The streets of London are often crowded with shoppers

Is London safe?

Although crime rates have risen in recent years, this shouldn’t take away from the fact London is one of the safest cities in the world. Its nine million residents move about without worrying much about their day-to-day safety, and the vast majority of its 30 million annual visitors go home with nothing but warm words for its attractions, if not the prevailing weather conditions.

Is London safe? Broadly speaking yes, noting that nowhere can ever be declared 100% trouble free. With that in mind, here’s all you need to know about staying safe in London as a visitor to help ensure you don’t become one of the unlucky few who fall victim to a crime.

How safe is London?

Image of Adult, Female, Person, Woman, Male, Man, Railway, Train, Vehicle, Head, Mobile Phone, Phone,

Visitors to London face the same risks as in any big urban environment. So as one of the largest cities in Europe, it has its fair share of dodgy characters whilst ranking favorably against Paris, Madrid and Zurich when it comes to personal safety.

Its crime statistics can be misleading for those who don’t know London well. For instance, the boroughs (neighborhoods) responsible for some of the capital’s most important landmarks, like the Tower of London and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre have some of the highest crime rates.

What the statistics don’t say is that much of this crime takes place in residential housing estates away from these attractions. The crime figures related to supercool areas of the capital, such as east London’s Dalston, should be much more concerning for visitors. Pickpocketing is a particular problem.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the leafy suburbs around Richmond in the west are the safest. However, the best tip for any visitor worried about safety in London is to assume petty crime can take place anywhere, and act with caution accordingly.

London’s global status means terrorism also sadly remains a threat, although the likelihood of getting caught up in an attack is tiny. There’s little you can do to mitigate against this threat except immediately call the emergency services on 999 if you see anything suspicious.

Common threats to safety in London

Image of Terminal, Railway, Train, Train Station, Vehicle, Subway,

For the most part, staying safe in London is about following common sense and trusting your instincts. In other words, you shouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t do at home. Then the biggest risks you’re likely to face are currency counters with unfair exchange rates and looking the wrong way when crossing a road – the British drive on the left.

The risk of pickpocketing or mugging is highest where large crowds congregate, since they provide criminals with plenty of cover. Keep a close eye on valuables in crowded spaces, and never place money or a phone in your back pocket.

Being aware of your surroundings is always important. Criminals may attempt to steal your bank card and PIN through well-practiced distraction techniques at ATMs, whilst mopeds have been used for snatch and grab crimes against those using their phones in public. Use ATMs inside bank branches whenever possible – they are not usually hard to find.

At the same time, never leave a bag unattended, for example, when going to a bar or counter to order food and drinks. Not only is there a risk of it being stolen, but also of it getting blown up by the bomb squad as a security risk.

If you find yourself in need of help, you shouldn’t worry about approaching uniformed police officers. No officer can demand identification, nor will they issue fines to be paid on the spot. Any who do are scammers pretending to be plain-clothes officers.

Is London safe at night?

Image of City, Metropolis, Urban, Advertisement, Truck, Vehicle, Road, Street, Person, Traffic Light, Adult, Female, Woman, Car, Bus,

Increasingly becoming a 24-hour city, evenings in London can be sublime, with the city’s landmarks lit up and its pubs coming alive. Travel across Piccadilly Circus at midnight, and you could be mistaken for thinking it was the middle of the day.

It’s best to stay on well-lit streets after dark all the same, which will often have the added security of CCTV cameras. If you choose to walk, do so confidently. Otherwise opt for London’s public transportation.

Both its red buses and Underground trains are safe at night, though best avoided during the rush hours of 5 – 7PM because of overcrowding. Certain bus routes, usually denoted by an ‘N’, operate throughout the night to link major locations such as train stations. The main Tube network shuts down around midnight. But the advent of the Night Tube sees a service on some central lines night-long on Fridays and Saturdays.

Alternatively, visitors can hail a black cab (licensed taxi) from the roadside. As they notoriously don’t like traveling south of the river, you can also arrange a minicab (radio taxi) by phone or uber via the app. All vehicles must clearly display a tamper-proof licensing sticker on the windshield. If they do not have one, you’re getting into an unlicensed vehicle whose driver will not have undergone the relevant checks.

Is it safe to visit London as a single woman?

Image of Person, Walking, City, Adult, Female, Woman, Road, Street, Urban, Girl, Teen, Pedestrian, Accessories, Bag, Handbag, Male, Man, Pants, Photography,

Most women who visit London solo find the city a refreshing contrast to previous experiences traveling alone. Although there are only a handful of women-only spaces – including Kenwood Ladies’ Bathing Pond on Hampstead Heath – being a single woman shouldn’t stop you ticking off your bucket list attractions.

Contrary to popular opinion, most Londoners are quite happy to help if you get stuck – seeking out another woman will increase your chances of success further. Free walking tours and Hop-On Hop-Off sightseeing buses provide the safety of a group.

If you’re concerned about unwanted male attention in bars and pubs, wearing a wedding band can act as a deterrent. Venues will often have a security presence on the door to keep a lid on any trouble, whilst bar staff are increasingly aware of potential issues. The city’s plethora of loud and proud gay bars have long been known as a hassle-free night out for women should all else fail.

Save on top London attraction admission

Explore and save with Go City. Our Explorer Pass not only saves you money on London attraction admission but means you can leave your wallet at home, removing any worry about carrying around large amounts of cash!

Ian Packham
Go City Travel Expert

Continue reading

St Paul's Cathedral looking resplendent from Fleet Street
Blog

Why you should visit London in July

If there’s a month to see London at its best, it has to be July. This is the month when Londoners let their hair down and bask in mid-summer temperatures that stay pleasantly warm until dusk settles at around 10PM. The promise of great weather sees everyone who’s anyone relax in London’s multitude of outdoor spaces, be that a Royal Park or a rooftop bar for a glass of rosé. There’s also a myriad of festivals throughout London in July, as well as once-a-year opportunities including the summer opening of Buckingham Palace. Discover royal London It’s in July that Buckingham Palace – the monarch’s official London residence – opens its doors to the public. Entering via the building’s ceremonial entrance and grand gilt staircase, visits take in 19 state rooms. Used for official functions, such as investitures and the welcoming of foreign heads of government, they include the Throne Room, White Drawing Room and Ballroom. If that isn’t enough, each year a different exhibition is staged using artefacts from the royal collection – providing further insight into the many roles played by British royals. The objects on display at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival are no less impressive for their shorter lifespans. The largest horticultural event in the capital’s calendar, attractions range from a festival of roses to celebrity workshops, all amid the Tudor palace’s spectacular grounds. Dating back hundreds of years, Swan Upping takes place on the Thames over several days in July. Starting at Eton Bridge beside Windsor Castle, Swan Uppers in traditional Thames skiffs count the year’s cygnets to ensure the river’s swan population remains healthy. Make the most of the long July evenings The royal connections continue at Kensington Palace, which is the location of one of the open-air pop-up giant cinema screens that appear throughout London from July. Other locations include Clapham Common, Somerset House and Trafalgar Square, with screenings varying between Hollywood classics, family favorites and the latest blockbusters. For a very different kind of performance head to the Royal Albert Hall, where eight weeks of classical music concerts, together known as the Proms, kick off in July. A firm fixture since 1895, the series culminates in the Last Night of the Proms – one of the more patriotic nights in London life. Life in all its forms can be enjoyed with adults-only Twilight Tickets to ZSL London Zoo. Besides seeing the zoo’s wild animals at one of the calmer times of day, these special nights also host a chill out zone and street food vans should you get hungry. Go sports mad in London in July The world’s oldest tennis competition, the Wimbledon Championships, take place on the verdant green lawns of southwest London in an annual parade of the very best sporting talent, some two million strawberries and 54,000 tennis balls. Even if you can’t nab a much sought after ticket for the show courts, ground passes are a great way to soak up the atmosphere. And whilst 2012 may be long gone, the spirit of the London Olympics lives on in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Occupying a swath of the capital’s east, free trails connect up some of the park’s most important structures. Tour the London Stadium, grab a selfie with the Olympic rings or get the adrenaline flowing with a ride down the world’s longest slide from the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower. Revel in summer festivals Just one demonstration of London’s diversity is the array of festivals which take place in London in July. Open to LGBT+ allies from all walks of life, Pride is the only event in the year to close Oxford Street to traffic. In place of the black taxis and red double-decker buses, you’ll see eclectic floats making their way to the main stage on Trafalgar Square. Take in the riverside between London Bridge and Tower Bridge and you’re sure to be sucked into the festival-like atmosphere created from outdoor eating and an event’s list covering everything from karaoke to open-air fitness classes. Then there’s the capital’s music festivals. British Summer Time brings some of the world’s biggest stars to Hyde Park, having welcomed Celine Dion, Bruno Mars and Green Day to previous editions. Elsewhere, fans of urban music won’t want to miss Wireless, whose acts have included the home-grown talents of Stormzy among its A-list setlists. Stroll in the city’s parks and gardens A hop, skip and a jump away from where Stormzy grew up in south London is Dulwich Park. Edged by Dulwich Picture Gallery – England’s oldest purpose-built art space – and close to Brockwell Lido, the park has recently been returned to the glory of its late-Victorian heyday. Kensington’s Holland Park spreads out around the remains of the Jacobean era Holland House. Sub-divided into several sections, its northern extent is dominated by woodland, whilst its inner core contains a formal garden and the Kyoto Japanese garden. St Dunstan-in-the-East also makes use of London’s historic architecture, in this case an 11th-Century parish church. Rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren, it was unfortunately damaged beyond repair during the Blitz in the Second World War. Today, it forms a hidden oasis among the hustle and bustle of the ancient city. London weather in July Neither too hot nor too cold, London in July has some of the best weather of the year. Daily temperatures hover around 19°C, hardly ever dropping below 14°C or rising above 23°C. Rain is light, and rarely affects anyone’s plans. Sunshine is abundant, and daylight stretches for a staggering 16 hours per day, making T-shirts and vest-tops the best items to pack. It’s unlikely you’ll need anything thicker than a light sweater, although you’ll probably still want an umbrella just in case. Save on July London attraction admission Keen to experience all London has to offer in July? Admission to a whole host of London’s top attractions can be had with Go City, providing flexibility and great savings. Check out @GoCity on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest hints and tips.
Ian Packham
A woman returns here rental bike after enjoying a ride around London
Blog

Cheap things to do in London

You might scoff at the idea of there being cheap things to do in six-pounds-a-pint London. However, for those in the know it doesn’t take too much effort to find attractions that will eke out your savings. In fact, there’s very little you can’t do in London on a budget. Much of the city’s history, as well as its modern culture, thriving food scene and even many events can be enjoyed for very little money if you know where to head! Cheap museums and galleries in London The permanent exhibitions at the likes of the British Museum, Natural History Museum and Tate Modern are free to enter year-round, making for a very cheap day out in London. Many smaller museums and galleries can’t quite match this price point, but nonetheless include amazing objects within their collections. The Royal Observatory Greenwich’s modest admission allows visitors to get up close and personal with a giant of scientific discovery. Visitors are able to stand on the original prime meridian line denoting the eastern and western hemispheres, before going on to learn how the site changed the way we see the world with regard to both time and space. Within a fine example of Georgian architecture is the Benjamin Franklin House museum. The only remaining residence of the American Founding Father, its collection helps to detail Franklin’s life in London over 15 years through a mix of period furnishings and audiovisual displays. London’s budget eats If there’s one thing about traveling on a budget in London which worries visitors it’s staying well fed and watered. Whilst headlines about Salt Bae’s $1000 steaks and bar menus quoting $14 for a lager are common enough, there’s never been a better time to eat well for less. Just behind Euston train station, north west London’s Drummond Street rivals Brick Lane when it comes to cheap eats from the Indian subcontinent. Further north still, there’s plenty of options amidst the fashion stalls of Camden Market, with traditional fish and chips competing for attention against hotdogs and burritos. The converted shipping containers of Boxpark are another great option. Providing shared seating and a plethora of independent places to eat, there are three sites to look out for, in Wembley, Shoreditch and up-and-coming Croydon. London’s best value views For a bird’s eye view of the capital without the sky-high costs there are a number of potential attractions to consider. The best known is the covered Sky Garden topping out 20 Fenchurch Street – the Walkie Talkie building. Promising 360° views from London’s highest public garden, it’s free to visit, although you’ll need to pre-book a time slot. Less well known is the external balcony that sits beneath the bronze horse-drawn chariot carrying the goddess Victory on Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. Its views extend across several Royal Parks. Tucked behind more recent buildings at the northern end of London Bridge lies The Monument. Built by Sir Christopher Wren of St Paul’s Cathedral fame to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666, its vertigo-inducing viewing platform puts you roughly 60 meters above ground level. The height marks its distance from the fire’s starting point on Pudding Lane. Low-cost nights out in the capital If your budget doesn’t stretch to a show in the West End, fear not, you don’t need to remove seeing a show from your list of cheap things to do in London just yet. The brutalist architecture of the Southbank Centre has long been the haunt of skaters and street artists, who together create a heady mix of spontaneity and art for passersby. The highest form of art has to go to the plays of The Bard. To experience the playwright’s greatest works as they were intended to be seen, head for the standing-only Groundling Yard of Shakespeare’s Globe. For the cost of a pint, you get closer to the stage than you probably thought possible. Also be sure to check out the listings sections of the weekend papers for details of London’s public events. June’s Trooping the Colour, August’s Notting Hill Carnival, and December’s Christmas markets lead a long list of events. Switch underground for overground The London Underground has been getting Londoners where they need to be for over 150 years. Ride the right double-decker buses instead, and you’ll get a tour of some of London’s top attractions thrown in for free. Jump aboard the number 24 from Victoria Station to whiz past Westminster Abbey, Downing Street and Trafalgar Square, or flag down the number 11 to travel along Piccadilly to the Royal Albert Hall. Another alternative to the tube is London’s Santander Cycles, known to almost everyone as Boris Bikes after the former mayor Boris Johnson, who brought them to the capital’s streets and kick-started a cycling revolution in the process. Ride as far as you want (a few have made it all the way to Paris and back) for a set price that can see you recreating The Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover and free-wheeling across Tower Bridge. Take a walk in the park Whichever part of London you find yourself in, it’s very likely there’s a public park nearby. The Westminster area boasts the triple alliance of Hyde Park, St James’s and Green Park, with Regent’s Park to the north and Battersea Park lining the Thames’ south bank. Elsewhere, Highgate Cemetery is a historic burial place with grand tombs and the unofficial status of a nature reserve. One of London’s ‘magnificent seven’ graveyards, it has around 170,000 interments. Amongst them are famous faces including poet Christina Rossetti, singer George Michael, novelist George Eliot, socialist thinker Karl Marx, and if legend is to be believed, the Highgate Vampire too. The cheap things to do in London don’t end there Of course, there is another way to explore London in a budget-friendly way without having to miss out on the big-ticket attractions that brought you to the British capital in the first place. Go City lets you visit the London attractions you want to, when you want to, whilst giving you incredible savings on attraction admission. That trip to London doesn’t look so expensive after all, does it?
Ian Packham

Have a 5% discount, on us!

Sign up to our newsletter and receive exclusive discounts, trip inspiration and attraction updates straight to your inbox.

Thick check Icon