I hear a lot of stories from people of colour (some accounts from friends and other accounts from people on social media) about the casual racism they run into while on their trips in various places across Europe.

I recently travelled to Italy, working my way through several cities in the country and I was never made to feel uncomfortable or anxious by any of the locals at any point in the trip, despite being warned about it prior to going. Everyone seemed very friendly with me.

I was wondering if I just happened to get lucky or perhaps there’s a different experience between foreigners living in Europe vs just travelling through Europe?

Are any countries in Europe particularly worse than other or any regions within certain countries particularly worse than others?

I would love to hear about some other peoples experiences and opinions! I want to do more travel around Europe but I want to be prepared and adjust my expectations (if necessary) to make my experience as pleasant as possible each time.