Un/safe Places in Europe?

As for my own answer, I definitely perceive Europe as a whole and Western Europe in particular to be an extremely safe place to travel (and live!) But so far I've only traveled to large cities in Germany, France, Spain, Austria, and Budapest, Hungary, so I wouldn't call myself super-experienced. So far, I've felt perfectly safe walking alone at night in touristed areas of everywhere I've visited, although I've certainly heard there are neighborhoods in Paris, Berlin, Budapest to be avoided, I didn't end up in any of those (to my knowledge!) I've encountered a few people feeling a bit iffy about parts of Berlin at night, but I spent all my evenings in various neighborhoods in East Berlin and found areas that in other cities I would have felt anxious in to seem strangely friendly and reassuring despite the graffiti and urban blight and punks (actually the punks were part of the reason I felt safe - they were so ~nice~!) My family seemed to feel that Budapest seemed "more dangerous" than other places we visited. I think that's because it's a bit more run-down than based on any actual shady characters or anything. Regardless, I wasn't able to convince my mom to let me go hit one of the ruin pubs by myself while there - but that's something I'd do on my own, absolutely. I am traveling exclusively in Europe right now due to location and finances, but previously I gave safety some but not too much weight to safety in choosing where to travel. I love Mexico, traveled there a few times before the current troubles, and would love to explore much more of it, but certain plans (like beach camping in Baja) I would absolutely not do right now. Curious to hear other people's perceptions/experiences.

Based on a short visit, compounded by repeated warnings from our tour guide, I perceive Naples as being rather unsafe. We did not receive intense warnings elsewhere.

Interesting question. I started by thinking of places where I've felt that edginess that tells you to hold tight to your purse and to walk fast and with purpose. I've had that feeling years ago in Chicago driving near Cabrini Green which now of course is gone. I am very confident that there are places in Edinburgh where I would feel the same way. I've read about them in Ian Rankin's books. I've often thought that if you recognize a place from one of his books you need to make sure it is not a place where Rebus arrested someone! I know that there are places in London and Paris that should be avoided. However, the same applies here in NYC. And in all of these cities I just don't go to those sections. Pam

The parts of Berlin which can described as iffy especially at night are not going to be frequented by tourists, especially Americans, anyway, let alone by day. But I will say I was sort of apprehensive twice in the last two trips there this summer and last summer taking the S-Bahn after 23:00 solo at Karlshorst and Jannowitz Brücke back to Charlottenburg, when it was almost deserted, especially at Karlshorst. But my concerns were groundless. Most of the time you develop a feel for a place as regards to safety, especially if you are walking and taking public transportation. I would avoid Neukölln and maybe Friedrichshain in Berlin at night. Which districts there gave you that iffy feeling? In 2003 I had to transfer in Berlin-Lichtenberg (known for its iffy reputation, at least back then, of which I was aware.) at night from Angermünde to the S-Bahn going to Bahnhof Zoo, but again any previous concerns were groundless.

I felt a little unsafe in Barcelona because of the aggresive beggars but everywhere else, I felt fine. My favorite place is Munich, I love it.

Actually, in Berlin the boroughs (like Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Neukölln) are too big to really make out criminal hot spots. And these two, despite their obvious difference in wealth and iffy-ness, are quite similar: Both have a comparable number of inhabitants: Charlottenburg-W. 320,000 and Neukölln 310,000. Mitte the borough with the highest crime rate has 330,000. Some absolute numbers of crimes reported to the police of 2009: Charlottenburg-W. vs Neukölln vs Mitte Total criminal offenses: 51,056 vs 41,912 vs 74,544 Robbery: 629 vs 693 vs 956 Assault: 4,040 vs 4,298 vs 7,330 Theft: 20,940 vs 15,231 vs 29,564 Yes, violent (and drug) crimes is a little bit more prevalent in Neukölln, but property crimes like theft (and burglary) are more prevalent in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.
Mitte, where most tourists sleep and spend most of their time, is statistically the most dangerous borough...

I've never really felt unsafe anywhere. Uncomfortable once. Back in the late sixties...... Marseille......bar fight.......didn't fare too well. Uncomfortable for several days afterwards.

I felt unsafe exactly once in Europe: on Hamburg's infamous Reeperbahn. There's a lot of very large, very intoxicated people walking around there after dark. Do I have statistics showing that the Reeperbahn is any more unsafe than, for example, the elegant shopping districts around the Binnenalster and Rathaus? No, but there's probably a reason why you see the Polizei regularly patrolling the former and not the latter districts.

We have traveled to Europe and stayed in many different countries there, Our sojourns were several months long on each occasion. We have walked extensively, used some night trains, were our own guides (meaning we strayed from tourist paths to less "favorable " areas. We have never felt unsafe, regardless of our location. What probably matters more vis-a-vis planning to avoid a place, is bureaucratic nonsense such as the Russian visa nightmare process. Admittedly, Russia is not European.

The one and only time I have felt unsafe in Europe was when we had the misfortune to rent an apartment on a street bordering the "Goutte d'Or" neighbourhood in the 18th. The fact that there was a large police presence day and night (mostly at night) didn't reassure me, it only convinced me "here lies danger".

I would not want to be in the area around the Frankfurt train station very late at night, say after 11pm or so. It's perfectly fine during the day however.

There are neighborhoods of bigger cities that would not be as safe, especially at night, but as tourists we almost never would have cause to be there. The most unsafe I've felt in Europe is on the Berlin U-Bahn when a fight broke out between some pretty large guys. But other than needing to clear out of the way, we were in no danger.

I desired to do some Greek island hopping (Agean Sea), in October of this year. I decided to not go to Greece, because of the "civil unrest" in Greece this year. If I go to an island of Greece, I would fly to Athens, and fly from the Athens airport to an island. In the return trip from the islands, I would fly to Athens, stay at a hotel in Athens one night. I would not even want to do that during a time of rioting at Athens. I do not think I would be at risk of being a victim of physical violence in Greece, but when there is a riot in Athens, that is a bad time to be at Athens. I know, from my experience there. I was at Athens during a minor riot, in November 2005. Window glass was broken in cars, and I think in a building. The next day, all the flights were canceled at the Athens airport. (my flight to an island was canceled). I saw a policeman, carrying a small machine gun, standing at a street corner very near the hotel I was at. At Monastiraki square (very popular, in a market area, at the north side of the Acropolis of Athens) I saw a big police bus for hauling away rioters. The recent (current ?) rioting in Athens is bad.

I think there is a huge difference in what people "think" might be unsafe and the reality of it being unsafe. Many people feel that areas around train stations, like in Frankfurt, are unsafe, when in reality they aren't unsafe at all. There is a large police presence there, there are cameras everywhere, and personally, I can't think of a safer place to be then here because of that. Just because the red light district is a couple of blocks away, doesn't make an area unsafe. It may look totally different than where you are from, but this doesn't make it unsafe. The only time I have felt unsafe in Germany was at a few deserted, rural train stations very late at night. I also don't like sitting alone at underground stations in cities where there aren't any people.

I've felt unsafe in 3 locations in Europe, but the feeling would be the same if I had been in the U.S. When I was in Rome, my traveling companions (both female, and 3-40 years older than me) wanted to get something to eat one night. We were near Termini and they wanted to go down a dimly lit street populated by lots of men and not very many women to see what restaurants were there. I said no. In Florence, we were in our apartment one night with the windows open (it was on the ground floor) and some guy across the street was staring into the window. One of the ladies I was with stuck her head out the window and yelled "Go away! Go away!" and waved her arm. He sidled up the street and around the corner. We never saw him again but that was creepy. And I didn't feel very safe outside the Bruxelles-Midi train station, in the middle of the day. I was alone and had difficulty getting a taxi (maybe I was on the wrong side of the station) but aside from that, there weren't many people around which creeped me out.

There are a few dangerous areas in big metropolises like London or Paris. Fortunately (for the tourist!), they are almost always on the outskirts of the city, away from any site of relevant interest, contrary to what happens in US where the inner cities are more dangerous (gang, drugs, ghetto attitude/harassment, guns), and especially many CBDs are less safe than suburbs. Without even starting the discussion about its morals, the fact gun laws are far more strict here reduce the profile of violent crime. An all-out shootout is rare - a gang attacking rivals with knives is more common. To make things more blurred, there is also less usage of car in Europe than in US for leisure trips within a city. It's a bad thing, IMO, because using a car makes everything much easier safe-wise: just find the nearest parking lot and, at most, you have 2, not 25 blocks of walking to worry about.

Andre - the US is dominated by cars and is less safe than Europe. More cars mean less pedestrians and when there are fewer people, they at least feel less safe. Many of the anecdotes above refer to deserted streets.

I was in Dusseldorf after a big soccer match. A lot of drunk people looking to fight with anyone. We (US college students) left the area; which by the way, had a lot of bars. Once away from the crowds and bars it was all good. But it is the same after a big game in the US, or after any big event involving crowd mentality and alcohol (concerts, sporting events, etc.). Just get away from the drunken crowds and it'll be fine. Other than that, I've felt unsafe in European cities in areas at night without a lot of people or lights. Much like any city in the US, just stay out of areas that don't feel right.

I've been extremely leery of walking down Rue Cler in Paris. There's some freaky cult where people clutch blue books that seem to congregate on this particular street. I've heard they will throw stones at you if you wear jeans, travel with anything larger than a carry-on, forego a moneybelt or giggle when they preach about "finding your own back door". I have to disagree with Andre's assessment that the serious crime in the inner cities of America makes it so much more dangerous for a visitor to the US compared with crime in European cities like Paris or London that occurs far away from any relevant tourist sights. Tourists to American cities stay in hotels close to the big sights and the area where those big sights are have pretty visible police presence so the chance a tourist is going to be shot in the crossfire of a drug deal gone bad is pretty slim. I just spent a weekend in NYC doing touristy things. Never noticed any gangs or drug deals happening around me during the day while at the museums, theater, shopping. Had no problems walking around different parts of Manhattan late at night. Now if I was staying in certain parts of the Bronx or Brooklyn, I might feel unsafe and may see or be the victim of a violent crime, but the reality is that as a tourist I would never be staying in those areas of NYC because there's nothing in those specific neighborhoods that would ever appeal to me as a tourist.

Careful Ceidleh- the beltists are always watching. I got in a Chuck Norris kind of confrontation on a train to Vernazza (yeah- I won! ) yet today had a lovely conversation with crack heads about Texas A&M moving to the SEC on Pine Street in Atlanta. I guess I could of used that belt as a weapon on the CT chugger or a sketch pad discussing the valid points of a 5-4 defense! Just keep your eyes open people.

I think Ceidleh is right about American cities. I've traveled to Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and many more cities in the US. Just like Europe if you stay near the tourist spots you should be fine. Heck even most of Brooklyn is good these days. Half my office seems to live there. Pam