Visitors should also be aware that their rental-car licence plates often signal that they are tourists. To save money, many of France's rental cars are registered in the Marne region and therefore have licence-plate numbers ending with 51. So don't leave your belongings in a car. But the city's pickpockets, muggers and scam artists are skilled at choosing their victims, and tourists are their preferred targets. Increasingly, city officials and foreign embassies are urging tourists to beware in Madrid.
Petty crime is on the rise.
Some cons are old hat, such as squirting mustard on the shirt of a passer-by or dropping keys at a tourist's feet or simply asking directions any distraction while a pickpocket goes to work. Once in Madrid proper, it's a good idea to keep your passport, credit cards, traveller's cheques and any large amounts of cash in the hotel safe. Petty criminals logically operate where tourists hang out, in the most attractive and lively parts of the city, such as the Plaza Mayor, the Plaza de Santa Ana, the Plaza de Espana, the area around the Prado Museum and the Retiro Park. The answer is to take some minimal precautions, such as keeping away from the Puerta del Sol, a square now favoured by drug dealers, or taking a taxi back to the hotel after enjoying a late show in a flamenco bar, or not carrying anything too valuable. Alan Riding Compiled by world correspondents of The New York Times.