Madrid

Go, but pay attention.

Numbeo's Safety Index puts Madrid at 71/100 for crime — that makes it read about the same as than Spain's national picture overall (70/100 vs 70/100).

Verified Sep 9, 2026Confidence high
70Sketch Score

City page · part of Spain

The one number a country page can't give you

What people who actually live in Madrid report

Numbeo aggregates thousands of resident-submitted perception surveys into a per-city Crime Index (higher = worse) and its inverse, a Safety Index — the only real city-granularity crime signal feeding this page, alongside Spain's national advisory, political, health, and police-trust data.

Crime Index

29.0

Safety Index

71.0

Source: Numbeo, user-submitted →

Sub-scores

Same real inputs as Spain's national page, with crime swapped for Madrid's own Numbeo number above.

78advisoryConsensus
50Political Stability
69Police Trust
76Health
91Road Safety
61Natural Disaster
90LGBTQ+
71Crime

Local know-how

Staying safe in Madrid, specifically

  • • Madrid is a very safe city, with some of the lowest crime rates among Europe's largest cities.
  • Neighbourhoods and suburbs: As with any place on earth, there are parts of Madrid and its metropolitan area that are less appealing and, consequently, less safe than others.
  • • The Malasaña area, located north of Gran Via, is a lively bohemian neighbourhood, but it is also known to attract seedy crowds late at night.
  • Football: Despite the notoriously intense and politically-charged rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, most people will not care if you wear an FC Barcelona football shirt, and in fact you wi…
Source: Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA) →

Legal status (national law)

Legal since 1979 + UN decl. sign.

Source: Wikipedia — LGBTQ rights by country →

Pack this, know this

The little things that trip people up

🔌

Plug & voltage

C / F · 230V

🚗

Driving side

right

🚨

Emergency

police: 112 / ambulance: 112 / fire: 112

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Tipping

Tipping, or "propina" in Spanish is not mandatory nor considered customary in Spain. As a result, you may find that waiters are not as attentive or courteous as you may be used to since they don't work for tips.

Cash vs. Card

€500 banknotes are not accepted in many stores—always have alternative banknotes.

How this compares to Spain

Numbeo's Safety Index puts Madrid at 71/100 for crime — that makes it read about the same as than Spain's national picture overall (70/100 vs 70/100).

See the full Spain page and all receipts →

Other Spain cities on SKETCH.WORLD