🇪🇺 Safety & security Theft prevention

The three pickpocket routines in Europe (Paris, Rome, Barcelona) and how to beat them

Famous sights and metro stations in Europe are where professional pickpocket teams work. Preparation prevents almost all of it.

As of 2026-08-18

This is the Safety & security item for a trip to Europe. The 3 checkpoints below can only be settled properly before you leave — put them off and you queue at an airport desk or spend the first day on them instead. Work through them once and nothing has to be reopened.

Key checkpoints

The petition or survey routine: a sheet of paper is held up to block your view while a hand goes into your bag below it
The doors-closing grab on trains and metros: do not use your phone in the seat next to the door
A phone or wallet left on an outdoor restaurant table is an invitation

What to do before departure, in order

Two rules decide the order. First, anything with a deadline — pre-registration, bookings, documents to be issued: miss the cut-off and there is no substitute. Then whatever also works locally, which costs little to postpone.

Most of the items above can only be done before you leave. After arrival, patchy connectivity and opening hours make them harder, so finish what you can while you are still at home.

What to pay attention to in Europe

In Europe the practical preparation is not entry itself but personal security. Pickpocketing is common around dense tourist areas and on public transport.

If your itinerary crosses several countries, check each country’s rules separately.

Also worth checking for this destination

For this destination it is worth reading these as well.

Official sources behind this article

The steps, fees and deadlines above were checked against 1 official source listed below — pages published by the body that runs the scheme itself, with the issuing institution named after each. Where they disagree with this page, they are right. Fees and forms change without notice, so open them once more before you travel.

Baggage rules covered by this article

1 item named in this article is also governed by airport screening and airline rules. Check the cabin/checked verdict before you split your bags. The verdicts below are about what may fly; an item the destination country bans outright is a separate matter.

The rules behind those baggage verdicts

The baggage verdict above follows from 2 Korean rules listed below, named in the original Korean because that is how they are indexed at the national law database. These are the rules themselves, not an airline summary — when screening staff disagree, this is the text that decides. What they settle is whether an item may fly; an item the destination country bans outright is governed by that country's own rules.