Report: Crime in Barcelona

islander35

me and 6 other 20yr old girls are goin to barcelona next week, is it really as dangerous as it sounds?? were staying in a hostel on las ramblas!

ixoy

siobhan.murphy wrote: »

God I'm off to barcelona in Feb.with my two boys and husband,Im kinda worried about it now!

Myself and the bf were there last September and hadn't even the slightest hassle. We weren't out too late but even so, at no point did I think anything was going to happen (and I had been on my guard after reading this thread).

Maximilian

islander35 wrote: »

me and 6 other 20yr old girls are goin to barcelona next week, is it really as dangerous as it sounds?? were staying in a hostel on las ramblas!

I'm sorry to say that's probably the epicentre of pickpockets in Barcelona. Its not actually dangerous as such but just make sure you don't bring anything out with you that you wouldn't want nicked ie. just bring cash & leave your wallet, passport etc at home.

Mr.Boots

I thought Barcelona was a rough city, i wandered all over the place for a week, (we had our bikes stolen so we had to walk)
Las Ramblas is the worst....especially after 2/3am wheere i realy felt uneasy.
All those little streets and lanes leave plenty of dark hiding places for the scumbags.
I guess its like any big city...it has its problems
Just look whats happened Spanish students here in Ireland (on O' Connell street), beaten, robbed, stabbed ect.
Just have your witts about you and be carefull at night.

Mr Magnolia

Again, contrary to a lot of what's been posted on this thread. I love Barcelona. The food, the people and the atmosphere on the streets is all second to none. Just like any major city there is a bad element to it, you have to be sensible is all. Rome has a higher crime rate.

My brother is in Barca at the minute having a ball.

rugbyman

I am a seasoned traveller . travelled Europe for 20 years ,un molested. last year I landed in Girona for the 10 th time . no problem. Noticed signs in Airport written in english " there are thieves in this airport, be careful " or words to that effect. I thought it rather direct and blunt.
Later that day i was in Reus Airport returning a hire car. Though ,after hours one justs puts the keys in a box at the unattended Hertz desk and they find the car, i decided to wait at the counter to tell the girl where the car was. She was dealing with a customer and was on the phone also.
I placed my laptop and small travel bag at my feet,against the counter.
Within minutes there was a commotion to my left when a young lad tumbled a trolley of luggage. I remember wondering how easily he lifted them. They semed very light.
Any way just then my bags disappeared.The reason I was there was meet up with my family for our holiday and unfortunately I had all our holiday cash with me. Passport, credit cards , a lot of cash went with it. the dozens of little items in my bag were even more valuable in a non money way.

I called the Information, very helpful girl. she got the police,airport police or not ,i dont know but though they were all helpful and sympathetic, they only wanted me to fill out some forms.
They told me that they would check out the CCTV next day but it turned out that area was not covered. They said it was a daily occurence. In fairness there had been plenty of visible security and the guy who dealt with me was dressed in sumer attire which i took to mean he was undercover.

I learned since that the area, Barcelona, is notorious for theft. I have been around a lot, am no chicken ,but found the whole affair stressful. To be left somewhere far away with no money or docs or cards is not pleasant. Advice to all ,WATCH OUT!

MarkPH

Just reading this and want to tell people not to be afraid to travel to Barca. Its a great city with lots of great sights and a really enjoyable place. I was there with my girlfriend, and I would have done a lot more travelling than her so would have my wits about me. She was amazed by the guys with the ball and matchstick box, and I was telling her how it was all a scam.

Can see why people would fall for it, seems easy money, but as someone mentioned on this thread, think like a pick pocketer and you'll be fine. Dont hold out maps standing on a prominent corner. never leave your bags out of sight, if you have your wallet, dont take it out of your pocket, better off not giving street artists money or buskers money than taking out your wallet. But all this is common sense, I'd be the same here. Sure the card trick lads used always be on streets around Dublin and at big events too, same kind of scams.

shiibata

Was staying in Las Ramblas last weekend, up a small side street 50m off the main walkway up and down Las Ramblas..Myself and the wife and 2 kids..Had plenty of warnings before coming out about pickpocketing and worse, even the hotel guide up in the room had on the first page warnings about the city:eek: Have been to manies a city following the ireland soccer team and I thought Barcelona was the nicest city I have came across, no sign of theft anywhere and anybody I was talking to also had nothing but praise for Barcelona.. Was in Prague last year, hated the place..Lost mobile and some cash there..

helimachoptor

Went to Barcelona last year with about 10 friends. We didnt have any problems. 2 of the girls got in a bad state and had to be carried home. I didnt feel safe there and i've been to some crazy places, would never go back again.

Mr E

I'm just back from Barcelona, and I can say it was an experience....

Firstly, I'll be flying Aer Lingus next time. It was too windy for the Ryanair pilot to land in Reus (which he decided to tell us after gut-dropping turbulance, an aborted landing, and a very low, steep turn over the ocean) - we were redirected to Girona.

The city itself is fantastic - I really loved it, but the next time I'll get a hotel on a taxi route instead of an apartment in the pedestrian Barri Gotic. Walking back from a gig with my brother last night (at 3am), 3 black guys tried to mug me. They were weedy f**kers (probably no more than 17 or 18 years old) who underestimated me (a non-drinking gym-goer) and I held them at bay while my brother ran into a bar for help. They ran off (empty handed) when they saw they were outnumbered. One of them will have a nice bruise today from being smacked face-first into a wall.

Beautiful city, but common sense should tell you not to walk down badly lit narrow pedestrian streets at 3am....

Basq

Remind me never to get on the wrong side of you, Dave!

Yeah, while I was there, myself and the girlfriend went down a lot of the smaller darker streets late at night and they have a feel of being unsafe. Some of the side streets off Las Ramblas are particularly bad but common sense told us to stay on the tourist path as often as we could.

Having been on a city break as least once a year around Europe for the past 3 years (Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome etc.), the only crime I saw was on my latest trip to Rome on the Underground. And an older man was standing up holding a plastic bag with a popular Electronics store and some guy came up behind him (and in full view.. wasn't a busy train), reached into his bag from behind and tried to take something. The older man noticed and the thieving git just walked away all apologetic and the rest of the train passengers stared him down. He stayed by the door at the end of the carriage and that next stop couldn't come sooner.. he bolted out the door as soon as it arrived.

Degsy

darrenh wrote: »

barcelona in my opinion is the best city in europe but everything good and bad you hear about las ramblas is true. it is full of crooks and scammers.they play that game with the three egg cups and the ball and you have to guess which egg cup the ball is under. one of the people working with then will throw in €20 and win and then €50 and loose. they then lift the egg cup with the ball underneath it to slightly reveal the ball so that now the surrounding tourists think they know where the ball is but quick as a flash they move it again. tourists now think they are on to a good thing and the north african crooks pull in a tourist holding his/her arm. if they will not part with there money they promise them the win and to do it just for the public and they can have there money back then. they make you put your foot on the cup you know/think the ball is in but which is most definately not in. then they reveal that it is in another cup and you realise you've been had. a man then starts to walk you away as you get angry saying 'mafia mafia no mess, dangerous mafia' while the scum that have scammed you run down the nearest tube. all this happens in less than a minute and by the time its over your left very confussed wondering how the hell did i fall for that. i should i know i was one of them. but what annoyed me even more is that i had watched them all week at work. they purposely let you see the ball and are very forceful when they pull you in. he swore he would return the money if i just did it for the public. with so many people watching you feel he will. its the man that walks you away that is the real con. you follow him thinking he will return the money but by the time you realise the scammers are gone. i know people will say arent you the bigger ejit but trust me they are good at. it was 2 months ago now and i still get pissed of when i think of it.
other than that barcelona is brilliant. its my favorite city and for something bad like that to happen and still rate it as top says alot!

A fool and their money are soon parted..

Hawk Wing

Just back last week, after reading this tread before hand, I was well wide. Absolutely no problems. Been in a lot dodgier cities. Sure they are scammers and thieves, but all you need is common sense like in any big city

darrenh

Degsy wrote: »

A fool and their money are soon parted..

obviously a you're a wise person. pity you resort to insulting over the internet. get a life

Mr Magnolia

I think he was referring to people who play 'find da ball' not the OP.

Atomic Pineapple

my cousins and friends went to barcelona in october 2006, there was 18 lads, 12 of them came home having been pick pocketed or mugged or scammed, they were there for a lads drinking weekend so they probably were more at risk being out late and all than if it were a family or something

jackal

We caught a little girl with her hand in my freinds bag at the turistic bus stop at the sagrada familia. Simple solution - dont bring anything valuable out with you if you can avoid it, and if not then do not keep it in a bag or easily accesible place. If something unusual happens and you get the feeling you are getting set up, then forget politeness, get out of there. I love the city and you just have to be aware that you will be easily parted from your money/valuables if you are not careful. Also seems that they target groups, particularly drunken groups and even more particularly in the most touristy areas after dark.

Just bring a little bit of cash and bank card hidden in an inside pocket. We generally avoided the ramblas area after day1. No problems apart from that, and we were wandering around the narrow streets at all hours. Didn't feel in danger.

siobhan.murphy

We had a wonderful time in barcelona!
was scared ******** after reading posts that were so negative,but thank God lovely trip and nice weather,however I did find a lot of the locals coughing,bringing up phlegm everywhere!filthy fuc**rs!

Ninja_scrotum

The atia-barcelona posts are just so crazy...

we generally avoided the ramblas area after day1

This place is grand. We were hangin around the ramblas till bout 4 in the mornin one night. A saturday night I think. (every other night we were wandering around backstreets finding plaza after plaza of happy chilled out drunk people) Height of the summer. We were wandering up and down the street drinking cans which were bought from dodgy arab street-guys. We were having a great laugh. The only dodgy thing that happened really was this dodgy looking guy came over and said "hashish" to which we replied "si amigo".

You do know that normal people actually live in Barcelaona don't you? It's not all muggers as this thread would have you believe. If you go there, just relax. It's probably the most relaxed city I've ever been to. Paris is a shithole compared to it.

breadmonkey

Ninja_scrotum wrote: »

Paris is a shithole compared to it.

Controversial. Personally, I would disagree.

IvyTheTerrible

I go to Barcelona every year and I must say that I have never had any problems.

That said, I always leave the passport and most money in the safe in the hotel. I think if you're careless you'll get robbed/scammed no matter what city you're in.


The only time something happenes to us ther, one of my friends was robbed, she had her wallet sitting on top of an open carrier bag...to be honest, the wallet would have been robbed in Dublin if she had left it like that there.

Enii

My friend got separated from his friends in Barca and he was held up by three men. They took his watch and wallet. He is a big guy - 6ft 3", but felt very threatened so just handed over everything he had.

RATM

Theres a very simple solution to all this madness -Dont travel with a wallet !
I never do and Ive had a few pickpocket attempts in my time, its quite simple, they cant nick what isn't there.

What any wily traveler has been doing for years now is wearing a very slim money belt around their waist and under their trousers. In this keep your passport, the bulk of your cash and credit cards.Keep only enough money in your pocket to last you 4-5 hours and then when you go to the toilet slip out cash from your belt into your pocket as needed. If you want to make real sure the money belt won't get nicked then run a strip of steel wire right through and around the cloth belt. Then twist the ends of the wire together several times. No knife is going to get through that without you feeling a tug.

Incidentally if you find yourself short of cash at a bar counter you can also slip your hand down your cacks to produce a twenty quid note, that always draws a laugh from the barmaid:D

The amount of camera swinging tourists I see on city breaks with huge wallet bulges in their back or front pockets is just astounding, its asking for trouble in some cities, pickpockets will size you up well before they strike and those with obvious wallets are a prime target. Moral is WALLETS ARE FOR VICTIMS !

threeleggedhors

Barcelona seems to be a magnet for petty thieves, the locals say it's north africans that are mainly to blame but who knows. As for trying not to look like a tourist I think the farmer tan, Irish accent, speaking English and white Irish legs might be a giveaway to the thieves. I heard of a big strong guy having his wallet stolen from his front pocket by two guys who simply ran off. They are professionals who know every trick in the book.The cops have absolutley no control there whatsoever. It's a real shame for such a nice place. Every city has it's crime but they've really just let it spiral. Shame shame shame:(

shabby

I went to barcelona several years ago with my family and while standing in a station waiting to get on the tube several policemen ran over screaming and tackled about 3 girls standing behind me. All about 18-20 years old and quite goodlooking too.....they had been trying to pickpocket us but were being watched on security camera!!! Be cautious in the train stations and other packed places.....

homerun_homer

I was there in April and knew well about the dangers of pickpocketing, still got my phone robbed from out of my pocket. I was sitting in a plaza with a friend when a bunch of guys came over asking for a cigarette. One of them put his hands on my legs (sussing out which pockets had a wallet etc no doubt) and insisted I stood up to shake his hand. I kept refusing and he pulled me upright so that I was standing and proceeded to shake my hand.
After they left it took me a few seconds to realise my phone was robbed. At least it wasn't my wallet (though no bank cards were in it) but I ended up having to pay more for the phone than what was in my wallett. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing they couldn't do anything with my phone or make money from it since it is now blacklisted.
I was very edgey the rest of the trip over there after that. It made me so paranoid.

Samhain

Was there in January, very careful all the daytime but still had a camera stolen in a bar at night. I witnessed a few robberies at night on Las ramblas, mainly prossies "feeling up" men but really getting their hands in the pockets. Its such a shame because its such a great city but it still wouldnt put me off going there again, i just wont bring any valuables with me next time.

ncmc

I've read through this whole thread with interest and it seems people are divided in to two groups the 'it happened to me' group and the 'you're obviously a stupid tourist and were asking for it group'. I have never been robbed on holiday thank God, but I know that is just down to good luck. Yes you have to be vigilent when you are on holidays (or at home for that matter) but the fact is that the successful pickpockets are professionals who have been at it for years. You can be as careful as you likem, but if they decide they want your wallet, they're gonna get it one way or another. I think the people on this thread who are bashing the victims, saying that it was their own fault are being grossly unfair. Everyone lets their guard drop every now and again, you can't go around with a big paranoid head on ye all day. And like I said, these guys are masters.

That said, we can make it as difficult as possible for the pickpockets, only bring the amount of cash you need, keep a credit card seperate and keep the number of the credit card company on you so you can cancel straight away. Also of course, leave the passport in the hotel and keep flashy jewellry and electronics to a minimum.

Plus the advice about the money belt is very good, I'm gonna get the OH one for this years hols as he insists on carrying his wallet in his back pocket!

blorg

My own view having been there a fair few times is that Barcelona is one of the dodgiest cities in Europe but what I would take from that is be careful, not "don't go" as despite this it is a real all-round great place.

r3nu4l

Having been there twice within the last four weeks I can say that it's a great city to visit and that I felt very safe there. I visited a lot of tourist sites and the business end of the city.

I found Naples and even Rome to be far dodgier than Barcelona. That said, I felt as safe in Rome as in Barcelona.
As ncmc says, it's down to luck.