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#89269 - 03/11/11 10:55 PM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: laduque]
Crisco Offline
Full Member

Registered: 08/30/09
Posts: 78
I also have walked alone in Madrid and nothing has happened to me.However, over the years I have witnessed crimes-near the Plaza Mayor a woman was knocked down and robbed, a man was hit and robbed near Principe Pio,victims of shop lifting in a store and on the bus. a fellow female traveler was pulled into a doorway and badly beaten and robbed.
I have to mention that nowadays there is a greater police presence in Madrid -they are even on horseback!
These events have rattled me but I still stroll around but definitely more alert.I don't take the subway anymore-I try to walk but it's been fun and challenging to figure out the bus system!
I often go to the theater late at night and then I take a cab!Cheap enough and I ask the cab driver to wait until I get inside the door!

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#89270 - 03/11/11 11:46 PM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: Crisco]
laduque Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 10/02/00
Posts: 596
Loc: San Diego, CA, USA
I love, love love the bus system!!!! Forget the metro, the bus is more fun and entertaining as you get to see the sights of the city!

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#89276 - 03/13/11 07:00 AM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: laduque]
pedmar Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 02/26/06
Posts: 1445
Loc: Morbihan, France
you will get pickpocket mugged or else anywhere its a chance, major cities more incline to happenned but overall Madrid is very safe,never a problem there for me lived and visits were all wonderful.
And yes I agree with laduque the bus system is great you see more and if you have the will walk cant beat it. why go underground?
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#89281 - 03/13/11 10:00 AM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: pedmar]
Crisco Offline
Full Member

Registered: 08/30/09
Posts: 78
Pedmar-I know you can be pick pocketed anywhere in the world! Spain was very safe for many years and the government was taken by surprise when these problems began to surface .I think they thought it would go away!Maybe because of the freedom to travel all over the European Union helped to increase these acts of violence.
I have travelled to Spain for many years.The situation in Madrid and Barcelona gradually bacame very bad and was ignored by the police.My Spanish friends are very honest about the situation.
I have walked by the police station on Huertas and seen all the tourists waiting to get help!As I stated before,there does seem to be more police around Madrid.However no mater how much they prettify Montera with trees and plants ,the police park and stand around and just watch the "action"!!!
As a frequent traveler to Europe I have always told friends is safe but now I have to add be careful....
I do prefer the bus system and had fun last summer by getting a tour of areas of Madrid I had never seen by taking the bus circular!I got the feeling the bus driver was amused!!!

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#89285 - 03/14/11 12:50 PM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: Crisco]
pedmar Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 02/26/06
Posts: 1445
Loc: Morbihan, France
I know Montera gone there many times and to each their job its not mine just walk by. I not only lived there but visit often and still have family there. The events are just like any city I work in Paris, and the best areas are full of drug dealers but they dont bother me I am not into it ::)

Again, common sense and nothing will happened, I go to work to very dangerours areas in our world, like Nigeria and never a problem. So I guess to each its own, be aware of surroundings.

The circular bus thingy is great very efficient way to see the city and cheap. Who cares about what the bus driver think?
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#89307 - 03/19/11 01:55 PM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: Crisco]
MadridMan Offline


Executive Member

Registered: 05/06/00
Posts: 9080
Loc: Madrid, Spain (was Columbus, O...
Originally Posted By Crisco
However no matter how much they prettify Montera with trees and plants, the police park and stand around and just watch the "action"!!!
Dude (or Dudess), prostitution is legal in Spain!! What is the police going to do? True, performing sexual acts in the street is not permitted, but the "business" of prostitution is allowed.

I like to tell my story of having walked up and down Calle Montera for years in the 1990s without even noticing the prostitutes. Most of them dress in normal street clothes and, frankly, most were/are UNattractive. Now, you can only tell, in most cases, because they're usually leaning up against a lamp post or wall for extended periods of time, doing nothing. Besides, an active sex-trade in Calle Montera does not make the street or the area a dangerous place. Before moving to Madrid, I would've thought just the opposite. And if you're a woman walking down Calle Montera you won't even be noticed. Amsterdam has an active sex-trade and its one of the safest cities in the world.

Saludos, MadridMan
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#89313 - 03/20/11 05:32 PM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: MadridMan]
Puna Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 07/07/00
Posts: 1437
Loc: Charlotte, NC. U.S.A.
Kudos on your comments MM! To each his own and besides, La Dolce Vita does not mean unsafe! It took me many visits to Madrid and years of wandering around - alone - to even figure out the women leaning against those lamposts were pros!

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#89319 - 03/23/11 06:42 AM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: Puna]
pedmar Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 02/26/06
Posts: 1445
Loc: Morbihan, France
"many visits to Madrid and years of wandering around - alone - to even figure out the women leaning against those lamposts were pros!"

hahahaha thats funny Puna Lol!!!
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http://paris1972-versailles2003.com/

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#89323 - 03/23/11 05:08 PM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: pedmar]
steve robinson Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 02/23/06
Posts: 1158
Loc: Hastings Old Town , England .
I take issue with MM's thoughts that the girls in Montera are dressed in "normal street clothes " ... I shudder to think what the streets of Ohio are like !!
As far as I can tell the pros are very easy to recognise , wearing skirts that could just about pass as a belt , fishnet tights , impossibly high heels and make-up that must have been applied by a plasterer's apprentice ( a bad one ) .
We have a phrase in the UK : " used and abused " , that's how I see these girls . You'd have to be pretty desperate to go with these girls .
But , they're doing a job , providing a service . Unfortunately it's the pimps that we should be concentrating on as they exploit these girls and take most of the money . They are the criminals , not the girls ( or boys ) .

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#89326 - 03/24/11 11:55 AM Re: Is Madrid safe for a woman alone? [Re: steve robinson]
MadridMan Offline


Executive Member

Registered: 05/06/00
Posts: 9080
Loc: Madrid, Spain (was Columbus, O...
I've seen those skimpy outfits on the "Pros" in the Casa de Campo and along some roadsides but never on the Calle Montera - I'm pretty sure I would've noticed the more scantily-clad "chicas". Or, maybe I only go on their "off" days. THIS deserves some on-the-spot, investigative reporting! (but from a distance, if you know what I mean wink )

Prostitution is not illegal in Spain. PIMPS and Mafias which control people ARE illegal in Spain, however. A substantial percentage of the working-girls are "Autonomos" (i.e. Self Employed), but I can't say they're in the majority.

Saludos, MadridMan
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