Rick Steves wrote: I think this is a wild exaggeration. Maybe I'll go there one early evening, pockets empty just in case, to see for myself. Yes, this is an area where a lot of homeless people and prostitutes hang out, probably even some small-scale drug-deals going on, but none of these people generally bother "common folk". Funny about Madrid and Spain in general is that if you're not looking for any of this stuff they tend to leave you alone. But none of this makes the area "particularly dangerous". However, if I'd never been to Spain before, coming from the USA, I'm sure that, yes, my perception would have been "DANGER! DANGER! ILLICIT ACTS ARE TAKING PLACE!" But illicit acts don't equal danger to the passerby.

Saludos, MadridMan