Is the Ramblas generally ok for teens to explore alone?

How much freedom do they have at home? Do they have experience of cities already? I wouldn't want to put you off, especially as I was knocking around cities with friends younger than that, but yeah, pickpocketing is a problem for the unwary. Some streets around The Raval and Barri Gotic are sketch. I'm sure lots of local kids are out in the city at that age though.

The pickpockets on Las Ramblas will be doing most of their business in the day, when it's busiest. If you've ever been to any city before, you'll know that things are different after dark. In the words of Whodini (I'm making a lot of old skool hip hop references on here recently) The Freaks Come Out At Night...

Tough call for strangers to make. We don't know you or your kids and your tolerance for risk.

Adult friends got taken in by a version of 5-card Monty on the Ramblas and were scammed out of money. Don’t know if similar scams continue today.

Only you know your kids, but I would say at that age, they don't need chaperones. We generally let our kids explore foreign cities on their own from about 13-14 years old, and from age 17 our son was at university in the UK on his own (during the pandemic as well).

On Barcelona, my daughter and a couple of friends traveled there independently a couple of years back. At 17/18 years old they were a bit older than yours, but they didn't have any issues. They flew from Singapore to Madrid via Dubai, and took the train from there to Barcelona, then Valencia and Cordoba, then back to Madrid. No problems at all.

Would avoid the area in very early morning and late evening, also would have them avoid El Raval area anytime, which is right next to las Ramblas. Otherwise should be ok to explore, just be careful of watches/cameras/anything hanging on the neck like bags, those are prime targets for the thief gangs who roam the area

Wow, thank you all for the responses! They are very helpful and I feel better about the kids going off alone - but taking the precautions into account. =)

I remember, 20+ years ago some friends of mine had rented an apartment in The Raval (La Raval?). I went down with a couple of friends to hang out in their "local" square one evening. We weren't all that welcome at all! The locals were looking at us the whole time. Maybe six or seven in our party and they weren't happy :) I was sketched out by locals at a cafe in The Raval in the daytime once too.

We were used to hanging out in Placa del Sol in Gracia and everybody being cool.

Up Gran Gracia or off Parallel, Eixample, kinda feels safer to explore. Some of those streets off Las Ramblas are sketch once you get into the neighbourhoods, especially The Raval. It just needs to come as a bit of a warning to them before setting off.

It's good if you make it down to the bottom of Las Ramblas and end up at the sea. That place Barcelona meets the sea is a favourite.

I traveled with pre-teens and teens all over Europe. We rarely ever let them out on their own. Once, we went to the beach in Italy and they never left the beach and knew to come to the hotel room and no where else. Another, they went to a water park nearby and knew to come straight back to the hotel.

Barcelona and especially Las Ramblas is probably the pickpocket capital of the World. If you let them go for a walk near your hotel, I wouldn't let them have valuables with them that could be stolen.

https://www.bcn.travel/areas-to-avoid-in-barcelona/

Check out this link. I would not let them go to the Gothic Quarter, which is near Las Ramblas.

I think they're staying in The Gothic Quarter.

Obviously each child and family is different. But I'm wondering how kids learn to deal with life if you don't let them have some independence? We're talking about teenagers, not little kids.

Obviously they need to be aware of the potential issues, but wirh a suitable warning they should be switched on enough to avoid problems.

Nobody has mentioned drug dealers approaching young tourists. Oh, none of us is young enough to be approached, but your kids are. So just warn them ahead of time.

We sat on a bench and watched a pair soliciting youthful tourists.

Local resident and born and raised Barcelonian here.

Have your kids grown up in an urban environment or a rural one? Have you given them a certain degree of freedom in the past? Would you say they’re more naive or street-smart?

While it’s true that well-travelled kids tend to be more street-smart, I’ve lived in the US as a teenager, and I know well that US parents are generally more overprotective than Europeans. This often results in more naive adolescents, which is why I ask.

Barcelona is "statistically" a safe city, but it's still a city—and a multicultural one, with people from many different countries. So, you get many different ways of behaving and understanding the world.

Moreover, it's one of the hottest tourist destinations in Europe. Tourists come and go, staying only for a few days, so both local and foreign criminals target these tourist spots, knowing that even if they’re caught, the tourists probably won’t return for the trial. Without their presence, it becomes harder to convict them for minor crimes. Beyond local criminals, we even have, like Paris or Rome, transient ones who travel on cheap flights to other cities in Europe to commit crimes and then return to their home countries afterwards.

This mix of factors means that, while the city is fairly safe, there’s still a certain level of crime—something inevitable when there are large concentrations of people in one place.

As Carlos mentioned earlier, just on the other side of the Gothic Quarter is the Raval, which, although not inherently unsafe, has a less 'healthy' vibe for a teenager, with some drug dealing, street prostitution in certain streets, etc. So, it might be better if they go with someone else. That's my take anyway.