, but crime can happen anywhere, anytime. I was mugged on my own doorstep in London!

I mostly walked, and did not take the trams or underground where apparently most of the crime happens. Where necessary, I took taxis, which are very cheap, and most drivers spoke perfect English, as most have lived somewhere else - I had great chats with a few that had lived in Toronto and London.

EKS: during that trip, I also visited Galicia and Porto. In Galicia, we we toured the wine region in Rias Baixas.

We picked the car up in Porto airport then drove to O Grove, where we stayed for a couple of days, and had the best seafood of my life. Then we drove through the Minho, had more wine, stayed a night there, dropped the car back at Porto airport and spent a couple of days in Porto before I went by train to Lisbon. It was a great trip, and I highly recommend it.

Here is a very pathetic start at a trip report, that I never finished .

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-portugal.cfm

We are native NY'ers, but in all travels, the neighbors never leaned out of the window and warned us to protect our camera.

I was pickpocketed in Istanbul and I put my wallet in front pocket. And have visited a number of palces before, during, and after major crimes and terrorism.

It was different in the Alfama.

Thanks again for all the postings.

The streetscape of the Alfama is certainly advantageous for grab-and-run thieves but in general my experience of natives everywhere is that they are always more cautious and protective of travelers in their midsts than fellow travelers are. Even when living in NYC, when fellow American tourists asked me for directions or help, I would give them warnings that they probably thought hyper-cautious.

You're going to look like a tourist in Lisbon. There are definitely thieves there, serious and petty, so you will need to take precautions. But compared to other places you've been to in Spain and NYC, the threat level is really quite low.