There is a very good chance that you'll go to some of these places and not experience any kind of disturbance or robbery whatsoever, but in terms of the bigger picture, we're going with the odds and we're sorry if that causes any kind of offence. Generalisations aren't exactly the nicest things in the world, but in these cases, they certainly have a foundation.
With that being said, let's try and break this down in the best way that we can. Tourist attractions kind of make the world go round and we don't think that's an unfair thing to say, because people come from far and wide to see these spectacles in all different kinds of locations. From North America to Africa to Europe and beyond, it really is a wonderful sight to behold.
Alas, as much as safety might be of the utmost importance, there's a bit of a 60/40 split in terms of places that succeed and fail with their security measures. In some instances, you'll actually be able to spend money at will and have a grand old time, but on the other end of the spectrum, you have to watch your back - and that's not exactly pleasant.
Come hell or high water we'd still recommend that you get to as many of these entries as you can because they're all spectacular in their own right, but what we're trying to do is warn you to the best of our abilities. Thank us later (or don't).
25 GIVEAWAY: Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Singapore is an absolutely magnificent country, and we’re not even entirely sure that the word magnificent does it enough justice. It’s so forward thinking, it’s clean, and it has a real spirit and heart despite people thinking that it might be a little bit soulless.
Over the course of the last few decades the country of Singapore has been able to rise up through the ranks in ways that few people could’ve anticipated, becoming a ‘city of the future’ in the eyes of many.
The Gardens by the Bay (Marina Bay Sands), in particular, are remarkable, and 99.9% of folks who go there have a good head on their shoulders.
24 ROBBED: Christ The Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro
Ah, Rio de Janeiro. We’re talking about a city that has a very different vibe to somewhere like Singapore, and that’s not exactly a groundbreaking statement to make. Things in the country of Brazil, in general, move at a million miles an hour, and that is magnified in somewhere like Rio.
Christ the Redeemer is arguably the most famous landmark not only in Rio but in all of South America and as such, it draws a lot of attention – both good and bad. Whilst you should certainly go to the trouble of looking up and gazing at it, just be aware of your surroundings.
23 ROBBED: Eiffel Tower, Paris
We love Paris, we love France, and we love the Eiffel Tower. If you’ve never been to the city then we’ll warn you right now that it’s pretty difficult not to fall in love with the place, and even if you don’t, you still need to respect and appreciate the Eiffel Tower in all of its glory.
With that being said, there’s a tendency for people to linger around the gardens by the Eiffel Tower with the hope of catching people off guard. As much as the tourism board over there would like us to believe that’s all a myth, trust us, we’ve experienced it first hand.
22 GIVEAWAY: The Bean, Chicago
Out of all the things available to do in Chicago, The Bean certainly stands out as one of the more bizarre tourist attractions. We aren’t saying that to try and criticise it either because it’s certainly unique, it’s just that when you stop and see it, you tend to think “wow, right, erm, okay then”.
Thankfully it’s located in a nice part of the city which tends to mean that you won’t experience any real trouble, and given the reputation for crime in Chicago, we’d say that chilling out at The Bean tends to give you the opposite sort of feeling.
21 ROBBED: Central Park, New York City
We’re sticking to the States for our next entry, but this time, we’re heading slightly further east to The Big Apple aka New York City (yes we realise how weird it is that we’ve gone from The Bean to The Big Apple in consecutive entries, let it go people).
Central Park is one of the big bucket list items for folks who make the trip over to NYC, and to be perfectly honest, it’s not difficult to understand why. It’s a lovely place and it’s much bigger than you may initially think, although if you aren’t careful, you’ll be caught out by people who like to blend into the background.
20 ROBBED: Sagrada Família, Barcelona
One of the things you’ll tend to experience when you go to the Sagrada Familia is a bunch of people looking up and hurting their necks, because travellers are just so baffled and amazed by the fact that the structure is still incomplete. If you’re a fan of architecture, we guarantee that you’re going to absolutely love it.
Of course, this opens the door perfectly for a variety of tricky situations that could come your way and while we aren’t going to stereotype the entire city in this regard, the fact of the matter is that it’s more of a regular occurrence there than anywhere else in Spain.
19 GIVEAWAY: Big Ben, London
Despite the fact that Big Ben hasn’t been working to his full capacity over the course of the last few months, the bottom line is this: it’s an iconic and everlasting landmark, and people will travel very long distances in order to catch even just a minor glimpse of it.
Thankfully, for whatever reason, the area surrounding Big Ben is pretty good to visit if you want to avoid a robbery, and the variety of tourism stalls ensures that you’re going to be spending a lot more money than you’re losing.
Oh, and it helps that it’s an absolutely beautiful structure.
18 ROBBED: Walt Disney World, Orlando
Is Disney World the happiest place on Earth? There’s no possible way to answer that question to be perfectly honest with you, but it’s probably up there with some of the best of them (in that kind of market).
Unfortunately for everyone that goes there, some folks like to take advantage of big crowds as well as the idea that nothing can go wrong because you’re in an absolute paradise of a destination. So keep your eye on the ball, and don’t allow yourself to get complacent, because the next thing you know you could be in real trouble and that’s no exaggeration.
17 ROBBED: Great Pyramids of Giza, Giza
The Great Pyramids of Giza are absolutely remarkable – the area of Giza, as a whole, is not. From diapers floating through the air to the crippling heat you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’re enjoying the view, but you aren’t enjoying everything that comes alongside that view.
Egypt is a pretty murky country in this regard as a whole so, to be honest, this probably isn’t going to come as much of a shock to anyone that an entry like this is being included. With that being said it’s a nice place to visit, but you definitely need to take what we’ve said into consideration.
16 GIVEAWAY: Taj Mahal, Agra
India is a run down country in many respects with an awful lot of people living in poor conditions or outright poverty. Now while that fact may remain and it’s something that we need to do a lot more about than we are currently, the Taj Mahal represents everything great about the country.
It’s tall, majestic, and offers itself as a beacon of hope to all who come into contact with it. That might sound utterly hyperbolic but it couldn’t be any more accurate in our book, and we personally felt very safe when we were walking around the surrounding areas.
15 ROBBED: Grand Canyon, Arizona
Again, we’re dealing with an entry that may be seen as controversial by some, even though it couldn’t be any more accurate.
The Grand Canyon is a hypnotic kind of place in the sense that you can be completely ‘with it’ one minute, and then the next you’re in this kind of trance. Again, it sounds like we’re overestimating things but we’re really not, and it’s not all too difficult to ‘swipe and ride’ if you just so happen to be driving past the vicinity of it. You may disagree, but you should check it out for yourself to be sure.
14 GIVEAWAY: Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas
Las Vegas is and was a city that was seemingly built to contain and host mischief, and we’re so here for that. The Strip, in particular, is fairly stunning and we don’t mean that in the conventional sense whatsoever – because the morning after the night before in Sin City isn’t particularly pretty.
It’s a virtual guarantee that you’ll be giving away money like it’s going out of fashion regardless of whereabouts you are on the strip and while some people may criticise that notion, you’ll be able to feel safer than you will in most destinations and that can only be a good thing.
13 ROBBED: Berlin Wall, Berlin
The Berlin Wall is a fairly daunting place to go to in more ways than one, given the history of the area as a whole. Although, when you go there you’ll soon realise that there’s not much build up to it, and without even realising it’ll be right in front of your very eyes.
That can be dangerous because as you’re looking around trying to scout things out, you may not be paying all too much attention to the people around you. People like to think Germany is a safe country and they’re definitely right for the most part, but don’t be too gullible.
12 GIVEAWAY: Buckingham Palace, London
Ah, Buckingham Palace. There’s no denying that this place brings in a lot of money from a tourism perspective on a year to year basis.
In terms of security it’s probably one of the safest places in the United Kingdom, which is weird given that there isn’t all too much standing in the way of people just walking right up to the gates. Nonetheless, we’ve always felt pretty safe when going there and probably always will.
11 ROBBED: Grand Palace, Bangkok
The Grand Palace is a fantastic place and we need to get that out of the way before we say anything else, because it represents everything that we love about Bangkok as a city – and therefore Thailand as a country.
However, the Grand Palace is a hot spot for tourists, and a lot of outsiders will know that and therefore decide to flock towards it as a potential location to, well, you know what they’re there to do.
Remaining vigilant is especially important here because it’s so easy to get distracted by the nature of the buildings. Stay safe out there, everyone.
10 ROBBED: Bourbon Street, New Orleans
You can go right ahead and let the good times roll and you can spend as much time as you want having the time of your life on Bourbon Street – but the one thing, above all else, that you need to do is keep hold of your belongings, because it’s not all sunshine and rainbows contrary to what the television may tell you.
Bourbon Street is completely overhyped in our minds, especially by folks who travel there for big sporting events. It’s almost as if they build it up so much because they don’t want to be let down, and then it happens, but they don’t want to let anyone know that’s the case. Urgh.
9 GIVEAWAY: Great Wall of China, Beijing
The Great Wall of China is really really long, guys, in case you didn’t know, and that can bring a whole new array of challenges and obstacles.
The Beijing starting point, in particular, is quite interesting to figure out, but thankfully being robbed doesn’t tend to be one of the things that you need to worry about.
It doesn’t matter who you’re with or what kind of setting you’re in, because the Great Wall is fairly safe from beginning to end. Of course, you really do need to keep your wits about you all the same, but just try to relax at the same time.
8 ROBBED: Table Mountain, Cape Town
Table Mountain is gorgeous and we’d even stretch that to say that Cape Town, as a whole, is a beautiful city. Unfortunately it’s such a trek to get up there that you tend to let your guard down, and as we all know, that’s when you’re most vulnerable to a robbery.
It isn’t as frequent as some of the other spots on this list but it’s no secret that South Africa has a pretty unfortunate crime issue, and Cape Town isn’t immune to that. Make sure to keep your wits about you here and while it’s starting to sound like we’re repeating ourselves, it’s just the way it has to be.
7 GIVEAWAY: Palace of Versailles, Versailles
Just wow.
The Palace of Versailles is tremendous and while queuing up to get in can be a bit of a nightmare, you won’t care one bit once you’ve finally made your way inside. The patterns, the sights and the type of people you’ll meet will make it more than worth your time, and there are a collection of fantastic cafes and restaurants to keep you occupied too.
It’s a really safe location, even more so than Paris which is literally around the corner, and that’s all you really want to be looking for when you’re considering where you should go for a nice day out in France.
6 ROBBED: Red Square, Moscow
Everything you’ve heard about Red Square, and everything you’ve heard about Moscow, is true. It’s one of those places that does indeed represent the good and the bad of pretty much everyone who has ever been there, and we don’t really know what to make of that.
On the one hand heading to Russia can be a pretty fun thing to experience, but on the other, it can be risky. The rules and regulations are very different over there especially when you find yourself smack bang in the middle of the most popular square imaginable in the city of Moscow.