Dangerous Madrid?

[DxPhoto]

I am thinking of taking a mini vacation in Madrid. But i heard a lot of things saying it's kinda dangerous there, for tourists (such as robberies, fake cops and so on). ...

obviously i will be carrying my cameras, and I don't want to lose them. I am thinking of leaving my M and taking the G1 with me in case anything happens.... Any advices and suggestion?? Compare to NYC, I was able to hold my M on hand all the time on the street (during the day).

Also, is there a good photo lab in Madrid that I can use? I don't think i can get my film hand checked in Spain so i'd better just have them developed (c41/e6) there.

Thanks.

[Pablito]

Spain, and quite a few other European countries, is full of pickpockets and bag snatchers especially around crowded places and tourist attractions. Just hold on tight to your stuff. If youre careless you'll surely lose your stuff, if youre careful it's highly unlikely. Very little violent crime or armed robbery; generally it's grab and run. And they run fast. And they know where they're going. They pretty much just vanish.

[dovevadar]

Hi, I spent 9 days alone in Madrid without any problem. Thing is not to carry back pack. use a sling bag and have a look.. Know what is going on.. the pick-pockets knows you know your stuff right from your face rather than a silly blur tourist who only cares about sight-seeing. They are usually the victims. I have noticed some teens on the street, they look at me from top to toe.. surely up to no good i thought, instead of walking on I gave them eye contact and they looked elsewhere... Madrid is a beautiful place with nice people. There are so many police on petrol at every street esp on weekends. Generally its a very safe place.

as for photo labs.. I only came across 1. Its down the street of puerta de sol, the same street which you will see burger king, modern chain hotel puerta de sol.. walk down the street (opp direction of puerta de sol (central square)... the shop is on your left. Im not sure about the price of items in madrid.. but I deperately need a cf card reader which they were selling for 20euros (very expensive for a brandless one).

hope this helps

[peter_n]

Madrid is beautiful and the people are very friendly. You'll be totally safe there. I took a Domke F-2 and two M bodies and three lenses and came back with everything. Just be careful where there are crowds, places like the Rastro at weekends. There are pick-pockets about. I would love to go back...

[serpia]

It's been a couple of years since I was there, but I felt very safe, especially in the city center where there are always lots of people. I don't know where you're from, but store hours are odd by American standards, so finding a lab open when you expect it might be hard.

There have been threads on X-ray machines, and based on what I read in them I would not worry about that, but I tend to stick to slower film.

[DxPhoto]

is it nice in December?
i guess a tamrac bag is too obvious?

And thank you all for your replies and help!!

[yanidel]

These kind of beliefs kind of upset me and I don't understand how this happens. Yes, like any big city, you might get your bag snatched or wallet stolen. But this happens only to careless people.
I lived in Madrid for 5 years and never even perceived it as "dangerous Madrid" but as "wonderful Madrid". Lot of socializing, fun and open hearted people, so please, go there thinking you will have a great time, do not go if you were going in to the Bronx, this is simply not true.

[Paco]

I live in Spain .Spain is a very safe country. but there's always take certain precautions with the bags, the cameras .... especially on the terraces of the bars .... the centers of large cities there are always thieves in search of careless or confused tourists, who are easy victims. Madrid receives millions of tourists. We should not be afraid, but to walk on certain locations and hours have determined your risk around the world. photo lab FOTOCASION street Ribera de curtidores 22 best photography shop in Madrid . you do not have to be worried and bon voyage.

[waileong]

Well, I lost my backpack there with my train tickets, clothes, gloves and camera Atocha trains station. It was stolen when I put it on the floor as I was distracted by my kid.

Sadly Madrid, like other European cities, has lots of illegal foreigners from Africa (they swim over from Algeria or Morrocco?) but some come from as far away as China. You'll see them on the streets selling DVD's and fake goods, etc.

And because of the integration of the European community, once they are in an EU country, they no longer have to produce passports at border checkpoints, so it's easy for them to spread out through the EU.

Hence I saw the same kinds of illegal immigrants when I was in France.

Bottom line-- hold on tight to your belongings, don't get distracted by people who drop things in front of you, etc.

Originally Posted by DxPhoto

I am thinking of taking a mini vacation in Madrid. But i heard a lot of things saying it's kinda dangerous there, for tourists (such as robberies, fake cops and so on). ...

obviously i will be carrying my cameras, and I don't want to lose them. I am thinking of leaving my M and taking the G1 with me in case anything happens.... Any advices and suggestion?? Compare to NYC, I was able to hold my M on hand all the time on the street (during the day).

Also, is there a good photo lab in Madrid that I can use? I don't think i can get my film hand checked in Spain so i'd better just have them developed (c41/e6) there.

Thanks.

[gertf]

Originally Posted by waileong

Hence I saw the same kinds of illegal immigrants when I was in France.

You should join up with the local immigration police, being able to identify illegal immigrants on sight and all..

Otherwise good advice all around. Enjoy yourself but look after your gear.

My two cents:

Wear pants, somehow people in shorts and sandals stick out.

You can thread your bag straps with piano wire to avoid someone cutting it with a knife if you're worried, but you may not get on the plane without taking it out if its picked up by the x-ray machine.

[yanidel]

Originally Posted by gertf

Wear pants, somehow people in shorts and sandals stick out.

ah ah ah good one, you meant Americans right ?

[ClaremontPhoto]

Originally Posted by waileong

Sadly Madrid, like other European cities, has lots of illegal foreigners from Africa (they swim over from Algeria or Morrocco?)

You cannot swim from north Africa to Europe, and anyway most of these economic migrants work in low paid agricultural jobs such as tomato farms.

Originally Posted by waileong

...but some come from as far away as China. You'll see them on the streets selling DVD's and fake goods, etc.

There is a well-established Chinese community in Iberia. I know many Chinese people personally and cannot agree with your assessment. They sell good quality stuff at low prices, and work very hard indeed.

Originally Posted by waileong

And because of the integration of the European community, once they are in an EU country, they no longer have to produce passports at border checkpoints, so it's easy for them to spread out through the EU.

Just like people can travel across the USA you mean?

Originally Posted by waileong

Hence I saw the same kinds of illegal immigrants when I was in France.

Many of the people you may have seen there are French citizens from overseas 'departments'.


I feel safe if I don't dress like a tourist, don't gaze about over much, and do carry a local newspaper.

[sonofdanang]

Originally Posted by waileong

Well, I lost my backpack there with my train tickets, clothes, gloves and camera Atocha trains station. It was stolen when I put it on the floor as I was distracted by my kid.

Sadly Madrid, like other European cities, has lots of illegal foreigners from Africa (they swim over from Algeria or Morrocco?) but some come from as far away as China. You'll see them on the streets selling DVD's and fake goods, etc.

And because of the integration of the European community, once they are in an EU country, they no longer have to produce passports at border checkpoints, so it's easy for them to spread out through the EU.

Hence I saw the same kinds of illegal immigrants when I was in France.

Bottom line-- hold on tight to your belongings, don't get distracted by people who drop things in front of you, etc.

And you were able to determine the legal status of these individuals using what method? Please.

[Rayt]

I was standing next to my friend when he got his wallet snatched in the Paris subway a few years ago and lost 2000 Euros. There were 6 of them and they put of a "show" to distract him. It was impressive.

[yanidel]

Originally Posted by Rayt

I was standing next to my friend when he got his wallet snatched in the Paris subway a few years ago and lost 2000 Euros. There were 6 of them and they put of a "show" to distract him. It was impressive.

Did your friend get a kind of Darwin award ? Sincerly, taking 2000 euros in a subway was not a very wise move, especially since credit cards and checks are accepted in almost 100% of places.

[Rayt]

Originally Posted by yanidel

Did your friend get a kind of Darwin award ? Sincerly, taking 2000 euros in a subway was not a very wise move, especially since credit cards and checks are accepted in almost 100% of places.

I told him not to carry so much cash. I guess in some situations it is ok to blame the victim.

[Thardy]

Originally Posted by Rayt

I was standing next to my friend when he got his wallet snatched in the Paris subway a few years ago and lost 2000 Euros. There were 6 of them and they put of a "show" to distract him. It was impressive.

Yeah, I witnessed this several times in France and Italy. The "entertainment" was provided by people who I thought were native European. The little shows got annoying after seeing it a few times.

Those africans who swam over just seemed to mind their business selling stuff.

[ClaremontPhoto]

Originally Posted by Thardy

Those africans who swam over just seemed to mind their business selling stuff.

Do you think these Chinese people swim also?

And carry counterfeit DVD's with them?

[Pherdinand]

Originally Posted by Rayt

I was standing next to my friend when he got his wallet snatched in the Paris subway a few years ago and lost 2000 Euros. There were 6 of them and they put of a "show" to distract him. It was impressive.

sorry, but your friend was hangin' around outside playing the tourist with 2000 euros in his wallet???

[javimm]

Hi.
I've live in Madrid since I was born, and I'm 31. I've travelled to a lot of places around the world, and I can say that Madrid is no different to any other european city. I've been to Paris, Amsterdam, all around Germany, Hungary, Prague, etc, and I haven't felt more secure there than in Madrid.

Having said that, you have to take care about what you carry and NEVER lose contact with it. If you leave it for 2 seconds in the floor in a tourism place like Plaza Mayor or Puerta del Sol, you're going to get robbed. Just carry and unbranded little bag, sling type, and you'll be ok. As it's been said, 90% of the robbers in Madrid are foreigners, most of them coming for eastern europe, Rumania, mainly. They almost never assault, but get your things and run away. Don't trust foreign little children neither. Eastern europe gangs use them to rob, so beware.

About what you've heard about fake cops. Well, don't know where you've heard it, but I can say it's completely false. The police is very useful and helpful, even more with tourists.

Plaza Mayor is a great place to go in Christmas. Ecen better on Sundays. Lots people, strange performers... fantastic for photographing. If you see someone there with a black M6 on Sunday morning, maybe you find a fellow RFF member.

Enjoy your trip. You'll love it. Don't be scare and don't let any unfounded fear ruin your vacation.

Edited to add:
About photo labs, I can recommend Fotocasion as someone recommended. It's mainly a shop, but I think they send film outside for developing.

Another lab is Dinasa. They're a top pro lab. Some of the photographs you can see in Reina Sofia Museum (I don't know if thoses photographs are still exhibited; they belong to the Museum Collection) have been printed there. Top notch work. This isn't a 1-hour lab though.

[stefan_dinu]

Originally Posted by javimm

...
As it's been said, 90% of the robbers in Madrid are foreigners, most of them coming for eastern europe, Rumania, mainly. They almost never assault, but get your things and run away. Don't trust foreign little children neither. Eastern europe gangs use them to rob, so beware.
....

I was reading this topic especially to find assertion like the one above.
For me, as a Romanian, is very sad when I read that. It is simply not true. 99,99% of the robbers are gypsies. They come from INDIA!!! Not Romania. They spent some time in Romania, and now they are European gypsies. Think about this: those robbers go from Spain to America to rob and steal. They become Robbers from Spain? Is this how it is working.

And to hear something funny, in Rajasthan (where the gypsy people are coming from- north west of India), they all believe that gypsy people are in fact Spanish. From Spain. Isn't this funny? Truth being said, their appearance is much, much more closer to Spanish than Romanian, which have lighter colored skin and hair.

And to make things clear, the reason for wrinting all this here is very strong for me. Because this type of information makes it difficult for me to pursue my passion. A lot of people from ebay or from here, had suspitions about me when I wanted to buy something. Of course, he is from Romania, better avoid him. I am not posing as a victim but this is true. For me it was much more difficult to buy a camera. And impossible to sell one. I got stuck with over 24 cameras for this reason.

And to be on topic, Madrid is very safe from my point of view. I traveled a lot and I found Spain on the safe side, but like anywhere else you have to pay attention to your stuff.

[Roger Hicks]

Sure, there are sneak thieves everywhere there are tourists -- I lost a camera bag in Delhi 25 years ago, in part of an elaborate scheme that involved turning off the lights in a railway carriage and 'helping' us in -- but as everyone else says, once you're aware of that sort of thing, the risks diminish very greatly indeed.

My favourite 'fear of travelling' story was someone who asked, "Are English pubs safe?"

Cheers,

Roger

[teo]

Seriously, to find dangerous Madrid you should be used to live in the desert or in some Amish community...

...and... immigrants swimming from Africa? I know who to bid on in the next Olympics... ;-)

[Rayt]

Originally Posted by teo

Seriously, to find dangerous Madrid you should be used to live in the desert or in some Amish community...

...and... immigrants swimming from Africa? I know who to bid on in the next Olympics... ;-)

Sometimes the boats sink and the asylum seekers have to swim. Some countries encourage their sinking more than others apparently.

[ClaremontPhoto]

Originally Posted by Rayt

...and the asylum seekers have to swim.

How did your 'illegal immigrants' morph into 'asylum seekers'?

Are the people who cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the USA 'asylum seekers' too?

The vast majority in both cases are economic migrants. People from poorer countries who come to look for work, and send money back to their families.

Recently I went to pick up money from a local Western Union office, and the clerk could not understand that I was collecting money instead of sending money. That's all he ever does, send money.