Alone in Barcelona

[ddpd]

Hi, hope you can provide input here.
Was going to meet a friend in Barcelona, but her plans fell through...

Any suggestions for a single lady on where to stay, safety concerns, etc.?

Many thanks!

[Pete_Coach]

How long? What time of year?
In general. I would say to stay in the tourist areas, just because there will always be a lot of other people around. Places where English is understood and spoken.
That in no way precludes you from visiting the many sights of Barcelona but, there is a certain predatory element at work in Barcelona. It is in many places in Europe but Barcelona seems to have a bit more than it's share.
So, all that to say, crowds may be a bit safer than the quiet side streets.

[ddpd]

I am going next week. I will be alone for a few days then meeting up with my niece, who lives in Madrid.
Thanks for the advice.
d

[kamilio]

I am going next week. I will be alone for a few days then meeting up with my niece, who lives in Madrid.
Thanks for the advice.
d

The key is to look like a local and I don't foresee many issues. I found Barcelona to be almost as safe as toronto (except the petty pickpoketing).

[wizy]

as already mentioned, unwanted maie attention is common in barcelona. might want to wear a ring to ward them off?
watch out for pickpockets, when entering busy crowded areas.
be mindful of your purse and valuables, run by purse snatchings by young thugs happened before. one guy grabs your stuff runs one direction, throws it to his buddy who runs in another direction. hard to catch!
stay on the main drag (las ramblas) rather than quiet streets.
note: there is a quiet section of las ramblas where scammers may try to pull the pass port control/distractions scheme.
not to scare you, but rather to warn of some of the things that go on there.

[Didi_beee]

I went to Barcelona 2 years ago with my sister. My sister had a gypsy pickpocket her backpack while she was walking and he pulled her ipod out but luckily she felt it and grabbed it from him and made a scene so he walked away. Unluckily for me, I had my bag stolen from me at the train station. Obviously the work of 2 individuals. I was walking down the tunnel to the platform and had some beer/puke? thrown on me. I stopped to try and clean it up. A man offered a kleenex, my sister and I ignored him. When we thought he walked away, I took my backpack off and placed it against the wall next to me while I took my jacket off for cleaning. The man with the kleenex came back and offered again. I looked up for like 5 seconds and rejected the man, when I looked back, my bag was gone :(

I didn't feel comfortable in Barcelona but Madrid was awesome. Just hang onto your belongings like dearlife. They're more in it to steal for a living than to participate in violent crimes. However, this incident did make me much smarter about traveling.

[bigfred]

I'd stay in a hostel. Easy to meet other single travellers and have some company.

[GemInite]

I wouldn't go as far as calling Barcelona dangerous but will agree with other posters about the pickpocketers.

There are a lot of them in Barcelona and the fake puke one is a classic scam.