lincasanova

don't think it is necessarily looking american. germans and french get robbed , too.
it's just looking foreign.. the shorts, the sandals, the sunglasses, the foreign plates on cars.

latest horror story.. a tire was purposely slashed on foreign plated car while parked at popular resturant area.
driver drives away and later realizes he has a flat.

thieves are following waiting for him to stop, and offer to help out.

meanwhile, while getting tire out of car to change, or call on cell phone, one guy has cleaned them out.. purse,travel bag, with entire trip's important contents, etc. in one moment of distraction, ...

this is so sad.
but it does happen.
also beware at road restaurants on toll roads. sometimes there are teams there the police are always tryig to catch.
same system.

(i have heard of this problem outside of spain, too. in fact, our neighbor's car was robbed at golf course in france last summer). so..

this is life and reality. just be careful and do the best you can. hopefully you will not become a statistic.

passantd

Thanks! I have heard about this as well in Italy, France, etc...it seems to be a common method.

We will try out best to not become a statistic and always be aware of our surroundings. We know it is difficult to avoid all of the problems, have fun and not be scared all the time but we will do our best. It is sad that life is like this and yes it is very much a reality.

PalQ

It seems to be that most folks believe that Barcelona and Madrid are safe and that the stories you heard are malarkey. WRONG! My friend was walking to Atocha station in Madrid on a Sunday morning about 7am and got mugged. An african (the Spanish would never do this, and not to be racist at all, but poor immigrants, often with a drug addiction problem, routinely mug people in Madrid and Barcelona. Anyway the guy wanted to get her day pack off her, and she wanted to get it off too to give it to him, she had nothing of value in it, but he couldn't get it off and they ended up in the gutter, literally, with him struggling to get the day pack, he finally did and left. Shopkeepers just opening stood by and did nothing! Now I know this is true - it's a family member. In my job I talk to dozens of people a day who are traveling to Europe and I've heard first-hand reports of strongarm thefts in Madrid and Barcelona, even in the main tourist venues. The Ramblas, for example, so anyone who thinks contrary is WRONG, be on your guard in these two cities, the worst I gather in all of Europe. You may be pickpocketed or Gypsy kidded in Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, but not mugged like in Madrid and Barcelona. Wear no jewelry, etc. Like others in posts above I tend to believe very few stories but in these two cities beware.

m_kingdom2

You forget that in major cities there will always be crimes. However, in these cities there is no specific threat. I live in London, these places felt even safer than London. I'm not so naive to suggest that crime never happens, but statistically they're isolated incidents and do not affect every visitor.

passantd

I agree that crimes happen everywhere and in some places violent/strongarm theft occurs more often. If you read all the things on this postings you might say why in the world did I choose to pay money and visit Barcelona and Madrid???

So you can see a beautiful country and the people that live there. I am sure the Spanish are not the problems in Spain and bet it is foreigners who come from poor third world countries that cause all the problems for tourists. You may have a bad seed here and there but it happens.

I am a bit nervous about this place because I do not know what to expected at all. We are always cautious and aware when we travel but we will make sure to be extra aware for this trip.