My friend and I are visiting Madrid in September and are looking at Hostal Adriano as a place to stay - it has some great reviews. I am a bit worried however because I was warned it was not the greatest area - can anyone tell me if this area is safe?

Hello bellalinda!

Contrary to what you've been told, Puerta del Sol is just about "THE GREATEST AREA" in Madrid. (Plaza Mayor and Huertas are great too) It has some of the best/coolest bars, restaurants, and nightclubs in the city.

It and the Plaza Mayor are THE tourist centers of the city and are not at all far from one another. Puerta del Sol does probably have a "claim to shame" for having the greatest number of pickpockets and purse snatchings but as far as violent crimes go they're almost non-existent, mainly because there are SO MANY PEOPLE walking around there day and night - not just tourists either. Most are locals.

The entire old center of town has problems with pickpockets and purse-snatchings but the great majority of visitors to Madrid never experience any of this. You can read a number of threads on this topic here in the Safety & Security fora.

But you really don't want to be too far away from this action-packed center because... well, if you stay further out and then venture in to enjoy the things worth seeing you'll still have to pass through on your way back. There are so many people in the streets day and night that chances are excellent that nothing will happen to you, particularly if you're in a couple or group. Just down walk the streets with your purse open or a visible wallet in a back pocket and you'll most likely be fine.

You might want to seek out some of the reactions/opinions from some of your countrymen (Canada) about Madrid and Spain. It seems that many don't care for it much. I can only guess it's a matter of perspective coming from a very clean and safe country like Canada.

Enjoy Madrid! We know you will! Saludos, MadridMan

I cannot speak for others who live in Canada but I love Spain. If you have traveled (I mean outside of Canada, you know, like to a country that speaks anything other than english, you should be ok. Be nice to people, say hello and good by. Shake hands when introduced to someone. Some canadians are shocked or lost if they do not see the familiar franchises of home, some are afraid of different food (even though it is far superior to what they eat at home). Be smart, be aware and don't be innocent. Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor are fine. Oh and lose the Canada flag, nobody cares where your from.