Europe's Top Pickpocketing Hotspots and How to Stay Safe

Be safe. You have a great time, but be aware. Hey there, fellow travelers. Mark here with Walters World. And today we're in Leon, France. And today we're going to talk about is something serious. The nine biggest pickpocketing cities in Europe. And you may say, Mark, if you're filming in Leon, is Leon one of them? No, Leon is not one of them. I'm filming here so I don't have to worry about getting my pocket picked while I film. Because the thing is though, you have to realize is pickpockets work all over. It's not just in the big cities. It's not just in the tourist locations. It can happen anywhere. The Basilica right there over my shoulder, when you walk in, they actually have a sign that says,

"Beware of pickpockets in the basilica." And when you're inside there, you understand that it's a beautiful basilica. You're too busy looking around that someone might come and pick your pocket. And the thing is, in this video, I just want to give you an idea of some of the more popular places where tourists get pickpocketed throughout Europe, so you can take extra care when you're there because honestly, people, they're professional pickpockers, professional thieves all over Europe. all over the world and they're going to target you wherever, not just in Paris, in Barcelona, but in the owner wherever. So, just be aware of it. Most times it's not going to happen to you, but remember the key thing is where there's lots of

tourists, lots of confusion, bottlenecks, those kind of things, those are easy picking stations, public transportation, that's where it happens. Okay, so let's start with our list. And number one, and what I've told you many times before, the biggest pickpocketing city in Europe is Barcelona, Spain. And I'm going to tell you the big place is on La Rambla. And there's actually cops on the Rambble trying to keep people from pickpocketing people, but still pickpockets are a scourge in Barcelona. On the Rambla is a big thing.

Going through the Bario Gautico, you do have that on the metro there. I mean, there are a lot of pickpockets there and you kn you do need to be careful. So, if you're going to the cigar famil, they work in there as well. So, do be careful. But Barcelona is number one. Number two on our list is Paris. Sadly, one of my favorite cities in the world is on this list. And in Paris, you know, you do have to realize it's young, old. I mean, anybody can be the ones going after you. And that's one thing in all these situations, all these cities, who you think might be the pickpocket might not be the pickpocket cuz they might dress up very, very nicely or they might be a little kid.

You always have to be thinking. But in Paris, Eiffel Tower, when you're going up there and you're all smooshed together with tourists, that could be an issue. If you're at the Lou, you'll see signs in the Lou saying be careful of the attention or pick pocket because there's pickpockets working at the museums on the metro, especially on the metro and you guard or guard to s when you're ever going in and out of the metro and the doors or you're going into the you where they let you in with the tickets. Be careful there. That's where pickpockets work quite a bit. Number three on our list is Rome. And in Rome, there's a few places they're they're worse. But metro, especially by the

Colosseum buses, any of the tourist buses, those ones you really got to be careful on, okay? Especially if you're sitting near the entrance and exit, be careful with that. But Colosseum inside Vatican City, I mean, they literally have signs in Vatican City saying beware of pickpockets. So, do be careful with that. Trevy Fountain, when everyone's trying to get their picture of them throwing the coin over their shoulder, they're not paying attention to the rest of their coins in their wallet cuz they're paying attention to the coin to throw over their shoulder. So do be careful there. Okay. And also in Germany station with all that confusion there, another big pickpocketing place. Now

another Italian city you need to be careful of and this is more because there's just so many tourists there at one time is Florence. In Florence when you're going to the duoma, when you're walking down the main street, you're going to the Ponte Veio, lots of people, small space, bottleneck stuff, very easy for, you know, pickpockets to get you and not realize it cuz so many other people are bumping into you. You do need to be careful with that. And that includes in the museums like you're in the efi or you're going to go to the you know the go see David at theademia do be aware in those situations and then you know my Italian trifecta I'm going to go with Naples is another place and

Naples I would say your biggest worry I would say is in the train station and if you're going for the Naples Central or you're going to be taking the kind of local Vuvia to go out to Pompei or Sarrento or whatever there's a lot that work there I mean and they'll get you they got my dad while he was paying for his tickets with the ticket guy in front of him, they got him. Okay? So, do be aware of that. Also, obviously, when you're going through the small parts of town, any of the, you know, shopping areas kind of stuff when you're there, the cathedral, these kind of things, just have your, you know, historic center kind of

stuff, buses, do be aware of it. Also, if you're taking, you know, any of the public transportation there, do just have a heads up. Okay. Now, let's go someplace else. Let's look at Prague. Another fun place to go. Prague basically all the pickpocketing is on one pathway from up on Castle Hill where the you know the big church is up there in the castle up on Castle Hill when you come down through Charles Bridge to uh the old town square literally all the tourists do that route and there's some spots where they get kind of smooshed together and when there's so many tourists together at one time obviously makes it easier for people to pickpocket. So I'll be honest

with you, you go two blocks outside of there I'm going to guess the number of pickpockings drops a lot. So, do be aware when you are walking through Prague in those really high tourist traffic areas. Next up, we have Istanbul. And Istanbul is such a cool city, but there are some things you need to be careful of. If you're at the Grand Bazaar or Toxin Square, that's where I'd really pay attention. Also, when you're taking the fairies cuz you're so busy looking and going, "Oh, there's Asia. There's Europe. There's Asia. Oh, that's cool. This is cool." You're not thinking about your stuff. So, therefore, pickpockets might get you on the ferry as well. Now, next up, we'll hit up Amsterdam. in Amsterdam.

Okay, the reason why pickpockets are there is you have a lot of tourists that are having a good time. And when you're having a good time, you're not always thinking, right? And therefore, the red light district, they know people having a little more fun. They're not paying attention to their wallet. They're a little bit loosey goosey-ish, easier to pickpocket. So, do be aware there. Also, if you're on the public transportation taking the trams and things, I would also pay extra attention there. Remember, put your bag in front of you. don't have it behind you on the metro or the trams or whatever, any of these places. Okay? So, just have a heads up.

Um, next up, sadly, one of my favorite cities. I actually lived there for 5 years. My son was born there. My youngest son was born there. Lisbon, Portugal. And Lisbon, because it's become so popular with tourists. When you go there, you see all those tuk tuks. And all those tourists in the summer, you're like, "Oh my gosh, what's going on?" As you go, "Oh my gosh, look at all those tourists." The pickpockets are drooling at all those tourists because the tourists like, "Oh, Portugal, it's so affordable. Well, I'll just have cash and do stuff and therefore people come. There are pickpockets there. I would say metro, the green line in Tendente, I've seen some issues there. Um, but the metro is where I've

seen most of the issues. Um, if you are in the, let's say, Bisha Balto district where there's a lot of like parties going out, but also a lot of tourists going through, where there's a shopping street, do pay attention there, too. It's not super bad, but it is one of those things that since it's become more popular, more pickpockets are there. And the thing is, sometimes these pick pockets, they're not pickpocketers. Sometimes they're scammers. You know, the three card monty or the card game or the pick where's the where the cup? Where's the ball? Those kind of things. Other ones are the, you know, the fake tourist

that's in trouble. Oh, I got my stuff stolen. Could I get a few euros so I can fly back home to South Africa or to London or wherever. You do have those. And those are things that also pop up in all these cities as well. And you know, there are other cities that do have pickpocketing. It's not just these nine, but these are the nine ones that I would say pay attention to those when you go there. And there's other ones I could put, you know, I could put Venice on here as well because you have so many people going around, so many tourists. So remember, so many tourists, more drooling for the pickpockets. So be aware of that. So I guess we could have it 10 and make Venice be the 10th one. So, not

necessarily when you're on Pa San Marco and the Dougal Palace, but when you're going those other ways, when you're going over the Rialto, when you're coming in and there's all those bottlenecks trying to figure things out, you're trying to figure out where to go cuz you think you're lost and they're going to pickpocket you there. So, just be aware of that and realize most likely you're never going to get pickpocketed. I, knock on wood, have not personally been pickpocketed all these decades of me coming to Europe. Now join, she got it once and she was changing clothes in the changing room and our friend was sitting next to Liam in his baby

stroller and they stole it out of the diaper bag. Okay, so crazy stuff happens. My mom, she got picked Oh, that was in Venza, Italy, random city. My mom, she got her bag taken. She had the old, "Oh, you got something on your shoulder, ma'am. Let me help you." They got her bag in Barcelona and the cops laughed at her. Okay, so I just want you to be aware of some places you need to pay more attention. Anyway, I wish you all the best. Be safe. if you have a great time, but be aware. And if you want help to avoid being pickpocketed, we have videos on that. Where picket pockets work, we have videos on that as well to help you out. I wish you all the best. I hope you enjoy Leon where you

don't have to worry too much about the pig pockets, but you never know. So, it's good to be careful. Bye from here, Leon.