Crime in Spain

Evilmags

Violence wise it is a lot safer than the UK. It is really not hard to stay out of trouble there. 

notanon

We loved Barcelona and Madrid. As per any city just do the usual: don't flash cash, display mega expensive jewellery, . . .  no need to fear anything there IMO. Felt mega relaxed. Madrid is excellent for walking to all main attractions Plaza Mayor, Prado, . . . we stayed on Gran Via as we wanted atmosphere. The hookers are on the street corners at that end but no hassle whatsoever. Barcelona is definitely more 'touristy' IMO but the shops are more interesting and a neat guitar shop there. Enjoy!

Dominic

Its totally safe .........If you were talking about walking round Medallin Colombia I would understand but it's safer than London

Evilmags

Emp_Fab said:

What we need is this:-

That was utterly hilarious. 

Schnozz

Cheers guys - I'm not so much worried about the safety, but more about getting scammed for a load of cash

All good points 

Thank you

capo4th

Spain why would you want to go to Spain ?

Evilmags

capo4th said:

Spain why would you want to go to Spain ?

Fags are 4 quid a packet, a Pint is 2 pounds, strong skunk is 3 euros a gram, Madrid currently has Europe´s best rock and Jazz scenes, the weather is nearly always nice, several world leading art galleries, great food and wine, very well presented and attractive eye candy, architecture, history, culture...

notanon

Evilmags said:

capo4th said:

Spain why would you want to go to Spain ?

Fags are 4 quid a packet, a Pint is 2 pounds, strong skunk is 3 euros a gram, Madrid currently has Europe´s best rock and Jazz scenes, the weather is nearly always nice, several world leading art galleries, great food and wine, very well presented and attractive eye candy, architecture, history, culture...

Yep - Went to Paris after Madrid and Barcelona. Nightlife in Paris was like walking into a village mid-week almost silent in comparison. Maybe it was just the areas we walked through but that was around Notre-Dame and real central paris. Madrid never sleeps and is vibrant. My favourite city so far, we are trying Eastern Europe for next few city breaks.

Evilmags

You can go out to a Jazz club at 8pm, at 11 pm it turns into live funk, two bands till 6 am, then a DJ till 10 am. A proper night out. 

boogieman

Evilmags said:

capo4th said:

Spain why would you want to go to Spain ?

Fags are 4 quid a packet, a Pint is 2 pounds, strong skunk is 3 euros a gram, Madrid currently has Europe´s best rock and Jazz scenes, the weather is nearly always nice, several world leading art galleries, great food and wine, very well presented and attractive eye candy, architecture, history, culture...

Yeah, ok, but apart from that...





  

Fuengi

This time of year will be lovely in Barcelona! You can visit the Olympic swimming pool up on the hill and it's very cheap to use.



Just watch your bags at restaurants and tourist attractions, you'll be fine. Half the battle is being aware, which you clearly are. 

fields5069

To be honest I was never robbed either. An Iranian/Swedish colleague had a bit of bother in the Gran Via Metro, but he was alone and would only say of the incident "I didn't always wear such nice clothes you know". A mate had his pockets slashed but again he was alone and had fallen asleep on a Metro line which took him to the arse end of nowhere.

Asking directions is absolutely fine, the majority of people are very friendly indeed! Leave your concepts of personal space at home though.

fields5069

As for weather, July and August can be pretty grim and a lot of people I knew had a second home/shack in the mountains so they could cool down. Madrid empties, it seemed like there was me, my wife and lots of Japanese tourists. You realise how easy it must have been in summer to empty Gran Via to shoot one of the scenes from Abre Los Ojos. Tom "Psychopath" Cruise had to rely on CGI for his piss-poor remake.

fields5069

The more I think about it, the more I would love to go back to Madrid to live. I was in a privileged position before though, living rent-free just North of Alonso Martinez. My wife is a city girl from C/ Ferraz and would die before she lived in a satellite town. My mate's made a good life for himself up in the mountains though, it looks gorgeous.

Snap

I wouldn't let petty crime put me off going anywhere. When you travel anywhere, and that includes in this country, just be sensible. Don't flash your money around, don't carry your wallet in your back pocket, and trust no-one.

Whenever I travel on any publich transport I usually have my hand in my pocket on my wallet.

Madrid and Barcelona are both very cool places. I prefer Barcelona as it has just about everything you could want. Madrid is very cheap, but its a little dull for a capital city. Buzzing, but not as cool as Barcelona, not by a long shot.

If I am staying somewhere, I never take my wallet out with me. Just a card and some cash and driving licence. Have them in a buttoned pocket. Also, have a stash of emergency money in your shoe, under your insole or just in the shoe. Just in case.

Spread you stuff about your person, money in various pockets, etc. Never ever have anything in your back pocket, put your rucksack on your front. Just about being thoughtful of these things really cos most people arenh;t

Evilmags

fields5069 said:

The more I think about it, the more I would love to go back to Madrid to live. I was in a privileged position before though, living rent-free just North of Alonso Martinez. My wife is a city girl from C/ Ferraz and would die before she lived in a satellite town. My mate's made a good life for himself up in the mountains though, it looks gorgeous.

I'm in Ciudalcampo about 18 miles North and 900m above sea. Getting into town is a doddle and an Uber back is 15 euros. Too many deisel cars make the centre a bit stinky in summer. If you are a bit further up and out of the asphalt summer is lovely.  Pool cold beer amd accoustic outside. 

Flanging_Fred

NEVER eat in a restaraunt in Madrid (or anywhere else for that matter) that doesn't display it's prices clearly on the menu. 

I was there on business a few years ago, my collegue and I were absolutley starving, everywhere was shut and we were dog tired.  Eventually we found somewhere open that was in this big plaza place and just piled in.  I think we had an omelette and some chips each and then when the bill came they charged us the best part of £100!   There was no way we were getting out of there without paying (we were the only ones in there - I wonder why!). Lesson learned.

Luckily it got put on expenses but it didn't stop me feeling like a total sucker...

marcus449

I've been to Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Marrakech, Delhi, New York and live in London..mostly carry a dslr style camera round my neck and never had anything stolen/pickpocketed. Off to Barcelona next week. 

I'd say I'm quite a people watcher when travelling so naturally look at how people act which helps. Never really carry a backpack unless to and from transport, try and use a jacket with inside pockets and don't dress like a tourist. 

I'm no Jason Bourne but simple observation and practical thinking can help you avoid most unwanted situations.

Schnozz

It doesn't sound like somewhere that you can relax, which is what I was really wanting to do

I've also associated these types of occurrences with the 'culture shock' countries such as Thailand etc, where you really need to go with someone

I had such a good experience travelling South East from Germany that I expected it to be the same, but I guess that's why it's a tad cheaper

There's not a lot you can do on your own if you get hustled by four pickpockets on a metro train during the day...

Some of my family had a poor experience touring Spain, particularly in Cordoba and I was kind of hoping that it had been resolved  

fields5069

Flanging_Fred said:

NEVER eat in a restaraunt in Madrid (or anywhere else for that matter) that doesn't display it's prices clearly on the menu. 

I was there on business a few years ago, my collegue and I were absolutley starving, everywhere was shut and we were dog tired.  Eventually we found somewhere open that was in this big plaza place and just piled in.  I think we had an omelette and some chips each and then when the bill came they charged us the best part of £100!   There was no way we were getting out of there without paying (we were the only ones in there - I wonder why!). Lesson learned.

Luckily it got put on expenses but it didn't stop me feeling like a total sucker...

OMG! Probably Plaza Mayor, totally enclosed and with a statue of a dude on a horse? Total tourist trap!