Travel Ideas

Barcelona is a world-class city with unrivaled architecture, culture, and history. More good news concerns its overall safety: incidents of violent crime, like sexual assault and murder, are very rare, according to the U.S. Department of State, which provides travel information on its official website. Yet have a chat with someone who has spent significant time in Spain's biggest cities (Barcelona or Madrid) and chances are they know someone who's been pick-pocketed or had something stolen - if they haven't fallen victim themselves. It's a reality in any major European city - Paris and Rome are also infamous for this - but Barcelona's tourist spots seem to be a special haven for petty thievery. Here are some areas to avoid in Barcelona, along with some reliably safe places:

When it comes to Americans' perceptions of fun Southwestern vacation spots, New Mexico is usually overshadowed by its more glamorous and publicized neighbors to the North and West, Colorado and Arizona. In fact, The Land of Enchantment's largest city, Albuquerque, is known more for its funny name – or as some backward, out-of-the-way place you might end up should you take a wrong turn. In reality, this city is a natural playground that's probably unrivaled for exploring the outdoors. One of the west's best family vacation spots, Albuquerque has fewer tourists to jockey against, which leaves significantly more room for exploring. Below is an itinerary for a perfect day, chock full of fun things to do in Albuquerque with tweens.

Travel to nearly any corner of the globe – a slum in Cairo, a trendy Paris cafe, a market in Delhi – and tell a local you're from Chicago. It shouldn't surprise you that their perception of Chicago is one of a lawless, siren-wailing war zone where Al Capone roams the streets and machine gun battles rattle the night. "Al Capone. Bang! Bang!" is as common as a comment about Michael Jordan and President Obama.