Is Barcelona Safe for Solo Female Travelers?

Barcelona is generally safe for solo female travelers. The crime rates are relatively low, however pickpocketing and bag snatching are common in crowded places and on public transportation. Basic precautions like avoiding deserted areas, not flaunting wealth or valuable possessions, and being vigilant on the street and in the metro, especially after dark, should ensure a safe stay.

Safety rating

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How safe is Barcelona?

Safety at night:

Safety at night:Moderate

Barcelona, generally holds a decent level of safety. However, during the night time, especially if you're alone, it is advisable to stick to well-lit, populated areas. Unwanted attentions or pickpocketing incidences can happen, particularly in tourist-centric locations. Public transportation is reliable and often preferred. Overall, maintain awareness of your surroundings and take general precautions as you would in any other city.
Public transportation:

Public transportation:Safe

Public transportation in Barcelona is safe, reliable, and well-maintained. It includes a comprehensive network of metro lines, buses, trams, and trains. Furthermore, they run frequently and even late at night. However, caution needs to be exercised, as in any crowded place, against pickpockets and minor thefts. Special attention should be placed on your belongings. Despite this, it still remains a secure and efficient way to move around the city.
Street harassment:

Street harassment:Low

Barcelona is generally considered safe for solo female travelers, with locals respectful of personal boundaries. Street harassment is not a rampant issue, with most of the concerns revolving around pickpocketing. That said, it's always important to stay vigilant, especially in crowded tourist areas. However, women should feel relatively comfortable moving around the city, at day or night, without facing significant harassment or discomfort.
Petty crimes:

Petty crimes:High

Barcelona, despite being a fantastic city with vibrant culture and breathtaking architecture, unfortunately has a comparatively high rate of petty crimes. Tourists often face thefts, pickpocketing, and scams, particularly in crowded areas such as popular tourist sites, beaches, and public transport. Often these crimes are non-violent; however, the frequency can be disconcerting. It's crucial to be cautious, stay vigilant about your belongings, and be aware of your surroundings when exploring the city.

Is Barcelona worth visiting?

Overall rating

4.5 /5

based on 124 experiences from female travelers

Things to do

4.5/5

Safety

4/5

Food

4.4/5

Budget-friendly

3.3/5

Couple travel

Overall experience it was nice, quite expensive (not as expensive as UK though haha). Tapas were extraordinarily good and sangria as well. I must’ve spent around 60€ per day, because attractions were quite expensive. Recommend buying tickets for Sagrada Familia in advance, as we went there and all the times were fully booked. And expensive, too. But you can get your belly full by eating tapas and snacking from Mercado hehe

Posted: April 2, 2025
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Solo travel

I didnt feel that safe.but It was overall nice i have been loving my whole Life in Madrid and seeing the beach seeing the Life and the Big streets It was actually really really nice i Will repeat pretty soon

Posted: March 14, 2025Experienced: February, 2019
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Solo travel

I felt very safe. I stayed at Kabul party hostel and it was amazing they have activities everyday. I met so many people with who i went to party, walked around. I deffinetly raccomend Parc Guel or the Bunkers where you have the whole panorama of the city

Posted: March 3, 2025Experienced: January, 2025
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Olympia

Olympia

Sweden

Group travel

First time traveling to barcelona with a friend🫶🏽 Overall I felt safe, heard a lot about there being a lot of pickpockets which made me less safe. but nothing happened to us. We were there for 3 days and we managed to see everything we wanted to see - arc de triumph, sagrada familia, ciutadella park, las ramblas, barcelona beach and harbor. and it was really (!!!) worth seeing. The food was great, and the waiters and staff were so nice which made it an even better experience. but, it was more expensive than other cities, like madrid or alicante, although it could be because of the restaurants own prices and locations. we didn't really have a budget but in my opinion 3 days in barcelona wasn't that expensive. I spent around 3500 (300 euros) INCLUDING THE HOTEL which was 1300 (110 euros) for 2 nights, so the total price WITHOUT the hotel was 2200 SEK (190 euros) which went mainly to food and drinks, but also metro, taxi. We stayed at Sant Agusti Hotel which was a 2 minute walk (200 meters) to las ramblas. Our room was amazing and the breakfast as well. there was a small square just outside with a few bars and restaurants but if you want more, you just go past the square and is at las ramblas. We mainly walked, but to get to the airport and train station we took the metro or taxi (we could have walked to the train station but since we had bags we thought it would be easier to take a taxi) Overall my first Barcelona experience was great, we loved the food, the people and the places we visited. we will definitely travel to barcelona again.

Posted: February 15, 2025Experienced: December, 2024
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Solo travel

I was in Barcelona for 4 days in a solo trip. The city is not too expensive, and I felt much safer than I though I would. There are so many activities to do (during the day and the night as well). It’s also perfect for trekking!!

Posted: February 6, 2025
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Eva

Eva

Norway

Family travel

I was in Barcelona with my sister. I felt safe during night and I liked food there. Prices are cheap (10€ for 1 kg of shrimps) it’s cheap for me 😅 because I’m living in Norway 🇳🇴. But I didn’t like that people don’t know English,the biggest income in Barcelona is tourists and people (old generation,millennials) could learn some basic words and sentences. A lot of tourists traps where they can charge more then in normal shop so be aware. I understand that Barcelona had enough tourists all this years but still,5 words in English not so hard to learn. 7/10

Posted: February 4, 2025
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Solo travel

A lot of people were concerned about me because I was going to solo trip to Barcelona. I felt safe. The city was safe. Still everyone should be careful ofc. Because I am not a fan of the things that I can see online (attractions 😅), I was mainly walking around the streets and visited only a few attractions. So I definitely would recommend the park near Sagrada Familia and also Barceloneta Beach. I spent around 150€ for 3 days (for food and drinks), keep in mind I was not budgeting. You could definitely spend less.

Posted: January 26, 2025Experienced: January, 2025
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Charlotte

Charlotte

France

Solo travel

Had a wonderful time in Barcelona! Art, food, people... everything was amazing. My artsy heart was fulfilled with all museums and such cool places. + : near Barcelona, try to go to Montserrat, it's is such an incredible place, clearly a must-see!

Posted: December 30, 2024Experienced: April, 2024
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Solo travel

I felt safe, surprisingly, I heard a lot about the pickpocketing. I stayed for 2 nights in Hostel Grau which was located near the famous street. I liked the homey feel of this hotel. February was a surprisingly good time to visit, I had blue skies and nice temperatures.

Posted: November 15, 2024Experienced: January, 2023
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Prisha

Prisha

United Kingdom

Group travel

It was such a fun experience. We mostly did touristy areas and walked around a lot. To travel, I would definitely recommend using the metro, it was super easy to navigate and pretty cheap, definitely buy the 10 round trip ticket if you're planning to stay for more than 3 or 4 days ( saves money ) Must visit places are: - Sagrada familia: literally the most famous place in Barcelona and really impressive to look at, especially if you're a bit of an architecture and history nerd like me. I wouldn't recommend visiting at night, the lighting coupled with the gothic architecture makes it look more like a haunted place. I went in both the morning and night and my morning pics turned out MUCH better - Las Ramblas: a really busy and crowded street but it's like a major shopping street. There were so many cute little stalls and shops and it was a pretty fun experience walking down it and window shopping. - Boqueria market: it's in las ramblas and was one of my favourite parts of my trip. The whole vibe and different colours and foods was really nice. I didn't buy anything because everything was ridiculously overpriced ( like the exact same things were being sold like 10 steps outside the market section for less than half the price. But if you do want to buy from inside it, go further down, don't just buy it from the entrance because most stalls sold the same things but at cheaper prices at the back than at the front. - Barcelona Cathedral: really pretty and grand. Just don't get scammed by the people who are wearing white/ clown like face paint outside. They come up to you, don't leave you alone until you take a picture and then demand for money. It may not be all of them but definitely be aware. One lady chased my friend around for like 5 minutes. - there are so many more places like Gaudi's house, casa batillo, the art museum, a palace, the gothic quarters ( I didn't go into much detail about this but a definite, just be aware that it's quite crowded so don't expect pics like the ones on Google), park guell etc. ( Don't remember all of their exact names)

Posted: November 6, 2024
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Is Barcelona safe for women?

Safety index

3.6 /5

Based on 80 local experiences

Crime index

2.7 /5

Based on 80 local experiences

Barcelona is not a safe city to be honest, there's a lot of harrashment but is usually not from locals, as is a city with a bunch of different cultures, you find a lot of different people who think they can do what they want...

Posted: April 1, 2025
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If you stay where are a tons of people is quit safe, but always watch your back and never go alone during night or in a dangerous streets. But, I think that during the day and even if you go alone, nothing will happen, but remember to always have your bag in front of you.

Posted: March 23, 2025
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Meet locals in Barcelona

ITA

ITA

About Me

Hey, this is Ita, I love videogames and reading! I like making new friends and traveling! Nice to meet you all!

Speaking

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Miriam

Miriam

About Me

Hola! I'm Miriam, a 25 yo girl from Málaga (southern Spain) living in Barcelona. I'm a psychology graduate currently studying a master's degree in clinical psychology. And I'm also vegan🌱

Speaking

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Stay with locals in Barcelona

Ona

Ona

Barcelona

Can host for:

3 days

About me

Hello, I'm student of second of nursery. I want to see the world and live a lot of experiencies. I can host one person only one night because i live with my family

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Gabriela

Gabriela

Barcelona

Can host for:

4 days

About me

Hi! I’m an international student staying in Montreal. I’m looking for an acommodation in vancouver to visit the city.

Speaking

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Upcoming visitors to Barcelona

Soha

Soha

About Me

I am adventurous and flexible. I love learning about different cultures, languages and perspectives. Let's sit down, have some tea, and talk about life.

Speaking

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Andrea

Andrea

About Me

Hi everybody! I'm new to TravelLadies. I am a Health Educator from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷, I work in the sexual health and gender-based violence prevention for children and adolescents field. I did my Bachelor's in Psychology and then my Masters in Public Health. I am currently pursuing a graduate degree in Comprehensive Sexual Education. I love dancing to anything, singing my heart out at karaoke, and watching movies and TV series. I enjoy learning about other countries through the eyes and stories of the people who live there. I’m always eager to learn something new and embrace new experiences. I love nature— mountains, beaches, forests, lakes, you name it! I always try to squeeze in a hike in every place I visit. And I am a big foodie 😋 My friends would say I'm open-minded, fun, empathetic, passionate, and funny. I care a lot about people and always try to help out in any way that I can. I'm very close with my family and friends and am in a loving relationship. 💖

Speaking

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Safety in Spain