I also stayed at the Tijcal and felt safe around it. I saw 2 persons trying to snatch a bag from a family, though.

It happened in the Burger King across from Museo del Prado. I saw two well dressed males looking around inside, while my girlfriend and I were eating. I think they were after us because we exchanged a couple of looks, but we were seating in a corner and that spot wasn't suitable for their "modus operandi", as you'll read in a moment.

They targeted a family which had the ladies' purse on a chair. When these guys came in, you couldn't tell that they were together. One guy sat on a table behind the family and next to the chair with the bag. The other one, sitting nearby, waited for a signal from his partner and promptly asked the people in the table something that I couldn't hear. He started pointing outside to the street, AWAY FROM THE PURSE, and started heading out. At this time, his partner snatched the bag and started heading out too. Luckily, the husband in the family noticed the missing bag and quickly went to the door and grabbed it back from the guy, and the two thieves left.

Unfortunately, I have to say, I was trying to figure out what the hell was he pointing to, so I would have been successfully robbed. Hope this anecdote helps someone.

My wife and I recently returned from Madrid (stayed over New Years and celebrated at Puerto Del Sol on New Years eve). I was paranoid about theft from reading these posts before we left but I had no problems. While we were careful, we certainly didn't constantly focus on the issue. It may help that, like some of the other posters, I am bigger (>200Lbs, > 6 ft). I also wore a neck pouch although I kepy money in my front pocket as well. I found that the amount of street traffic in Madrid (on even the most back alley streets) was sufficient to put us at ease with respect to a potential robbery/mugging situation but I never say nor experienced a single pickpocket situation either. Overall, I felt quite safe with my wife walking through most areas of Madrid.

OK, this relates to Barcelona rather than Madrid, but I thought it would cheer everyone up and maybe alleviate some fears. Just back from a business trip, and on the flight home noticed that American's in-flight magazine this month includes an interview with actress Mira Sorvino about her time in Barcelona. She reports that one night while out walking alone she became convinced she was being followed. Ultimately she looked behind her once too often, tripped and fell, and broke her jaw. The pair she'd feared were "following" her took her to a hospital, stayed there with her, did translating for her...and this was in her pre-Oscar days, so no one was fawning over a "star," because she was unknown then! So be alert, be careful, but DON'T be paranoid! And good for Mira Sorvino for not having been too embarrassed to relate a story that I hope will make at least a few people less fearful.

I had a great time in Madrid last November.
However I feel necessary to share this
incident so you can be aware in case this happens to you. BE PREPARED!
Three or four guys approach you, one of them
drops several coin pesetas in front of you
and inmediately grabs you by the pants cuffs
trying to stop you while he pretends to pick up the fallen coins.At the same time the other pickpocket is bumping into you, amid the confusion a third one is getting his hand on your pants pocket. Nevertheless they
got away with nothing, I had a folded Toledo
map on that pocket( I was wearing a neck pouch with my valuables under my sweater and jacket)instinctly I grabbed my pant pocket catching the thiefs hand and squeezed
it very ,very hard. They ran away.
This happened, unfortunately, very near
to El Brillante bar. Since I came to Spain
absolutely prepared after reading these postings, this attempt did not interfere with a wonderful stay in Madrid.

this is just a general tip that i used while i was in europe this past summer (including madrid). i am a 5'3", 20 year old girl so i was kind of worried beforehand, but i was over there for 2 months and i wandered around a lot by myself, even at night sometimes, and i never had any problems except some gypsies trying to approach me a couple times in italy (but like everyone has said, if you just say no to them loudly and firmly they will go away).

what i did was this- i put whatever money, credit cards, passport, etc. i needed in a sock which i then pinned to the inside of my pants or skirt.

i didn't want to use a money belt b/c it was too hot and uncomfortable and i didn't want one of those neck things b/c my friend got hers stolen in london once (they cut the neck part and then it dropped to the ground and they took it w/out her noticing it). the rest of my things (ie- water bottle, maps, etc.) i kept in my backpack.

the sock thing is great b/c there is really no way anyone can get to it and no one even suspects that you have it and plus it's totally comfortable. everyone i told laughed at me for it, but then some of my friends tried it in mexico city and unlike a lot of the people in their group, they had no problems.

even if someone does try to take something from you, the best thing you can do is make a big scene (at least if you are in a place where there are a lot of other people). pickpockets do NOT want to be noticed. for some reason it seems like people are afraid to make a lot of noise. remember, they are the ones committing the crime, not you.

Is there anything special I should worry about with pickpockets and having a child in a stroller?

Can I put stuff in the basket under the stroller seat (maybe strapped in)?

Has anyone heard of being robbed from a stroller?

I spent a few years connected to a stroller in Madrid and never had any problem. I put stuff under the seat, over the handle, around the baby, you name it. Perhaps I'm out of touch with reality, but I always felt that I was less likely to be robbed when I had my children with me - respect for the family, and all that. Things may be changing, but I haven't heard of anyone getting anything taken from a stroller. Leaving valuables where someone could easily see them and reach them wouldn't be a good idea anywhere, but you should be all right. Watch out for cars, though. Our stroller did get bumped once in a parking garage. The wheels were never the same after that day.

I think that people are being alarmist, Spain is much less dangerous than the United States. Having lived in NYC I feel much much safer here and all of these incidents are rare and random. Any city of 5 million has crime.

Two ladies from my office were in Madrid in January for a conference and had a pickpocketing incident. One of the ladies is blind and travelled with her seeing-eye dog (it was for a disability access conference) and they are both in their mid-thirties, Canadian gals and their first time in Madrid. They had just finished a tour of the Royal Palace and were out front walking on a very crowded sidewalk when, at one point, Di (the blind lady) discovered that her handbag had been zipped open and her wallet was gone. She had just used it in the Royal Palace and claims she always keeps it zipped up so they assume it happened out front where there was a fairly large crowd of pedestrians. Di was especially shocked because, being blind, her other senses are much more sensitive (touch, smell, etc.) than the average person and her dog did not act out of the normal. So, it's a very unfortunate incident but they were treated very well by the Police ,who even gave them money for a taxi, and loved Madrid.

I think there may be something to the size factor. I traveled all over Spain on several trips with my now ex husband who was 5'6'.I'm 5'2'. HE was the victim of several pickpocket attempts (all in Barcelona)in spite of being very well-traveled,aware and sophisticated. Last fall I traveled all over Spain with 2 friends, one was 6'1", 220 lbs. and an ex boxer. The other was 6'5", 240 lbs. They had never been to Spain and weren't at all careful about how much money they flashed on the street or where they carried their wallets (they didn't pay any attention to my warnings, of course!). They went out at night after I'd had enough and drank, sometimes to obvious excess...Never once were they approached by anyone or bothered in the slightest way. They think Madrid is the greatest party town anywhere and the people, the world's friendliest.
I think no one wanted to mess with them!(But I agree with their opinion of Madrid.