Sorry,,,careful
P.s.
I agree with Robert.

Barcelona is the only place in all our travels where we were ever pickpocketed. My MIL had to go to hospital after being robbed in Barcelona. The police couldn't care less.

I'm sure there are people who've never had a problem, but this was just our experience with Barcelona.

I agree with Robert.>

meaning you deny there is any problem at all - to tell folks there is basically no problem is a big problem and misinformation at its very worst.

No you a savvy traveler did not get victimized by this has not been the only such post and to suggest that it is a fake well you have absolutely no info on that.

Your type of post - there is nothing to worry about either shows you are blind to a common problem in Barcelona or will nt admit it. It is a problem more here than in most cities. Period - the poster probably felt so victimized that he/she had to post on as many sites as possible, etc.

read Tulips last post just above - another savvy traveler but both her and her husband were victimized - yes the thing that inspires me to alert folks to a very REAL problem that only the most insulated person could deny - is yes several years ago my relative being mugged in Madrid on a Sunday morning in front of Atocha station and left battered and bruised and as the problem in these two cities seems as bad as every I will continue to be a Cassandra and warning folks.

"Don't get it"? Got it?

The most recent statistics I saw placed Barcelona near the top of the list in Europe for petty crime, so there is some basis for the perception that there's a high risk of having your wallet lifted. Amsterdam was also pretty high up. I haven't seen anything that updated these statistics in the last ten years, so that may be outdated.

Anecdotes are not a good indicator of risk. The only places I've ever had anything stolen from my person were in suburban New Jersey and in Dublin. I don't think you can draw any universal conclusions from that.

So sorry - it's easy to make a mistake when you are traveling somewhere new. Somehow you get overwhelmed and distracted so much easier. I have never been pickpocketed but maybe I am just lucky. I am careful and observant but I think sometimes, it's just gonna happen anywhere you go.

I appreciate the post. I think everyone can learn something from it.

. I haven't seen anything that updated these statistics in the last ten years, so that may be outdated.>

Amsterdam has cleaned up its act - in years of going there yes there once was a great chance of being pickpocketed (but not mugged - Barcelona and Madrid are about the only places where tourists get mugged it seems at least on a significant level) - but Amsterdam tackled the problem with undercover cops and by removing the suspect drug addicts it seems from the city center.

This is my beef with Barcelona and Madrid - this has been a rampant problem for years and very little done - the more we publicize the problem (and not deny it exists) the more the Barcelona tourist industry will suffer - Barcelona and Madrid refuse to tackle the problem it seems.

Yes, petty crime is a problem in parts of Barcelona, in the metro stations and wherever tourists congregate and are oblivious to their surrounding, or just plain careless, but this sad tale seems suspect on many levels.

Where was this 'intersection' in Barcelona that wasn't teeming with traffic and pedestrians?

What time of the day was it that they could actually find a place to park in an intersection, or anywhere on the street?

If this actually happened in the city, why didn’t they just lock the car and find the nearest café or bar to wait, as getting someone from the rental car agency to respond within a few hours to replace the tire, or was it the wheel, would be an amazing feat.

Did the motorcyclist hang around for the tow truck to show up before robbing them? That would seem odd. Or was there someone else just waiting in the shadows for them to be distracted?

How can helping someone one day be adding insult to injury on another day, unless the two incidents were somehow related, or is this simply a bad use of a cliché?

Hi all thanks for all the kind words. I definitely am feeling a lot better. We've since moved on to San Sebastián, and the sounds if the ocean are definitely helping lower any anxiety I had left over from our trip to Barcelona.

Just a little more info, yes this was my first ever post, but I had to do something to at least warn others. There are more tourists in Barcelona than there are pick pockets. So if you see something, say something. Maybe together we can making it a better city for everyone, locals and visitors alike.

Robert, Ohtheplaces did not say that the motorcyclist robbed them, only that this person's behaviour made them alert to the possibility of theft - and yet still they got targeted. By whom, they do not know - her husband saw nothing.

Many car rental agencies are starting to offer special roadside assistance packages that featured expedited assistance in the event of flat tire, breakdown etc. So it is quite plausible that the OP might not have had to wait all that long, especially in a major city full of mechanics like Barcelona.

Whether one believes the specific story is almost immaterial - the fact is, such incidents happen in the major cities of Europe http://www.pacsafe.com/blog/the-worl...r-petty-theft/ and the OP is but reminding us of the fact. The reminder is genuine. Try to take it with grace.

ohtheplaces - I'm glad you're moving on with your holiday. Pretty soon your incident will be just another tale of your travels that you take home with you. Bon voyage.

It is perfectly understandable that the trauma of getting robbed provides plenty of motivation for people to make a first-ever post.

Posts about theft and safety concerns are the most useful and important posts on travel boards. It is very human reaction to have this ruin one's trip. The people who posted here were trying to help other people in a critical way. They deserve everybody's thanks.

Instead we get pointlessly defensive remarks from people who profit from maximizing tourism in Spain, or else pouncing on the post to pretend a superior attitude and blame the victims. The cardinal rule of theft is that it is wrong to steal, not that it is wrong to misunderstand your rental car door doesn't lock if the trunk is open.

I also was surprised to discover in Italy that a flat tire that needs replacement is not covered by purchasing a deductible. The better approach if you want to save money is to ask for a completely new car.

Plus ça change. 35 years ago in Madrid, running someone who had snatched another tourist's purse. Didn't catch him. Victim turned out to be an acquaintance from the States, small world, sometimes not so much fun though.

I agree with Robert...
seen first time posts with similar story (without any specifics )a few times before.
Where in the city did they stop? What rental company? Helped another tourist ? Where ?
. "People crying in the police station" . Please. What station was that.?

The OP suggests Barcelona " should be avoided at all costs " and a bit later " together (?) we can make it a better city"...Why would they care?

<i>We believe that the GPS on our dashboard was the giveaway that we were tourists.</i>

Not necessarily. If the car was not rented in Barcelona, its plates might be a better indicator of an out-of-towner.

Welcome to Fodor's forums.

Sorry for your bad luck. But you never leave your purse anywhere but strapped to your body. Travel 101. I don't think it's fair to advise people to skip Barcelona because of the event you described.

I never rent cars when I travel. I think that helps eliminate situations where things can go sideways, like happened to you.

Sorry - tourists always stand out - esp to those looking to fleece them. Just like a can tell the foreign tourists heading to Grand central - even before I hear them speak - their clothes, shoes, accessories and even haircuts and the way they walk is different.

Believe me it wasn't the GPS that gave you away. (And agree that Barcelona is an odd place to have a car - was this in the center of town?)

**** Michael on May 20, 14 at 1:20am

We believe that the GPS on our dashboard was the giveaway that we were tourists.

Not necessarily. If the car was not rented in Barcelona, its plates might be a better indicator of an out-of-towner.****

No Spain has a system where the numbers are centrally distributed from.
But most hire cars have some why of being identified be it a sticker with the company name on it, the type of fuel to be used written on the cap or just a simple bar code.

There are a lot of posters here who come across as unsympathetic.
Maybe look at these links.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P70ntbOT_50
http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain...rt-on-the-ap-7
Even Fodors advice about the situation
http://books.google.es/books?id=a0WK...celona&f=false
Look at this from back in 1991. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/27/news/27iht-gang.html

"But you never leave your purse anywhere but strapped to your body. Travel 101."

Really? I have driven rental cars all over Europe, and been a passenger in them, and I don't keep my purse strapped to my body.

However, for my first visit to Barcelona, my purse WAS strapped to my body -- firmly gripped in my hand -- and a thug tried to wrestle it from me in broad daylight. It was only because I screamed so loudly, Fay Wray style, that he ran away and I kept my purse.

Travel 101? I think some of you need to go back to school. Barcelona has a significant population of aggressive thieves that you haven't encountered. That is simply your dumb luck, not your superior smarts.

But if you need to trawl internet travel boards looking for reasons to flatter yourselves, I doubt you will absorb this.

"But if you need to trawl internet travel boards looking for reasons to flatter yourselves, I doubt you will absorb this."

Oh that's funny. Pot meet kettle.

She wasn't IN the car.

Travel 101? I think some of you need to go back to school. Barcelona has a significant population of aggressive thieves that you haven't encountered.<<

Thats why I have given my two boys a green light on giving a beat down to any local that gets within 15 yards of me. I must say, it isnt very pretty on busy afternoons