Has sightseeing in London become more crowded and photo-focused over time?

[ahsurelookit]

I was in London over the weekend. I had a great time and did a lot of walking/ sightseeing.

I had been to Big Ben/ Westminster Abbey/ Trafalgar Sq as a child circa 2000. I do remember it being busy but it was crazy busy. Am I misremembering.

I was alone and able to 'weave' through crowds easily. But found I was blocked a lot. Either by huge groups taking over the whole path (not new)

BUT I was also held up by people taking lots and lots of photos. Yes we took photos when I was a child but it was 1 and move on. I passed a couple taking photos then walked by them again 15 minutes later in the same spot still trying to 'get the perfect shot'. This was everywhere.

Am I just getting old and grumpy or is it getting worse?

Oh definitely. Not just London though - all tourist sites. The worst I've seen recently was the tulip gardens in Amsterdam, where you had people with full on camera equipment and multiple costume changes clambering into the flower beds to do their best pout.

It's been like that for as long as I can remember.

Getting a photo of a famous site has always been part of the tourist experience.

But it’s definitely become worse with the rise of social media, especially Instagram, where it’s all about the perfect shot.

Like @FinnJuhl I was in Amsterdam recently and got so angry at people posing inappropriately in front of the Anne Frank house: sultry over-the-shoulder poses, duck pout, etc. Think for a half a second about where you are and its meaning!! And do not take photos like that, grrr.

Unfortunately the instagram and influencer era is ruining travel and tourism is some ways. I’m noticing it everywhere

I’ve never understood why people would rather experience something through a lens/ phone screen/ video camera than by just seeing it. The very worst was in Vienna, where people were queuing to take selfies with ‘The Kiss’ behind them instead of looking at it.

I did mean to say everywhere - not just London. I noticed in in Rome, but largely stayed away from the main crowds or went early.

I did a LOT of travelling in my late teens to mid 20s accros Europe/ S.E. Asia and Oz/NZ. So from 2006 to 2014 I had a digital camera and a smart phone/ iPhone when they came out. While I took photos it was usually one then move on.

There were a few people 'making content' I saw two young women get into a physical fight over something and were dragged apart by their other friend. There was a lot of pulling at the camera.

I know I was a tourist so I can't complain about too many tourists, but wow there were too many tourists causing bottle necks! Took the tube to St Pauls which was lovely

It's not just social media, it's that we all have a good quality camera in our pockets and don't have to remember to take one with us, get the film developed, whatever. While I get annoyed with people pouting and posing for ages in front of places of interest, I love taking photos of the architecture and scenery when I go to cities now and it has added a new dimension to my enjoyment of them, just catching the right moment when there's no one there, the right light, composition, architectural and historical details, it has made me far more observant than in the old days. I post some of them on social media because I find new places to visit from other people's photos. I do not trespass, trample etc and I don't loiter for ages.

Everything everywhere has become more crowded and photo focused.

It's all the posing for the grid and doing videos for TikTok that's making popular areas overcongested. It used to be you'd take one shot on a camera, trying not to cut everyone's heads off, then you'd move on. Now it's multiple poses, voice-to-camera narration – it's tedious.

Yes. I’m continually surprised and also embarrassed that adults will openly act this way.
I also of course have a few silly selfies with girlfriends taken drunk in club loos - but why on earth do people think their photo of Big Ben is improved by them being in it too? From four different angles? See also the Colisseum, Empire State Building etc, etc. I promise that your head blocking most of the frame does not make Venice’s canals look more interesting. I swear most peoples phones these days seem to consists of 80% pics of themselves. I don’t get it.
I especially don’t get why adults would expect everyone else to wait for them to take all their photos at every tourist spot. It’s so selfish.

And yes OP it has become way worse in recent years. I’ve walked and worked in central London for 25 years and it’s changed a lot in terms of tourist numbers. Many places and times have become no go zones because all the photos make it impossible for residents (eg the photos mean you get pushed off the pavement into the street, or made to feel bad for walking through them) It’s annoying and I think a huge indicator of how selfish ppl have become these days

(aware I sound bitter…..rant over)

Yes, london is hideously crowded now. You aren’t imagining it. It’s surreal looking at old films of London and seeing how calm and spacious the streets used to be. Depressing.

London is busy all year round now. I don’t go to tourist areas these days but I’m grateful people do want to spend money in the uk even if that goes with phone photos!

I spent a decent chunk of my childhood / teens growing up just outside London so would have been in/ out. I do remember it always being busy but this felt very different.
Prior to this weekend I hadn't been in London since 2018 but that was for a wedding so I wasn't in zone 1 at all.