MiaA

I am an 18 year old African American female and I am in a travel abroad program with my college. I was just curious because this will be my first time traveling abroad.I heard from some of my other black classmates that they had bad experiences with racism while traveling abroad in europe. I know that I will have a good time but just to be on the safe side I wanted to know the places in europe that arent too keen on black folks so I could avoid them. I will be traveling around Eastern Europe and The Mediterranean.

CityOfEmotions

Eastern Europe is amazing! Romania and hungary are beautiful countries and I doubt they are racist becuase they have alot of gypsies. The mediteranian,well Italians are not racist but if you are going to spain(ONLY the north) I would be careful ver hurtful people,but not in them editeranian parts of spain. There are racists everywere but,I think you will have a blast!

tartu22224930

I lived in both Estonia and the Czech Republic in the last six years. I'm a white male, but I came into contact with Black people while I was in both countries. In both countries these folks found that white people always stared at them as if they'd never seen a black person before. And the truth is that for many of them this was the case. I lived in rather small towns in both countries, by the way. I was told that in larger cities it isn't as obvious that people are surprised, or shocked, or whatever. There is a lot of racism towards Romas (aka: gypsies) all over Europe. They are absolutely hated by most people in Europe. Think of the American south after the end of Reconstruction to get an idea of what it's like for them.Having said all of that, I think that you should be okay. You're American, and that'll work in your favor. Black Africans are thought of as 'sex-workers' by many whites in Europe. If you go to Prague and see what some Black Africans have to do to live, you'll know what I mean. Good luck! I think for the most part you'll have a blast. But don't be surprised if someone asks to touch your hair or your skin (it happened to an Ethiopian woman I know in the Czech Republic).

aleksanderk

One biggy that pops into my mind is SPAIN because of its recent racial scandals -

t_maia20005208

If you are travelling in a group or in a structured program you should be safe. Places to avoid would be small cities at night in areas with high unemployment, especially in Eastern Europe, Germany and Austria. It is also not a good idea to walk alone into a pub or beer place with a lot of drunk white folks. Steer clear of those places.tartu's answer is very good, btw.

macedon

Greece

Gabi

Someone said Spain,and that's a stupid comment. Don't pay any attention to it.I would say nor place in the European Union should be especially racist, although you can find stupid people anywhere.Maybe the Eastern Europeans, at least in small villages, may be a little bit weird. I wouldn't say racist, just curious, because they probably haven't seen many Black people. Just like if are White and visit certain areas of the world where it's unusual. But don't worry about it and have fun.

cuttiePie

I have traveled to London, Paris and Italy. I never had any problems with people calling names but I got a lot of stares. So many stares that I felt kind of uncomfortable. I would just smile and that would usually end the stare off. I think in the big tourist cities they are use to seeing more blacks. In some of the smaller cities in Northern italy people would literally stop in their stracks to get a look at me. I had a very nice experience in Eruope and I'm sure you will too. Hafe fun!

Ali2100

I am 1/2 African American and 1/2 Russian and I have never had problems traveling in Russia or Ukraine. You just have to know where to go and with whom... Most of the looks you will get are as others have said, some people have never seen dark skin before... Keep in mind that in Eastern Europe, race isn't the same as we consider it here in America. Gypsies and other "white" skin people are harrassed every day because they are a different culture, not just because they are a different skin color.