Hi everyone,
I am planning an 18-day trip traveling from Paris -->Strasbourg-->Heidelberg-->FrankfurtVenice-->Florence-->Rome. With a group of 4, it’s our first time to Europe. We will stay in the 7th district near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I’d heard some unpleasant stories about pocket-picking in Paris & Rome. Most of the cases happened in metro/station
etc. Could anyone give us some suggestion regarding the safety
..say avoiding any specific lines of metro or district. Etc. Thank you very much ^__^
Reply to this Hiya,
Western Europe is generally very safe, except for the obvious things, like pick-pocketing, which can be avoided with common sense. I don't think you need to avoid anywhere at all, really. In Paris, for example, the dodgiest place is Monmatre for sure, but if you wern't to go to Pigalle metro etc you would miss out on a great multicultural part of the city and the beautiful Sacre-Coeur. Venice is a case of avoiding the very small back alleys and sticking to the main canals at night. As for Rome, don't hang aorund Termini Station at night, just don't, at least not alone.
The problems tend to happen to naive people. I met one girl from America in Milan wo just left her bag on a baggage trolley and turned around, it was gone in an instant. Others have been apporached by a 'friendly' stranger while his mate removes the contents of your pockets. Just don't be naive.
I have done a lot of European travelling, and never had a problem, don't worry - have a great time.
Reply to this I agree, there's no particular place to stay away from; you've just got to be smart. Don't carry your wallet in your back pocket if you're a guy; put it in an inside jacket pocket or at least your front pocket. For women, get a purse with two closes, like a zipper and a clasp. And keep money/credit cards/etc split in a couple of different places. And just be aware. Don't get so excited about seeing stuff that you forget to watch out for your personal belongings.
Reply to this be careful while traveling in Italy...as mentioned avoid the dark alleys at night and avoided crowded rodes in Rome..in one incident it happend to be we almost had our hand bag cut partially by sharp blades while walking on street in Rome...you can undertand what i am trying to say.
Reply to this You can be much safer in Europe than in USA that is for sure.
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