Is it dangerous to travel in Europe

Want to visit Rome, Venice, Paris, London, Barcelona ou Amsterdam but you wonder if it is dangerous or not to travel to Europe in 2024.

In fact, you dream of coming to Europe to discover mythical capitals, sublime landscapes, unmissable monuments, rich identities and cultures, legendary fashion brands without forgetting the discovery of wines and gastronomy!

Yes, but you see everywhere, on social networks or on television, scenes of violence, demonstrations that end badly, terrorist attacks taking place in Europe.

So you wonder: Is it safe to travel to Europe right now? What are the most dangerous cities in Europe? What are the places where it is safe to travel?

Well, you must know that I am French and that I love my country and Europe. But I will remain objective and communicate to you the study that I made on the safety of travelers in Europe.

I'm not just going to give you my humble opinion. Indeed, I did research and I synthesized a lot of reliable and serious information from the press, statistics and rankings.

This article was written with information available at the time of writing. It is therefore recommended to consult official advice and government recommendations updates about the risks of traveling to countries.

Is it safe to go to Europe – Sanitary conditions

In 2024, the majority of European countries no longer apply any COVID-19 travel restrictions to enter their territory (France, Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Finland, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Austria and Greece).

For passengers traveling by plane in Europe, they no longer need to wear a mask in European airports.

I update this article quite regularly but as the conditions may change, I recommend that you check for each country on the official website of the European Union: reopen.europa.eu

Is Europe dangerous?

How do you know if Europe is dangerous? Well, especially not by trusting the media. Indeed, television programs and social networks want to be spectacular and tend to exaggerate or show only the most violent images, often taking them out of context.

To know if Europe is a dangerous continent, we must be able to compare the criminality of European countries with that of other countries throughout the world.

To compare at the global level, you can consult the site Numbeo.com which classifies cities and countries by crime index and publishes this map:

Is Europe Dangerous - Crime Map — Card sourced on Numbeo.com

And if you look at the map above, you can see that the majority of European countries are in green or yellow. These two colors indicate low crime indices.

In comparison, we can clearly see that Europe is less dangerous than Africa, South America and even the United States andAustralia.

And to convince you that it is not dangerous to travel in Europe, I suggest you read the article from the New York Post: Avoid the world's most dangerous destinations.

Indeed, you will see that Europe is not at all at risk for travelers in 2024.

Terrorist risks in Europe

The old continent is rich in several centuries of history, an exceptional cultural heritage and incredible landscapes. As a result, Europe has a few destinations that tourists from all over the world want to discover.

But, it cannot be denied that there is a significant terrorist threat in Europe. Indeed, many attacks have already occurred in several European cities (Paris, Nice, Barcelona, London, Berlin, Brussels, Oslo, etc.). France is the country with the most. For more details, see the list and map of attacks in Europe from 2010 to 2021.

Fortunately, European countries and the European Community have put in place important measures to combat terrorism (consilium.europa.eu). And its measures are beginning to be effective. Indeed, the number of attacks decreased from 2020 to 2021 and there were 1560 people who were arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offences.

We should also remember that terrorist risks also exist in other tourist destinations outside Europe (Indonesia, Philippines, India, Egypt, Tanzania, Turkey, United Kingdom, etc.). See study on statista.com. However, these countries also attract tourists from all over the world who do not ask themselves the question of the terrorist risk as for Europe. Could it be the media's fault?

Risks linked to demonstrations

Demonstrations for social demands are quite frequent in Europe and especially in France. We remember the conflicts with the yellow vests which were particularly violent.

However, in general the demonstrations are planned because they are subject to the authorization of the municipal or national authorities.

So, except for the demonstrations of the yellow vests which no longer take place (fortunately!), these crowd movements are supervised by the police and do not present serious problems.

But, as there may be stone throwing or smoke grenades, tourists are advised to stay away from places where gatherings are held. In addition, they can find out from their hotel if demonstrations are planned in order to avoid them.

Which countries to avoid in Europe?

Is it dangerous to go to Europe right now? Some of you may ask this question in relation to the war in Ukraine. Indeed, Ukraine has borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

Without having sufficient skills or geopolitical knowledge, I can simply advise you to avoid these Eastern European countries until the war is over.

You should also know that these borders are far from the most beautiful destinations in Europe like Paris (1900 km or 1180 miles), Lisbon (3500 km or 2200 miles), Barcelona (2300 km or 1500 miles), London (2100 km or 1300 miles) or Amsterdam (1500 km or 930 miles).

In fact, all the countries that tourists visit in Europe are far from the conflict zone in Ukraine. So don't be afraid to come to Europe because of its proximity to Ukraine.

Is Europe safe for tourists?

Yes, tourists can continue to come to Europe in 2024. Indeed, apart from minor crimes such as theft of handbags or mobile phones, visitors are not in danger on European tourist sites as they may be in Mexico (Cancun, Los Cabos, Acapulco), To Soundor a Rio de Janeiro or to Cape Town.

Tourists traveling to Europe should pay particular attention to:

around tourist attractions,
near train stations and in the metro.

As everywhere, tourists must remain cautious and avoid dangerous areas of major European cities and capitals. To help you, you will find on this blog all my advice on the neighborhoods to avoid in the most touristic cities in Europe.