A lot of friends from Asia and the US have travelled to the EU for a “beautiful European summer” - however, please be prepared as we are currently facing extreme heatwaves - record breaking - and many hotels / areas aren’t equipped for this heat. Be mindful and hydrated !

Apparently this is the hottest summer ever…and it may not be the peak yet…

A few years ago someone tried to unzip my bag on a crowded street while I was traveling, and ever since then I've been much more conscious about keeping my belongings secure. I'm heading back to Europe soon and would love to find a better solution, but I still want to feel like myself and not carry something that looks overly tactical or touristy. How do you all balance security and style when you travel?

I am visiting Paris, Zurich, Florence and Rome. I had tickets for

The Louvre, the Lindt chocolate museum, the doumo on Florence, Vatican and the coleseum.

The tickets are all named tickets, and I think they’d be validating the names against the ID.

Im wondering if a copy of the passport works? or a different ID from my home country?

Im a bit vary of carrying my passport around should I misplace it or get pickpocketted! :(

Hello, I’ve heard about some criminals who snatch other’s phones from their hands, especially in crowded areas. To prevent this happening to me, I’m going to attach the shoulder strap to my phone so it won’t be snatchable. Do you think this is necessary action?

I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about locals in Barcelona being unhappy with the number of tourists. I was thinking of visiting soon, but I don’t want to show up somewhere I’m not welcome. Has the situation gotten worse lately, or is it still okay to go if you’re respectful?

Hey everyone,

I was on a solo trip across three European countries, and on my last day in Italy I met this British guy who stopped me asking for help. He said he’d lost his cards and needed some cash urgently.

He offered to transfer me money from his Bank of Scotland account — around €1000 — to my Indian bank account, and I gave him €800 in cash in return. I took a screenshot of the transaction, and he even showed me that the amount had been deducted from his account. Since it was a SEPA transfer, I assumed it might take 3–5 business days to show up in my account. We exchanged numbers on WhatsApp (his name was “James”), and he kept in touch for a few days, saying he’d call his bank to check on the transfer. His last message said it might take up to 5 working days to clear.

That was the last I heard from him. My messages haven’t been delivered for the past three days, though I can still see his profile picture (just a dog photo — suspicious in hindsight). A friend in Europe tried calling his number, but it doesn’t go through. I even found him on Telegram — the account looks active and has a few “London” stories posted. But even there the messages were not getting delivered.

I know this has “scam” written all over it and I feel incredibly dumb for falling for it. But is there any way to confirm or report this — maybe by contacting Bank of Scotland about the transaction? Or is there any official way to check if that transfer was ever initiated?

Would really appreciate any advice or next steps.

Help .

I’m in Paris, I have one day left here. My travel, buddy that I was doing this trip with bought a plane ticket this morning and left me here alone. I don’t want to go home, but I’m scared to finish the trip alone. Tomorrow morning I am supposed to fly to Dublin, and then I’ll be going to Venice after that. I’ve never traveled solo, especially in a foreign country, are these places safe for a solo female traveler?

Ive been researching my trip for a bit and whenever I look at youtube and google I get quite a few hits that mention Marseilles as dangerous, even the "most dangerous city in europe". Yet when asking people about it I get the (reasonable) answer that " every city has places to avoid". I was warned about Omonia in Athens, as well as the entire area surrounding Frankfurt HBF and had no problems. Some drug use and homeless but thats it. Far from "dangerous" that Im used to in my city, where you can get robbed, assaulted or even worse in many parts of the city. To be honest im finding a lot of mixed opinions and it seems a lot of the reputation is based on the past rather than the last few years.

When searching for how dangerous Marseilles is, I cant find anything specific at all, despite the "warnings" i see. I wont stray much further than 2km or so from the old port. My hotel is right in front of the main train station. So im wondering if anyone here has any information/experience there that might warrant the warnings? Any experiences in that general area? Any areas that I should avoid? Im not overly worried or like frightened for my life but in many large cities there are always places to try to avoid. But if Marseilles is as "bad" as it seems to be id at least like to be prepared. In general im pretty aware of my surroundings and again, am used to being in a city that isnt the safest so I "should" be alright but any information would be nice. Just to be informed.

I just had to share this with the sub.

TLDR: My mom "bought" a bracelet from one of those guys in Rome, and really enjoyed the experience.

Whenever my parents travel to Europe, I walk through the typical scams (bracelets, beggars, bumps in crowds, petitions) and why wearing a money belt or not carrying large amounts of cash is important. The first time the went to Paris my mother listened to every word and lost nothing. My father, however, brought $1000 US cash, didn't put it in the money belt I gave him, didn't wear the money belt, AND gave 2 beggar girls a few small bills on the train from CDG into Paris. Well as he got off the train he felt a bump, the doors closed, and he check for his wallet to find it gone, along with all his credit cards and cash. Expensive lessons learned and great anecdotal story when I warn other people on valuable safety and environment awareness while traveling.

Each subsequent trip , I walk through the same "keep your money safe" conversation before they go. (They are NOT incompetent and are actually pretty well traveled, but scams and pickpockets sadly exist so I give them reminders).

They just got back from 2 weeks in Rome, London, Scotland. They spent 5 days in Rome and my dad tells me today as I pick them up at the airport: "Your mom bought a bracelet of one of those guys you warned us about.".

My mother: "He was a nice boy. I asked him if he was sending the money back home to help his family. He spoke great English and was super tall. Seemed like a really nice boy and he said he WAS sending the money back to help his mother. Besides it was only 5 euros..."

At this point I 1. question why I bother to give them 'safety' advice, and 2. question whether I've been wrong about the 'bracelet guys' for the past 25 years...

​

Hi everyone! I’m making my first ever solo trip and my first Europe trip, although I’m really excited I keep getting videos about how insecure some places have gotten, specially Barcelona, Paris and Rome, all of which I’m visiting, I know about the pickpocketing situation and I’m aware I must be alert at all times of my belongings, but overall, is Europe really unsafe, I’m from Mexico and I think to myself, it can be worse than here hahaha, but I’m really a bit worried about that issue Thanks!!

Hello Reddit community,

I am writing this post to share a horrifying experience that my family and I went through on our first day in Barcelona. There were 6 of us walking together when we had to split for a short bit due to a big van-like taxi parked on the street. At that point, my mom was in the corner of a street, with the street breaking into a small gully.

As my mom stood there for literally 5-10 seconds trying to notice the brand of the taxi, (note that this is my parents’ first time in Europe, so they want to notice everything!) a man started running towards her side. She initially thought he was just jogging, but as he got closer, he pushed her , snatched her gold chains and ran away. My mom was in shock and let out a loud scream. I turned back and saw my mom holding her neck and pointing towards the running man. I tried to follow him but couldn't catch up.

The incident took place on C/ de Sant Pere Més Baix, 62, Ciutat Vella, 08003 Barcelona, Spain, right opposite the Musik Boutique Hotel. When we spoke to the receptionist of the hotel about the incident (to understand if there is some cctv around), he told us that thefts like this are common in the area and that there is a gang operating in the vicinity.

My mom described the thief as around 180cm tall, with black curly hair, Caucasian skinned and aged between 22-28 years old. He had a lean but strong built. It is truly disheartening to see such criminal activities being normalized in a popular tourist destination like Barcelona.

We went to the police station to complain. In the 3 hours we were at the waiting area, we saw new families from various countries, individuals (single travelers and Spanish speaking people could be locals themselves), etc. come in and join the queue to speak to the translator / staff at the reception .. every 15-20 mins! Imagine the state at other police stations all over Barcelona!

This post is a heads-up for anyone planning to visit Barcelona - watch out, and stay safe. We won't be returning, and we'll make sure to warn everyone we know about this city.

What's even more absurd is the news about locals' use of water guns to deter tourists. Seriously, water guns? Such stories and experiences are enough to deter tourists.

Edit - To all those saying that my mom should have known: first, we are beating ourselves to this second to not have noticed what she was wearing or thinking hard about everything that could have gone wrong. And since this is someone’s first day in a European country and this person is old and not well travelled, I didn’t expect this person to be super aware and prepared. My parents hail from India and they have only looked up to Europe as a whole. But I agree that I should have been more prepared to get stolen from, mugged, check my pockets every minute, look at everyone with a suspicious eye, be paranoid about everyone around me scheming to pick pocket us, etc. Sadly enough, im not even being sarcastic!

Second, there were Spanish speaking people coming to the police station every 30-45 mins we were there apart from the international tourists. Some had their wallets stolen, entire bags or phones. So this is more than just “hey tourist, do you not know what you’re getting into?”. I hope people that live in the city don’t put all the responsibility on tourists to not wear gold chains or carry phones or wallets, but really tackle this!

Hi, me (18f) and my friend (18m) are going interrailing in July as a post-exams trip before university, and I'm trying to decide whether we should go clubbing. We both only speak English (which I really wish wasn't the case), and I'm worried that we're going to be at risk for being visibly tourists and potentially get our drinks spiked or something like that, probably just paranoia but I'd rather be safe. We're travelling to Paris/Venice/Bled/Prague/Krakow/Budapest and we'd probably go clubbing in the latter three, are there any areas or things we should be wary of?

G'Day from Down Under.

I am a single, solo traveller,

who is considering going on an overseas holiday with a short stays in London, Edinburgh or Glasgow, and an escorted day trip to Paris (from London/return - Eurostar).

I haven't been to Europe (including the UK) before.

When I travel away from my home city and local area in Australia, I usually use my mobile phone for navigation. (Even though Google Maps can at times be unreliable and inaccurate in larger cities surrounded by high rise buildings.)

In some larger cities, I have sometimes taken a printed folded map (inner city) as a back up, in case GPS navigation isn't working.

- But as London in particular, now has considerable phone theft, What could I do to minimise or prevent my phone from being snatched/stolen, while still being able to use online navigation to find my way around, when out and about each day?

Smart watches with GPS, appear to be expensive, particularly for temporary use. (Also, a second internet account.)

I was leaning towards buying a cross body phone strap/lanyard, compared to a wrist strap/lanyard. (As they seem more secure to wear and use.)

Are there any cross body straps/lanyards with a cord, that is made of cut resistant/proof material?

Hello all, I’m travelling to Vienna this August alone and was wondering if it’s generally safe staying near the train station. I’m taking a day trip to Bratislava and leaving via Vienna International Airport, so I reckon staying near the central train station would be the most cost efficient option. Your advice will be deeply appreciated ✨✨✨

Travelling to Europe next month from Australia. I have to take my hair driers (shark flex style) and hair straightener (muk style stick). I’m so confused about the voltage/watts and what will work and what will blow my hot tools up. Will these products be okay or is it better to buy new ones there? So expensive but also don’t want to risk ruining my hair tools! Thank you!!

Hi everyone,

I’m going to Europe for the first time and I’m really looking forward to it!

However, I’ve seen a lot of videos about people getting pickpocketed in Barcelona and Florence, and it’s making me a bit nervous. I’m just wondering if those videos are accurate.

I’m a big fan of photography, so I plan to bring my camera on the trip. Is it safe to wear it around my neck?

I’d really appreciate any tips you have on avoiding pickpockets. Thanks a lot!

This summer, I'm traveling to Europe (I'm from America)! I've been to Europe before, but I was much younger and had not yet discovered my queerness. This time around, I'm in my mid-20s and need to know what to expect.

This trip allots us a good amount of free time, so I want to go out and experience the city (Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Paris) from museums and parks to clubs and bars and such. As a queer man, how would I be treated in these places if I were to dress femininely or wear makeup?

I feel like I shouldn't have much to worry about besides the occasional bigot, but I wanted to ask. Thanks!

Hey, I'm 26F and an Indian(I look like a typical north Indian), traveling with my boyfriend(24M Indian) to Europe for the very first time. We are going to cover Belgium(Brussels, Bruges and Ghent), Netherlands(Amsterdam and Hague) and Germany(Berlin, parts of Rhine Valley and Frankfurt) in 16 days. While I'm super excited and looking forward to the trip, I'm a little paranoid about the Anti-Indian sentiments in Europe. I just wanted to know if this is something I need to be concerned about and maybe some ways to avoid any trouble.

Thanks in advance!!!!

My wife has been listening to Rick Steves and she's super worried about pickpockets when we travel to Belgium, Neterlands, and Germany next year. She says that Rick Steves says pickpocketing is really bad right now. She has bought locks for all our suitcases and made me buy a money belt.

But I'm worried if things are as bad as she is leading me on to believe, all someone would have to do is just take your luggage right from you, snatch your travel belt, or grab your phone while you are using it. Is it really that bad right now?

Also - is there ANYTHING you can do to defend yourself? Unlike the U.S. - it appears they have no conceal and carry, knives are pretty much illegal, and even pepper spray is illegal. Like, am I just a thieves plaything over there? Or is there something I can purchase for self defense?

Planning a trip to Europe in a few months. Was supposed to be with a group of friends but they’ve had life stuff come up so it’s just me now. Obviously I’m sure it depends on where you are at (just like any area of the world), but how safe is traveling alone in Europe?

Background: I am a 26 year old male. I’ve done lots of traveling in the US alone but never out of the country.

Hi,

I will be visiting Belgium and France this Summer. When I get there, should I keep my (US) passport with me at all times? or should I leave it in the hotel room until I am ready to fly out, so it doesn't get lost somehow?

Hey everyone! I’m planning a trip to the South of France (thinking Nice, Antibes, or somewhere nearby), and I was wondering if any hijabis here have gone swimming there?

I usually wear a burkini and just wanted to know how the general vibe is – like, do people stare? Is it accepted or do locals give weird looks/comments? Also, are there any beaches that are more relaxed or hijabi-friendly?

Would love to hear any tips, experiences, or places you recommend (or avoid). Thank you! 💙

We are going to London for four nights and Paris for four nights. For some reason I’m very paranoid about pickpockets and safety. I’ve never been to Europe before and I’m sure it is much safer than Detroit, Michigan. I’m just wondering what precautions I can take to make sure my husband and I have a safe trip. Thanks!

Hello,

Has anyone been to the Saint Cirq Lapopie, Tour-de-Faure and surrounding villages as a solo traveler, especially female? If so, is the vibe generally safe or anything to be aware of. I would like to go but it will be my first trip and I'm kind of hesitant regarding safety issue. I am a poc. What is the best way to get around - is a car necessary if I don't want to do a lot of walking (endurance issues)? Is it better to base in Cahors and take the 40 minutes bus to Tour-de-Faure or better to base in Tour-de-Faure itself?