For any of you that have traveled to Europe over the past 2 - 3 years, has the influx of migrants influenced or detracted from your experience? Or no problems at all, everything rosie? Looking for info generally concerning countries of Ireland, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Greece. I used to live in Italy, have visited England and Austria but that was years ago.
Trying to plan a trip for the wife and I and I’m not sure who to believe anymore ref: the news reports of migrants, no go zones, etc.

There is so much to see in the U.S. I don’t know as I’d like to drop a bunch of money on an experience in Europe that I may be disappointed in.

Not sure how much help this is but I thought I'd respond anyhow.

About a year ago, we flew to Rome, Italy and did the touristy things, Vatican, Colosseum etc. I'm always the observant one while traveling especially abroad. I didn't feel unsafe but I knew and was aware of the gypsies, pick pocketers and general safety concerns in the tourist traps and being targeted.

We then took a cruise to Barcelona with stops in Greece along the way. Barcelona was fine, no issues to report, just again aware of the surroundings.

Since we stayed in the tourist areas, no issues to report. I am sort of in the same spot of planning the big birthday for the wife and really debating on going abroad or staying in the US eg Hawaii or say the FL keys..

Not first-hand experience here, unfortunately, but my son is
currently studying abroad in Czechia and has been doing a lot of travel on weekends.

He was also in Italy for a short-term (three week) program last Spring.

In general, has felt ‘safe’ in all of the countries that he has been in. He travels (mostly) in groups, does not draw attention to himself / themselves, tries to ‘fit in’ wrt to looks (attire) and behavior, is cautious about where it is ‘o.k. to go’ and where it is ‘not o.k. to go’, is aware of interactions with people he does not know that seem suspicious, especially when approached by two or more people at the same time.

He is always on the lookout for pick-pocketers and they only consume drinks in bars or elsewhere that they have 100% control over.

He has not mentioned anything specific or in general about ‘migrants’ in the countries that he has been in, nor have I asked (yet), which I would interpret as a ‘good thing’.

His credit-cards are in a RF shielded wallet.

He also checks the U.S. Dept. of State website for travel advisories (as do I).

Because he left for Czechia at the end of October the attack on Israel just before that had me freaking out BIG TIME, afraid that the outbreak of massive conflicts across the world would impact him and our family in some horrible way.

Following Czechia he will spend some addt’l. time in Europe and then go to South Africa for another short-term program, then home for the summer (working at his college).

Country list -

Italy
Czechia
Austria
Belgium
Germany
Poland
Netherlands
France
Monaco
Croatia (this weekend)
Spain
Turkey
So. Africa
Romania
USA! USA!! USA!!!

I picked up my boss & his wife from IAH last night after 10 days in Europe.
Netherlands, France, Belgium, Netherlands loop.
No mention of any of that in their brief trip recap.

Just spent two weeks in England in Feb/Mar of this year and a week about two years ago in 2022. No issues at all, other than driving on the other side of the road. But then I was up in the middle and north country, not in London.

It is actually surprising how "white" the middle and north towns are. But they do like "curry". And the music is all classic brit/euro. You don't hear much hip hop or country. But I will say that if you listen to Irish/English folk enough you can hear where American country came from.

I was last there in July, 2022 and am headed there again in June. I was and will be in Germany, Austria and CZ. Never an issue. Last time I walked around Munich, it felt like I was in a middle eastern city, but I never felt unsafe. The sketchy areas in major cities tend to be near the main train stations.

We travel frequently, and honestly the places that have made me most nervous are Seattle and NYC. They rank up there with Cartagena, Columbia! I always feel I need to keep quite alert. Enough so that it detracts from the fun. I have had to either divert our movement or keep close watch on someone acting suspicious to the extent that they know I'm watching and they walk away.

In Europe we use public transportation and walk. Never a problem other than a few people trying to sell knick knacks to tourists. We definitely give off the "Not Interested" vibe. Pickpockets are problematic in some places, though we've never had an issue, possibly because we don't engage with street vendors. There are plenty of scams, such as exchange rate conversions on credit card purchases (always buy in local currency and let your credit card company do the conversion, or pay cash in local currency), and ATM fees.

My mother lives in England and we spend a fair amount of time there. We have never had any problems in London or out in the countryside towns. Birmingham though can be rough after dark.

Last year we spent time in Munich, Nuremberg, Dachau, Vienna, and Budapest aside from day tours with a river cruise at smaller towns. We used trains, buses, and walked all over. Never a problem in any of those places.

We generally don't go out at night. If we do it is to find a restaurant we can walk to by the hotel, and we don't stay out past about 9pm. I think if you don't wander out of the main touristy parts, and be especially cautious after dark, you are safe from violent crimes.

I travel overseas usually once a year at least, Europe a lot more than other regions. Generally, the areas where foreign tourists go, the attractions and areas where the hotels are located, those illegals are far away. If anything the police and local gov know, that if tourists become victims or, feel fearful due to aggressive behavior then the attraction of their location will be tarnished. Unlike in the US, low-income & government housing is located on the outskirts of the cities, whereas in the US, city centers are black-holes of despair.

Most criminal issues are petty crime: pick-pocketing, selling of counterfeit or, stolen goods, over-eager panhandling, etc.; if the vendor has their goods spread-out on a blanket or a sheet on the sidewalk...keep going. Popular location you're ALWAYS going to attract people looking for handouts, just be aware: areas around the Coliseum, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Eifel Tower, Trafalger Square, Times Square, Pier 39, Venice Beach, Centennial Olympic Park etc...all of them have the same street hustlers and people looking for handouts.

Train stations & bus stops are about the only places you'll certainly come across questionable characters, however that's no different than any city in the US; in fact European train stations and bus stops are a lot safer than what we have in the US. If people want to travel to super-safe, antiseptic environments, try Disney World or a cruise. Just be aware of your surroundings, have a good idea of where you're located and not present yourself as being susceptible to scams & tricks.

The main thing is to not look like a vulnerable mark, I took my parents to Austria, Slovenia & Italy a few years ago. They're older and on their first int'l trip in over a decade. My mom was completely absentminded, completely distracted by attractions, forgetting to zip-up her purse. My biggest fear was her picture-taking; she'd step-out into the street without regard to traffic to get a picture of a building, one time she stepped in front of a bus(!) fortunately all that happened was teh driver leaning on the horn and a dirty look. My dad was openly gripping about going over bridges in Venice with luggage, low & behold, a very eager man comes out, eagerly grabs his luggage and walks it over the bridge for him. My dad is thinking he's a nice guy, I'm digging into my pocket to pay-off this guy a couple of Euros while shooting my dad a dirty 'you know better' look.

American tourists won't notice any impact of immigration to Europe because they typically have no local experience based upon which they could recognize it (unless they're of the "everyone outside the US is a potential dangerous immigrant anyway" ilk, in which case they're unlikely to be tourists in the first place). Rather, most extra caution they exercise when travelling Europe is a projection of their own domestic experience. Europeans tend to be confused when Americans ask them whether it's "safe" to go to or transit some area. I remember an East European member on another board chuckling about some insisting to drive what would have been a walk of some minutes between his office, their hotel and/or railway station.

Sure there's panhandlers, street crime and sketchy city parts, but the latter take some conscious effort to seek out. And while I haven't done that to explore the notorious banlieus of Paris, I'm pretty sure nothing in Europe compares to the guided tour I had of North Baltimore where they advise you not to stop at red lights after dark, or missing the highway turnoff for the direct road to USS New Jersey and finding yourself on a street posted as a "safe corridor" through Camden. In fact, if the recent high-profile Neuschwanstein castle rape-murder case is any indication, the biggest threat to American tourists in Germany are probably other American tourists approaching them with "hello compatriots, let's stick together in this foreign place".

Just an FYI if you haven't thought about it, but the Olympics are in Paris this year. I'd stay clear of that city personally. Not because of any danger, but prices and crowds will be crazy.

We’re in Prague about halfway through a 2.5 week cruise with Viking. Zero problems. We began with five hotel nights in Berlin, three on our own. No problems.

The tourist areas of Berlin were fine, in another district we did see some homeless (who appeared to be Eastern European), they reminded me of people near the Munich train station (last year’s trip).

There may be lots of harmful immigrants in Europe, but they have not bothered us.