Safety in Spain

Pickpocket risk: Barcelona has a reputation for professional bag snatchers and phone thieves who target distracted visitors. Never leave your mobile on a café table and always keep your bag in your lap or looped around your leg while you are eating at outdoor terraces.

Beach safety: Theft on city beaches is extremely common while tourists are swimming in the sea. Only take a towel and enough cash for a drink to the sand, and leave everything else in your hotel safe. Thieves watch for people leaving their bags unattended to go for a dip.

Street scams: Ignore anyone trying to hand you a "free" flower or birdseed in major plazas like Puerta del Sol. They will demand money aggressively once you take it, so just keep walking and do not make eye contact. The same applies to people offering "friendship" bracelets.

Rental cars: Never leave any bags visible in a parked car, even if they are empty. Thieves will smash windows just to check a bag for valuables, especially in areas frequented by tourists. Keep your luggage in the trunk or, better yet, leave it at your hotel before parking.

Night walks: Areas like El Raval in Barcelona or Lavapiés in Madrid are generally fine but can feel sketchy late at night. Stick to well-lit main streets and avoid wandering deep into dark, narrow alleys alone if you are unfamiliar with the neighborhood and its layout.

Heat health: The summer sun in Andalusia is a real danger, with temperatures often hitting 105 degrees. Carry water at all times and stay indoors during the peak intensity of the afternoon. Use the siesta hours for a nap or a long lunch in an air-conditioned restaurant.

Spain is a safe country with one glaring exception: pickpocketing and street theft in Barcelona, which has remained among the worst in Europe for decades.

La Rambla and the Barcelona metro. Professional, and worked in groups. The classic is the "bird dropping": something is spilled on your shoulder, a helpful passer-by rushes to wipe it off, and your wallet leaves. Variants include a question asked over an unfolded map, and a crush at the carriage doors.

Barceloneta and the beaches. Belongings left on the sand while you swim disappear within a minute. Go to the beach with the minimum: phone, a little cash, no documents and no cards.

Fake police. Two men in plain clothes show a badge and ask to inspect your wallet "for counterfeit notes". Real Spanish police never check your money. Say you are happy to go to the station.

The shell game (trilero). On La Rambla and by the Sagrada Família. Winning is impossible; the whole crowd is part of the team.

Roses and "free" sprigs of rosemary. Women outside Barcelona Cathedral press a sprig on you and then demand payment for a "fortune". Take nothing into your hands.

Car break-ins. A regular event on the Costa Brava and in Málaga. Leave nothing in the car at all, not even an empty bag.

ATMs. Decline the machine's offer to convert into your home currency.

Dress in town. Barcelona, Palma, Valencia and the Balearics fine people for walking city streets in swimwear or shirtless — 100 to 300 euros depending on the municipality. The beach and the promenade are one thing, city streets another, and the local police enforce it.

Botellón. Drinking alcohol in the street and on the beach is prohibited almost everywhere, with fines from 300 euros upward. Barcelona and the Balearics are pursuing drunken tourism seriously.

Smoking on beaches. Banned in Catalonia, the Balearics, the Canaries and many mainland municipalities.

Counterfeits. Buying fakes from street traders carries a fine for the buyer. The manteros on La Rambla operate openly, but purchasing from them is a risk.

Drones must follow AESA rules, and flights over cities and populated beaches are prohibited.

Car hire. Camera fines reach the rental company, which charges them to your card plus a fee. Watch also for ZBE low-emission zones in Madrid and Barcelona, where foreign vehicles face restrictions.

Documents. Spanish law requires you to carry identification. A passport copy is usually enough, but for a rental car you need the original licence and passport.

Vaccinations. None.

Water. Tap water is drinkable nationwide. In the Canaries and some coastal towns it is desalinated and unappealing, but safe.

Heat. Summer heatwaves in Andalusia, Extremadura and Madrid exceed 45°C and kill people every year. Seville and Córdoba in July and August are an ordeal rather than a season. Plan the south for spring or October.

Jellyfish. The Portuguese man o' war reaches the Costa del Sol and the Balearics periodically. Its sting is dangerous and needs medical attention, not vinegar. Watch the beach flags: a yellow flag with a jellyfish symbol means exactly that.

Sun. UV in the south and the Canaries is harsh year-round.

Healthcare. One of Europe's best systems. An ambulance on 112 comes to anyone. Emergency treatment is provided to foreigners and billed afterwards. Insurance is essential.

Pharmacies. Green cross. Duty pharmacies (farmacia de guardia) operate around the clock on a rota, with the list posted on the door of every closed one.

Spain ranks in the upper part of the Corruption Perceptions Index: no street bribery, and the police work correctly.

Who handles what. Policía Nacional (091) covers urban crime, documents and foreigners. Guardia Civil (062) covers highways, rural areas and the coast. Policía Local handles parking, noise and municipal rules. The 112 number connects you to the right service and works in English.

Reporting theft — the denuncia. The key point: in Spain you can file it online on the Policía Nacional site or by phone on 902 102 112 and simply sign it at the station afterwards. That satisfies insurers and saves a great deal of time in Barcelona, where the queue at a station can run to hours in season.

Tourist offices. Stations oriented toward foreigners, with interpreters, operate on La Rambla in Barcelona and on Plaza Mayor in Madrid.

What actually works. Barcelona's police know their pickpockets by name, but Spanish law long treated petty theft as a minor offence, so those detained were released the same day. Do not count on recovering your things — count on not letting them be taken.

Emergency numbers: 112 unified, 091 national police, 061 ambulance.