Barcelona, the first city of thieves

According to a study done by the website TripAdvisor this month, Barcelona has won the golden trophy to be considered as the city where there is the most robbery by pickpockets. It is always a bad situation when we get robbed, above all when we are on vacation.

The most important is not the money but the documents like the passport because without it, how can we go back home ???

Of course, it is possible but we have to go to the embassy/consulate of our country after to report the fact to the police and so on, a lot of administration processes that we can avoid with a little of cautions.

To do this study, TripAdvisor was searching in its databases words in relation with thief, pickpocket... among the reviews done by its members. Although it is not really an official crime report, it may offer a better vision of the situation. Following the top 10:

1- Barcelona, Spain. Most of the reviews refer to the area around la rambla street.
2- Rome, Italy. Thieves won’t hesitate to rob you by cutting or seizing your purse.
3- Paris, France. Be careful when you take the metro.
4- Madrid, Spain. Be careful in the el rostro market and in museums, thieves use a kind of long tweezers to steal.
5- Athens, Greece. Be careful where you walk, thieves are almost in each corner.
6- Prague, Czech Republic. Walking on the San Carlos bridge increases the probability to get stolen.
7- Costa Blanca of Alicante, Spain. The technique of the 3, one chooses the target, one distracts him/her and the last one steals your wallet quietly.
8- Lisbon, Portugal. Be careful when you take the tram.
9- Tenerife, Spain. Be suspicious when a stranger comes to help you, a good moment to remember the advice of our mom, don’t talk with strangers.
10- London, England. In spite of the many cameras watching us on the street, it didn’t prevent thieves to rob us.

To minimize the risk to be stolen in Barcelona or to avoid pickpockets, read my article Avoid pickpocket at Barcelona.

October 19, 2010