How could you ?! Just kidding.

Lin, Not doubting what you say (after all, you live there) but is there any data to back it up? Some agency or the other must be tracking these. Just curious how bad or good it actually is.

I have been to Madrid many times, never pickpocketed. I was in Viana Do Castelo once and was pickpocketed. Conclusion?; be careful NO MATTER where you are.

In a synopsis, by all means GO TO MADRID. It is a fabulous city, violent crime is almost non-existent. Be aware of your surroundings; pretty simple, really.

We're going to be in Madrid at the end of the month, so of course, I've been reading guidebooks, and other than the typical warnings about pickpockets, none of the books I've read said anything remotely like "Madrid is a hotbed of crime" (Fodor's, Frommer's, Eyewitness, etc.). Be aware of your surroundings and your belongings. Don't be stupid. You'll be fine. (P.S. The closest anyone in our family has come to being successfully pickpocketed was on the Rome subway - my son - and he was stupid enough to push the guy when he realized (in time) what was happening. They got away, but he kept his wallet (and his life)).

Why is someone who has never even been to Madrid responding about crime in Paris? They aren't the same places. I've been to both, and I would say that on average, there probably is more crime in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona) than some other cities, like Paris -- as far as what relates to tourists.

I didn't have a problem in Madrid, but I know several people who did. People who are careless and get their attention diverted, have things easily accessible in purses or pockets, etc. need to really be careful. They shouldn't do those things anywhere, but all the people I talked to who were pickpocketed in madrid were the kind of people who were careless and clueless.

Didn't you just answer your own question. A) They shouldn't do that anywhere, and B) they were the kind of people who were careless and clueless.

Anyone telling you there are no special problems with crime in Madrid (or Barcelona) IMO simply does not know of what they are talking and are doing you a disservice.

Guidebooks are not always right but most do not print something about crime in a place unless it's really a problem

I have just now topped a thread MUGGED IN MADRID where you will read many experiences of crime in Madrid

This is of interest to me ever since a close relative of mine was violently mugged early on a Sunday morning in front of Atocha train station - she ended up bloodied and scarred - shopkeepers opening their shops stood by and did nothing.

There is a problem but if you know there is a serious problem then you may be able to take precautions to prevent it

Will you likely get robbed in Madrid? Not likely but it's a real possibility - much more than in most European cities. don't wear expensive jewelry, etc.

Google pickpockets or mugging in Madrid and you'll get hundreds of posts - do the same for paris or other cities and you'll get a handful.

<Under no circumstances should you let rumors like this deter you from visiting.>

Yes and these are not rumors in Madrid - not at all - take the 'rumors' seriously - very seriously

Hey PalenQ: What ever happened to that thread where you went on an insane cut-and-paste frenzy and copied every negative post about Spain from every travel message board you could find?

I was in Madrid alone in September 2007 and I had no problems. I LOVED Madrid. It was beautiful during the day and the architecutre of the old buildings was beautiful.

I'm not sure what you're reading, but I think it's hyperbole. I read about Madrid before I went and I didn't see anything stating that Madrid was anymore dangerous than any other city. As a woman traveling alone, I took the same precautions I'd take anywhere by myself.

I hope you don't change your plans, Madrid has much to offer.

Bridget

Pete R

you are wrong about every negative thing ever said about Spain

it was only about the crime that authorities do nothing about and yes there was a whole lot to copy

thanks for remembering - i'll try to dig it up

but i'm not anti-spain as you suggest just when my dear friend was so abused and mugged and then i hear so many other documented cases i wonder why local authorities don't crack down - like Berlosconi is in Italy - i guess if it had not happened to my dear friend i would not be on a mission but i am and will until it seems local police do something about it. Yeh will seem overly zealous to you but it ain't anti-spanish

and in the Barcelona crime thread and Madrid Muggings thread you will note quite a few locals who basically said the same thing

"anyone telling you there are no special problems with crime in Madrid (or Barcelona) IMO simply does not know of what they are talking and are doing you a disservice."


a bit presumptuous , no?

Bridget, how did you travel around town (subway, bus, taxi)?

yoghurt - read the Mugged in Madrid thread before commenting please

dmlove -

I walked, took the open tour bus and used cabs in the evening. I used cabs in the evening because I wasn't always sure of how to get where I was going and didn't want to wander into an unknown area at night.

Once I got where I was going I generally walked around the area.

I didn't use the subway at all. Madrid was relatively compact and I found I was able to get around to where I wanted to go pretty easily. I stayed in a lovely hotel on the Gran Via - Hotel Atlantico.

It was in a great location and so I was able to get around without too much trouble.

Happy to see that Europeans like to blame immigrants and minorities for crime problems, too!

To the OP, I would take the normal precautions, but didn't find Madrid to be or feel unsafe in any real way.

As far i as i can tell it is mainly immigrant drug addicts that perpetrate most of the crime on tourists in Madrid and Barcelona. And i pity them - they are doing what they have to to survive

whether it's anti-immigrant to state this is obviously foolish

and Americans often hear at home folks blaming the Hispanic illegals for crime sprees and use that as a reason to limit immigration - at least in this case i think it is not true

but i'd wager a lot of the street muggings and pickpocketing in Madrid is done by immigrants - if that makes me a racist then so be it

PalenQ wrote: "As far i as i can tell it is mainly immigrant drug addicts that perpetrate most of the crime on tourists in Madrid and Barcelona."

How far can you tell? Do you have a sufficient number of personal observations, or have you access to reliable data? Or do you simply rely on the cardiovisual method?

If I project from my own experience, there is no street crime anywhere.

There has always been lots of petty crime in Madrid, mainly pickpockets, purse snatching type stuff. However, Ive noticed lately petty crime is more 'accepted' now. What I mean is that the moral code against such behavior is breaking down in Spain and among the Spainards. Almost as if it is now an acceptable line of work to pickpocket an American or Northern European and even legitimate professions now routinely extort tourists.
It is worrisome

these pots end up going no where.

i am unaware of where to find the official statistics.but from television, debates on tv, newspaperes, and the news, comments from victimized friends and family ( my daughter was just hassled for 40 minutes on and off an aboveground tram by a group of young foreign girls trying to scare her to death and rob her)..

EVERYONE who lives here takes extreme caution and tells their friends and children HOW to be careful, and from WHERE not to take the metro home.. etc.etc.

but NOT going to anywhere has never entered my mind. if cautioning travellers is going to keep them from travelling somewhere, perhaps then, ignorance is bliss.

and BTW, the 112 and police were called to attend this agression problem on the tram by my daughter AND me, and NOTHING was done. no one helped ehr. people got off.. and when she got off, they followed her.

really the pits that day.

i think we were supposed to wait until she was beaten or actually robbed to ask the police to get involved.

very frustrating.

i agree with Lincasanova. I suffered it a year ago in the Madrid metro and it was confirmed to me by many Madrileños .Sadly it is not only in Madrid where the influx of foreigners that now travel freely within the EU (+ others)has changed things and not for the better.
Nevertheless I would go back to Madrid anytime but I would avoid the Metro and be most careful. Very careful.
One could say that this is a prejudiced point of view however when you visit for instance Tordesillas, Spain and the cafe in the main sq., the hairdresser, and many locals tell you that they have been robbed by the newcomers....what is there to imply?. In those little towns everybody knows everybody and they lived fairly in peace before.