Barcelona safety

[wellbehaved]

Hi all, we are off to Barcelona in 68 days and all our plans are in place. Only thing that is alarming us is the threat of pickpockets and petty crime. Does anyone have any tips or guidance?

TIA

Pam

[June8th]

Petty thieves are a real problem. Keep your bag ( if you must use one) on the front, only take out the cash you need, leave all expensive items locked in the room safe. If you take a credit card either have a money belt or inside shirt bag.

Be aware of your surroundings, we had a mother and daughter trying to sell us a flower, typical distraction tactics!
Our neighbours went for four days and were robbed twice. Once a drive by bag snatch, the second a rear trouser pocket grab.

We have been three times and haven’t been robbed. We dress down, nothing expensive with us.

[sky13]

Was there a few years ago and my sister said she felt people feeling around in her bag on at least 3 occasions while on the metro! Thankfully we knew about the high risk of pickpockets and our bags mainly just had water and guidebooks...

I had a bag that closed with a large velcro strip - opening it makes a very distinctive loud velcro sound, which I think helped as a deterrent against people trying to open my bag. We also used money belts and similar to hold important stuff like passports, money, cards, and only kept small amounts of cash in bags. Basically went by the philosophy of only having stuff we could afford to lose in bags!

[JudyC]

Wear an across the body bag and keep it in front of you. Nothing in pockets. Don't look too obviously touristy, no big camera round your neck for instance, and aware when looking at phone for directions etc.

Don't be distracted by street artists, they might have someone in league whol will try pick pocketing in the crowd. If anyone tries interacting offering to help you for example to buy a metro ticket at the machines ect ignore them and walk away.
I've been to Barcelona four times and love it there. I've never been pickpocketed but have been aware a couple of times of someone close to trying it on.

[floridasgirl]

I went with work about 10 yrs ago and we had one bag snatch where she had a rucksack bag in front of her arm and her pushed her over and grabbed it!
Later in the hotel where we obviously felt safe, some had (maybe wrongly) put their bags on the floor and I caught someone trying to slide one out!
These were all done by very smartly dressed 'Chinese' looking men, not your usual beggar type, you might expect!
It really put me off as we thought we were aware of it but still got caught out!
I have been back since with no issues but I struggled to 3njoy it as felt on edge all the time!
It's a real shame as it's a beautiful city with a lot to offer. Not sure why it has such a bad name for pickpockets. I'm sure all major cities have them but Barcelona seems particularly bad.
Just take bare minimum, like others say, a crossbow or bumbag, under a coat if possible and be very aware of your surroundings.
Hope I havnt put you off because it really is beautiful, what happened to us was an awful experience and I would rather people be aware!

[Stardust5]

My FIL was pushed over and had his wallet taken, he said it all happened so fast. They just took the cash and dumped the rest of the wallet which was found and handed in to the police.

[wellbehaved]

Thanks all. So looking forward to a new vity.

Pam

[mickeyspal]

My husband had his phone stolen in Barcelona in January all his cards and driving license were in it. We think it was on the underground . It was in his pocket so keep it in an inside one .

[JudyC]

Originally Posted by floridasgirl

Just take bare minimum, like others say, a crossbow or bumbag, under a coat if possible and be very aware of your surroundings.

See more...

I had a giggle at this typo. I'm sure the op isn't advocating carrying a weapon 😁
I always try and dress more like a local in a city, if that makes sense. Linen trousers and a nice top rather than wearing shorts and t shirt. I think people coming off the cruise ships in Barcelona are easy pickings, as often they stand out more as tourists.

[katiec68]

We were there lat November for 3 nights.

We took the usual precautions - only took out what we needed and I have a cross body bag that I use anyway.

DH kept his wallet in his front pocket and we were careful with our phones.

I would say we were a little more cautious than other places but certainly not enough for it to spoil our holiday.

We walked for miles and were out fairly late a couple of nights but didnt have any bother or feel unsafe at any stage.

(2 of us 40/50!)

I can recommend an awesome tapas bar - Cervesería Catalana Carrer de Mallorca, 236, 08008 Barcelona, Spain

Get there before 630ish and you won't have a wait - after that it could be an hour!

But its soo worth it!