Is Europe Safe for Americans Right Now? The Advisory Levels, Read by a Security Firm
The honest answer, before the detail.
Europe is safe for Americans right now. The State Department rates every country on a four-level scale, and the Western European countries Americans actually visit sit at Level 1, Exercise Normal Precautions, or Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution. Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany are at Level 2, for a general terrorism risk and, in France, demonstrations. Switzerland, Portugal and Greece are at Level 1. Nothing in Western Europe is at Level 3, Reconsider Travel, or Level 4, Do Not Travel, and those are the levels that mean something has changed. Level 2 is where most of the continent has lived for a decade.
What the advisories do not tell you is what actually happens to Americans in Europe, which is pickpocketing on a crowded metro, a phone lifted from a cafe table, a taxi that was never a taxi, and a march on a Saturday that made the news at home look worse than the street. This page reads the levels for you, country by country, says what changes on the ground in each, and tells you honestly which visitors need a driver or a licensed officer and which need only good habits. Send your itinerary if you want it answered for your own trip. Advisories move; this page is dated and travel.state.gov is the source of record.
- Level 1 means normal precautions, Level 2 means increased caution, Level 3 means reconsider travel, Level 4 means do not travel. Western Europe is at 1 or 2. Read the number, then read the reason
- The reasons given for Level 2 in Italy, France, the UK, Spain and Germany are a general terrorism risk and, in France, civil unrest. The practical advice is awareness in crowds and enrolling in STEP, not cancelling
- What actually reaches Americans: pickpockets on the busiest metro lines and in the monument lines, phone snatching from tables and sidewalks, unlicensed taxis at airports, and scams around the famous squares. All of it is habit, not luck
- Demonstrations, mostly in France, are announced, follow known routes and are not aimed at visitors. Check the morning news on a Saturday and walk the other way
- Your US security team cannot work in Europe: every country licenses protection locally and none recognizes a US permit or firearms license. The licensed local officer does the work; your team keeps the plan
- The emergency number is 112 everywhere in the EU and the UK, and it works in English. Enroll in STEP, photograph your passport, and know where the nearest US embassy or consulate is
What American visitors ask about Europe right now.
What do the State Department levels actually mean?
Four levels. Level 1, exercise normal precautions. Level 2, exercise increased caution, with specific advice. Level 3, reconsider travel. Level 4, do not travel. Western Europe is entirely at 1 or 2. A move from 2 to 3 would be news; a reissue at Level 2 with new wording, which happens every few months, is not.
Is the terrorism risk in Europe real?
Real and low, which is the honest pairing. The Level 2 language on terrorism is the same for Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the UK and has been for years. The practical response is the one the advisory gives: be aware in crowds, at large events and at transport hubs, and have a plan. It is not a reason to stay home, and no client of ours has been affected by it.
Will protests affect my trip?
In France, possibly a street for an afternoon; elsewhere, rarely. Demonstrations are announced, follow known routes, usually fall on a Saturday and are policed heavily. They look citywide on American television and are a few hundred meters wide on the ground. A driver routes around them; a walker checks the morning news.
What actually happens to Americans in Europe?
Pickpocketing on the busiest metro lines and in the lines for the famous monuments, phone snatching from cafe tables and sidewalks, unlicensed taxis at airports and stations, and scams around the famous squares. Violent crime against visitors is rare in every city on this page. The habits are the same everywhere and they work.
Can I bring my own security or an armed guard?
No to both, as a rule. Every European country licenses protection locally and none recognizes a US permit, firearms license or company insurance. Armed private protection is unavailable in the UK, slow and rarely granted in Italy, France and Spain, and almost never the right answer for a visitor. The licensed local officer does the work; your team keeps the plan.
Do I need security in Europe as an American?
Most Americans, no, and we run protection in these cities for a living. Those with a public profile, a visible level of wealth, children or an older parent to keep together, a schedule that cannot slip, or a specific concern, yes, and for them a security driver with a car in each city is usually the right level. We tell you which you are, honestly.
What Algoz provides across Europe, for the Americans who need it.
A Pre-Trip Safety Briefing
A short written brief for each city on your itinerary: the hotel, the neighborhood, the metro lines to watch, the taxi rule, the demonstration calendar, the embassy. Often all a careful visitor needs.
Security Driver in Each City
A licensed close protection officer at the wheel of an executive car, in Rome, Milan, Paris, London, Madrid, Lisbon or Zurich, with the parking and the walk from the car no longer your problem.
Licensed Bodyguard, Country by Country
GPG in Italy, CNAPS in France, SIA in the UK, Ministry of the Interior accreditation in Spain: the officer who is legal where you are, English-speaking, briefed against your itinerary.
Airport Meet and Protected Transfers
Met inside the terminal in every city, walked past the touts, driven to the hotel by someone who has already spoken to its security. The first hour, made calm, every time.
Multi-City Program, One Coordinator
Rome, Florence, Paris and London in two weeks as one program with one coordinator, officers handing over cleanly at each border, the plan held when the diary moves.
Demonstration and Strike Tracking
Our desk tracks announced demonstrations and transport strikes for every client program and moves the day around them before they reach your schedule.
How to read a State Department advisory, in two minutes
The State Department rates every country in the world on a four-level scale. Level 1, Exercise Normal Precautions. Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, with specific advice on what to be cautious about. Level 3, Reconsider Travel. Level 4, Do Not Travel. The number matters; the reason beside it matters more. A Level 2 for terrorism in a country with heavy, visible policing and no attack in years means something different from a Level 2 for crime in a country where tourists are regularly robbed. The advisories are reissued every few months, often with the same level and new wording, and each reissue produces a round of American headlines that read as if something changed. Usually nothing did. Read the level, read the reason, enroll in STEP so the embassy can reach you, and then read a page like this one that says what the reason means on the street.
Executive protection in Europe for US clientsItaly: Level 2, reissued September 2026
Italy sits at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, and the advisory was reissued in September 2026 at the same level with an updated summary citing a general terrorism risk and petty crime in tourist areas and on public transport. On the ground that means Rome's 64 bus, Termini and the Vatican lines, Milan's metro and its appetite for luxury watches, Florence around the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio, and Venice on the vaporetto. It does not mean danger. Italy remains one of the safest large countries in the world for a visitor who keeps a bag zipped and takes a licensed taxi. Our Rome and Milan guides say exactly where and when.
Is Rome safe for American tourists?France: Level 2 for terrorism and unrest
France sits at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, issued in May 2025 for terrorism and civil unrest. The terrorism language matches Italy's and the UK's. The unrest language refers to demonstrations, which France has more of than its neighbors: announced, routed, policed, over by evening, and not aimed at visitors, though an American who walks into one on a Saturday afternoon will have a bad hour. The daily risk in Paris is pickpocketing on Metro line 1 and the RER B, phone snatching from cafe tables and sidewalks by riders on e-bikes, and unlicensed taxis at Charles de Gaulle. Our Paris guide says where and when.
Is Paris safe for American tourists?The United Kingdom and Spain: Level 2, the same reasons
The United Kingdom is at Level 2, issued in May 2025 for terrorism, with a note about isolated dissident activity in Northern Ireland aimed at police rather than visitors. London's daily risk is phone snatching by riders in the West End and Mayfair, watch theft outside hotels and restaurants, and pickpockets on the Tube and Oxford Street. The UK does not allow armed private protection at all, and every officer holds an SIA license. Spain is at Level 2 for the same general reasons; Madrid and Barcelona have Europe's most professional pickpockets, and Marbella's issues are villa burglary and the coast road after the beach clubs. Both countries are safe for a careful visitor, and both license protection locally.
Bodyguard in LondonGermany, Switzerland, Portugal and Greece: where the levels fell
Germany remains at Level 2 for a general terrorism risk, with the usual advice about crowds and events; Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt are safe for a careful visitor. Switzerland was lowered to Level 1, Exercise Normal Precautions, in 2026, along with Austria, Norway and Poland. Portugal has been at Level 1 since December 2025 and Greece since October 2025. Level 1 is the lowest rating the Department gives any foreign country and means exactly what it says. For an American choosing between Lisbon, Zurich, Geneva, St. Moritz or the Greek islands and a Level 2 capital, the honest answer is that the daily risks are identical: pickpockets where the crowds are, phones at the table, and the taxi rule. The level describes the government's view of the terrorism picture, not the street.
Bodyguard and close protectionWhat actually reaches Americans, in every city on this page
Pickpocketing on the busiest metro lines and buses, in the lines for the famous monuments and at the big stations. Phone snatching from cafe tables, from hands held out for a photo and from hands raised to read a map, fast and from scooters. Unlicensed taxis at every airport and station, quoting a price that doubles on arrival. Scams around the famous squares: the bracelet, the rose, the petition, the found ring, the closed museum. Watch theft targeting visible luxury pieces, in Milan, London, Paris and Rome alike. And, for a visitor with money and a profile, being noticed on the shopping streets. None of it is violent. All of it is habit, and a security driver removes most of it by removing the walk from the car.
What a bodyguard costs in US dollarsWhy your US security team cannot simply fly with you
Every European country licenses private protection, and none of them recognizes a US permit, a US firearms license or a US company's insurance. Italy licenses officers through Prefettura-authorized institutes, France through the CNAPS, the United Kingdom through the SIA, Spain under Law 5/2014. A US agent working a Paris hotel lobby or a Rome street is unlicensed, uninsured and, in the wrong moment, the reason a visit ends early. The working model for American clients is simple: your security director keeps the strategy and writes the plan with us; we provide the officer who is legal, insured and English-speaking where you are, in each country on the itinerary, from one coordinator. The standard travels. The license does not.
Private security for solo women in ItalyWho actually needs security in Europe, and who does not
Most Americans need the habits on this page and nothing more, and a security firm that tells you otherwise is selling. The visitors who do need more are a short list: a public figure who will be recognized; a family with young children or an older parent in the crowds; an executive whose European week cannot slip for a strike or a march; a woman traveling alone who would simply rather have a person on the ground; a collector or a shopper with something to lose; anyone with a specific concern. For almost all of them the right level is one licensed officer in each city, often at the wheel of an executive car, from EUR 850 per day with an indicative USD figure alongside, run as one program by one coordinator. Not a team. Not a holster. One good person who knows the city.
Private driver and bodyguard in RomeWhen the risks on this page are higher.
Peak crowds
Rome, Paris, Florence, Barcelona and Venice at their densest, the longest lines and the longest nights. Pickpocket season everywhere; water, shade, a zipped bag and a ride home.
The American season
More US visitors in Europe than any other month, perfect weather, and thieves who know the calendar. The habits matter most when the weather is nicest.
Milan and Paris, twice a year
The shopping streets fill with people wearing what the thieves want. A driver matters most in these weeks.
Shopping and the squares
Department stores and luxury streets at their fullest, midnight crowds in every capital. The car door, not the sidewalk.
Italy and France, announced
Transport strikes empty the metro into the streets and the taxi ranks. Plan the day around them, or book the car.
Mostly France
Known routes, heavy policing, over by evening, not aimed at you. Check the morning news and let the driver route around it.
How a European safety engagement works.
The brief
Dates, cities, hotels, the program, who is traveling, and what, if anything, worries you. Under NDA from the first message, in US hours as well as European.
The honest answer
Whether you need anything at all, and if so what: a written briefing, a security driver in one city or several, an officer, or a review of the villa. We say which, and we say no when no is the answer.
The plan
For drivers or officers: the licensed company in each country, the vehicles, the routes, the hotel liaison and the hours. One document, one figure in EUR with an indicative USD figure beside it.
The arrivals
Met inside each terminal, walked past the touts, driven to the hotel by someone who has already spoken to its security. In every city, the same way.
The program
One coordinator across every city, officers handing over cleanly at each border, strikes and marches routed around, the plan held when the diary moves.
Afterwards
Nothing. No newsletter, no follow-up calls, no record beyond the invoice.
“Europe is safe. The Americans who hire us are not worried about Europe. They are worried about losing a day of it to a bus, a taxi, a march or a crowd.”
What security in Europe costs an American, if you decide you want it.
A written pre-trip briefing for your itinerary is a small fixed fee and often the whole answer. A security driver with an executive vehicle, or a licensed close protection officer, is priced from EUR 850 per day for a single principal on twelve-hour cover in Italy, France, Spain and the UK, the market base, with the final figure shaped by the country, the season, the languages and the profile, and confirmed in writing on inquiry with no obligation. A multi-city program receives one figure for the whole itinerary. We quote in EUR because that is what the officer is paid in; an indicative USD figure appears alongside for visitors from the US and moves with the rate.
Allow seven days; under 48 hours carries an urgency fee and no guarantee. Payment by card, including American Express, or by transfer, invoiced by Algoz FZ-LLC. See also what a bodyguard costs in US dollars and executive protection in Europe for US clients.
Send the dates. We reply with a figure.
A person reads every message and replies, usually within two hours and always within 24. No commitment, no obligation.
Tell us the itinerary. We tell you honestly what it needs.
Share your dates, cities and hotels, and we reply with a straight answer: nothing, a briefing, a driver in one city or several, or an officer, with one written figure, usually within two hours and always within 24, on US hours as well as European.
Enquire WhatsAppAnd what each of them usually needs.
Two weeks, four cities
The habits on this page, a zipped bag on the metro, the phone in the bag at the table and a licensed taxi after midnight. Nothing more.
Children in the summer crowds
A car for the days in each city, early entry at the museums, and for a family with a profile an officer who keeps the group together without being in the photographs.
Alone in Europe for a month
The same continent everyone else gets, with the normal care. Many American women traveling alone book a driver for the evenings in each city and find it is the whole answer.
A European board week
Milan, Paris and London in five days: a security driver in each city, one coordinator, strikes and marches routed around, and arrivals that happen at the door rather than at the curb.
Family offices and security directors
A licensed, insured presence on the ground in each country that reports to your plan, with the paperwork your compliance team will ask for.
Recognized in every capital
One licensed officer per city, dressed for the setting, moving with you rather than behind you, planned a week or more ahead.
Every Western European city Americans ask for.
Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Lake Como, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily; Paris, the Riviera and Courchevel; London; Madrid, Barcelona, Marbella and Ibiza; Lisbon and Porto; Geneva, Zurich, St. Moritz and Gstaad; Monaco; Athens and the islands; and Marrakech across the water. Elsewhere in Europe through the same licensed model, coordinated from one desk. Flying in from New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Texas, Chicago, Boston or Washington? Read the page written for US clients in Europe.
Related pages for an American in Europe.
Algoz FZ-LLC (Trade License 5033995 | TRN 105119056700001) is licensed by RAKEZ for Businessmen Services and Lifestyle Development Consultancy. Operational services such as security, transportation and concierge are delivered through vetted, licensed specialist partners, selected, contracted and overseen by Algoz. All operational execution is performed exclusively by licensed third-party partners holding the necessary local permits. We provide direct assistance and support in partnership with regulated local providers, in compliance with local law. Clients remain responsible for obtaining any required approvals. Armed services require a minimum 30-day lead time for authorisation, which may be refused. All activities comply with UAE law and RAKEZ regulations.