In order to avoid becoming a victim of crime on the streets of this wonderful city, here are a few tips:

- Do not carry large amounts of money when you leaving your apartment or hotel.
- Don’t let anyone invade your personal space while walking down the streets (whether they seem suspicious or not).
- Wear your bag diagonally across your chest and avoid wearing it on your shoulder. If possible, keep a hand on it at all times. If you must have a backpack, wear it on the front and not on the back as it should normally be worn.
- Even though it is important that you have a valid ID such as a passport with you, in case you decide to go shopping and you need to pay with your credit card, it is not recommend that you carry your passport with you. Take a photocopy of it and keep it somewhere safe in your bag.
- If you still want to take your passport or other ID documents with you, remember to photocopy them and leave the photocopy in your apartment or hotel.
- Carry your wallets and purses in your front pockets and never the back pockets. You will be surprised at just how easy it is to take a wallet or purse from a back pocket and before you realise, then perpetrator will be long gone.
- Whenever you leave a bus, metro or taxi cab, please remember to take all your belongings with you. If you are carrying a laptop, always keep it close to you and never leave your luggage or any other valuables unattended.
- It cannot be stressed enough that even in the busiest, safest looking places (bars and restaurants included), you are a potential target, so be aware at all times.

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Mugged by three men in 4x4 in broad daylight on the AP7. Forced on to hard shoulder. Lost £3k, passports, driving licences, Euro health cards, cheque books, credit cards - the lot. Had 93-year-old woman in the car at the time. Left totally stranded.

Beware - motorway mugging is very common around Barcelona, Alicante etc. Do not stop your car for any reason.

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So-called restaurant in Placa Reial. Rude service, hardly any Spanish staff or proper food, below-average food quality (pork undercooked, veg swimming in grease), not worth the minimum 40-minute wait. Such a shame as a great location. Avoid this place if you want service with a smile and decent Spanish/Catalan food. Never before not left a tip anywhere. Here was a very sad first, but well-deserved.

6 Placa Reial, Barri Gotic

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We left a 50 euro note on the table in payment of our bill. As we left the restaurant we were accused of not paying, were assaulted by the staff and a few minutes later stopped by police. We had to pay twice under the threat of having our passports confiscated. DO NOT LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE.

Via Layetana
Barcelona

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If you feel hassled and in need of a drink, be careful of this part of town. We had been desperately searching for 'churros' to satisfy the youngster, and felt our prayers had been answered when we saw a sign. We of course sat down without checking prices, and were amazed to see huge glasses arrive - they must have held a litre. On noticing that others also had them I checked a price list - 24 euros! On asking the waiter why we had not been asked if we wanted large or small drinks, we were told that our drinks were actually small, and that 'small' is always offered. This is utter rubbish because inside their bar everybody had normal small glasses. The scam here is to give people these big glasses and demand the money for the large drink they have jst started drinking. They bank on most people not questioning out of fear, and just wanting to leave. Many people needed a credit card to pay off their bill. We felt like fools, but our questioning meant that we only (!) paid 10 euros per drink. It took the edge off what has been a fantastic stay. Watch those drinks!

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Mastering the transport system early in a stay is a necessity to avoid too much foot-slogging. The Metro here appears, from the map, to have nearly as many lines and stations as the London underground. As with most cities a Tourist Card can be bought. Five days, about £15 and well worth it as it entitles you to free travel on all transport and discounts for museums etc.

But the Metro here is an aggressive one. Not the smoothness of Paris, nor the quaintness of Prague or Budapest, but instead, a hostile machine that only seconds before the doors close, sounds a peremptory signal. If by chance the safety device is triggered by a late-comer, the doors jerk open again with an angry hiss of hydraulics. There are no straps to hang onto and these trains stop and start violently.

It’s bad enough being in a crowded Metro in temperatures of 30 plus, but it’s your very worst nightmare come true when it grinds to a halt in the tunnel. Not an experience to be repeated. But it could happen in any Metro, London, Glasgow, Paris…

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La Rambla, that enormous avenue that stretches over a mile through the centre of Barcelona. An avenue, tree-lined, where pedestrians walk down the centre, and the traffic is consigned to the sides. It is here that the street entertainers reign, ranging from the Charlie Chaplin look-alike, to the girl who juggles crystal balls. Everyone walks here at night and most of the restaurants are open till one -at least.

While many of the good hotels are in busy areas, if a good night’s sleep is a priority, it’s as well to ask for a room, not with a view, but maybe at the rear of the building where there are rooftops and chimneys instead of noise.

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Beware of thieves and tricksters. We were robbed on the train from the airport, attempted theft outside Sagrada Familia, and we saw a scam in the Ramblas where a person was pretending to have lost his contact lens.

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I stayed at the Calella Hostal in the Barri Gotic. I omitted to lock my door first night and woke to find a man helping himself to the cash in my wallet. Even on later nights when I had to go to the toilet he'd be in my room quick as a flash (or should that be flush). So, keep your door locked at all times.

Calella is one of many hostels in the Barri Gotic

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