I had the pleasure of being mugged TWICE in four days here in my first week of a six month visit to Madrid. The first experience was walking out of Plaza Peurta del Sol in broad daylight. As I was talking on a cell phone, a ladron (too nice a word, IMHO) came up from behind, pushed and tried to grab the phone from my hand. I had to shove him against a car, yelling all sorts of English obscenities, get the phone away from his grimey hand, and I ended up ripping his shirt. He was actually upset I torn his shirt, but defeated, we walked away from each other. Yes, people watched with interest, but no assistance.

The second time was four days later I was walking out of the BlackJack dance bar early in the morning, and was walking toward Pl. del Sol when, once again, I was shoved from behind and had a very strong forearm wrapped around my throat. He squeezed until I passed out. I woke up on the street, with some guy apologizing for his country. My pockets were empty - debit card, cell phone, and some cash. The JERK even took my glasses! Once again, even though it was late, the street was still somewhat busy.

I am pretty non-descript and was even wearing clothes bought in Spain - I don't stick out. So, all I can offer is keep your belongings slim on you, and be aware of your back and surroundings. I certainly won't let a couple (or perhaps the same?) jerks ruin my stay here. ¡Viva España!

Sorry to hear that but I am happy to hear your attitude. It's a great country and you seem to have encountered a bit of unbelievably bad luck.

I think that it's not mainly tourists that have robbery problems but more often single women. I have seen this time and time again, with Spanish and foriegners.

Interesting...I had mentioned Blackjack as a possible destination to Andres (walksofspain.com) and he had emailed to say it was not one of his favorites and did not recommend walking back to Plaza del Sol very late from there. Also mentioned same (as far as the walk goes) for Casa Patas as if it's the same area. Would there be taxis around the latter if we came out of a show very late?

There are cabs, but you usually have to pop down to Sol to catch them.

I was only 50 feet from the door of BlackJack, in front of the Irish bar there when I was mugged. I think that whole web of streets is rather hostel/touristy, therefore a prime spot. I was alone both times, but there were people around. And, I am also a medium built guy with a beard, so gender or time of day didn't seem to pose a problem. I really think awareness is the rule of the day.

Casa Patas is FANTASTIC and you must go. Not only is the flamenco amazing, but the sangrias there will make you wonder what you've been drinking back home.

I visited Madrid last November, and after reading all the messages on the board I fully expected the worst as far as pickpockets and muggings go. But as a 19 year old girl alone in Madrid for 4 days I never had any problems, nor did I see anyone else in trouble. I guess I was just lucky

The guy who ran the hostal I was staying at warned me about pickpockets, and said they were mostly Moroccans and Algerians. Within 5 minutes of leaving the hostal to explore Madrid I realised that an African guy was following me, which kind of freaked me out. Remembering that my taxi had been blocked by a big protest just up from the Prado I headed in that direction, thinking that the site of 300 policemen might scare the guy away. I watched the protest for a while, and eventually the guy approached. It turned out that he had lived in the US for 10 years, spoke perfect English, and basically was just being a guy, not a pickpocket. My point is that my paranoia about pickpockets and muggers had made me suspicious about everyone, and although its better to be safe than sorry, you might miss out on meeting some really interesting people this way.

In Barcelona I didn't meet a single tourist who hadn't been mugged. I wasn't mugged, but the friend I was travelling with was. Some friends of mine from Barcelona said that they can always pick the tourists because they're the ones who are always looking up at the amazing buildings. But if you spend the whole time trying to blend in, by not looking at the buildings, then you're really going to be missing out on a lot.

Wow. THAT'S a powerful statement.

When I hear the word "mugged" I picture being majorly bodily accosted while being robbed. Maybe this word is being used very loosely here and is covering assorted thievery. I hope so...as these blanket statements really could be very frigtening to some wouldbe travelers.I'm glad the original post still talked of wonderful experiences.

No, Spain rocks, definitely. And Sol is the center of town, and if you visit, you're going to go there at some point - and it's really cool. But, hey, what can I say, I got mugged twice around there.

I thought of some tips to avoid harm. One is to walk near walls on your right if you're on the sidewalk to make it difficult to have someone wrap their arm around your neck as happened to me. Also, if you're alone and concerned, and you smoke, pull one out; you have an instant weapon. And though one should be aware, I wouldn't recommend being paranoid. That would take the fun out of the whole thing, wouldn't it?

Avoid walking through the Plaza Santa Ana, and go on alert when you're in the vicinity. It has become notorious. I live there - no, that's not why it's notorious – and from my balcony I see and hear up to 4 muggings an hour on a bad day. They even got me once. Who are they? About 10 North African teenagers, who sniff glue and can be quite ruthless. They sort of live in the square. Having said that, the area is not to be missed. While the bars are open the square is thronged with people and safe enough. One other point. If you are staying in a hostal where you let yourself in, be careful to shut the door firmly and quickly behind you, so you don't find an unwelcome guest coming in after you.
In short, be cautious, don't be paranoid, and enjoy yourself.

Barry, I wish your posting had been available before our recent trip to Madrid, cut short by injuries from a mugging just off Plaza Santa Ana where we were staying in the Hostal Filo. The attackers were probably five of the ten teen-agers you mentioned.(My description of this event is in the posting titled Madrid Mugging April 30, 2001) I guess our mistake was leaving the hostal on foot for the metro at an hour when not too many people were yet on the street. We had an early train to catch, and probably should have taken a taxi. In the evenings before the attack we would hear people yelling for help and for the police in the narrow alleyway just under our window. We expected pickpockets but were not prepared for the violence we encountered.