Is London safe?

[Springyayspring]

My 10 year old who usually never wants to go anywhere has asked to go to London. I’m overjoyed that he wants to go as I love city breaks and it’s so nice to see him showing an interest, he wants to see all the touristy things.

I have been to London but it was years ago and although I loved it. I’ve got very bad anxiety since then.

I try not to watch the news because all you seem to see is knife crime, terrorism, violence.

I mentioned to a couple of friends that we were looking at going and they seemed a bit horrified and said that London has really changed in recent years, and that they wouldn’t go.

This. It's political. Tell your friends that they've swallowed Farage propaganda.

London feels the same as it ever has done. Maybe billionaires might be experiencing greater watch theft in Mayfair? But overall the rest of us are safer than in previous decades

It’s really safe. I live on the south coast. I have been taking DD there to visit a relative in Brixton one or twice a year since she was a baby. People are friendly, and it is very easy to get around on the tube.

There are infinite cafes, diners, lots of green spaces and play parks for kids.

On one of our trips we stayed in Chelsea (only in the cheap chain hotel 😆) and visited the Science Museum and Natural History museum which I thoroughly recommend.

Yep - apparently Coventry is the third most dangerous city in Europe, which seems rather unlikely.

I think you need to remember that good news is no news.
We don't hear about all the people who go about their every day lives totally uneventfully in London, or anywhere else come to that, in the same way as we don't hear about all the planes that land safely, cars that don't crash, dogs that don't attack their owners etc. So we only hear bad news, which skews our perception. And as other have said, I suspect that there is currently a lot of deliberate misinformation on social media for political purposes.
Obviously you need to be sensible and take basic precautions around personal safety. Don't walk round with your handbag unzipped and your phone sticking out of your back pocket and there are areas to avoid just like anywhere. I live in the back of beyond and there are still a few pubs I wouldn't go in and places I wouldn't walk alone in - nowhere is risk free.
Be sensible but have a great time. I'm a real country bumpkin and would never want to live in London but I absolutely love an occasional short break there as there's so much to see and do. Enjoy!

I’d skip the London eye, I thought it was a bit boring. If you want views go up one of the tall skyscrapers, the sky garden is good.

For a river cruise if you’re not too bothered about commentary you could go on a Thames clipper instead which will be much cheaper - use it to travel between two of your destinations.
Normal buses will be way cheaper than a bus tour too and you see just as much from the top deck.

Natural History museum is worth a visit but you will need to allow for half a day there.

My DDs enjoyed Hamleys more than Harrods, I wouldn’t bother doing both. Harrods is more convenient if you want to go to Hyde park - we bought some treats in the Harrods food hall and had a picnic in the park.

Perhaps a musical that’s suitable for children

The station is very busy and so are the surrounding roads so that is very unusual. I’ve walked there in the dark many times and never felt unsafe. And there is a taxi rank and all sorts there. Pub right outside. I’ve only seen a fight a couple of times on a Friday night when I was a teenager but nothing out of the norm for a city. Teenagers are pretty harmless! Maybe it’s being used to London where everything is open at night. And the lack of familiarity?

If it gives you assurance, my children went to school on the tube and were always safe. They also went out with their mates and to music gigs when young adults. Public transport is cheap and plentiful.
As pp have said, like in every big city, have your wits about you.

This ridiculous "London has fallen!" right wing Islamophobic campaign drives me mad. What actual serious news stories have you seen about how dangerous London is? On the actual news, not on social media?

I've lived in London for almost all of my life, and I'm nearly 60 now. It's like any big city, only better than most. Yesterday I needed to get my phone repaired, so after dropping it off at the store in Covent Garden, I walked with my husband for an hour along the river to Tower Bridge and back again on the other side. Beautiful walk, clean and well provided for pedestrians, lots of useful information boards and direction signs, several piers for the Uber boats, everywhere full of locals, tourists, joggers, mums and dads and babies, fantastic views, loads of pubs and cafes. After an early meal, I went to my evening class in central London and DH went home. I went to the pub afterwards for a drink and got home at 11.30 after travelling alone on the tube and bus, reading on my phone. I didn't feel unsafe at any point. This is normal for me and for millions of others.

We all live and work and go to school and exercise and eat and drink in London. We are not living in fear and most of us are not wishing we could move elsewhere.

Central London is as safe as any city. I live in the suburbs and it’s fine here too like any other suburb. Obviously there are some dodgy parts but you won’t be going there as a tourist. Just be aware of phone snatchers and pickpockets (although neither has ever happened to me).

It's also worth mentioning that the way the official statistics report crime as per 1000 (I think) population, while good in general, makes Westminster/City of London look absolutely awful, as it has a huge daytime/evening population but relatively few people actually live there.

The news about any location is not going to be cheerful. Things only become news because they're out of the ordinary. I'm sure you'll have a great trip with your DS.

No, it's not safe. We recommend tourists visit elsewhere.

OK - the ranking deliberately includes perception because crimes are not all recorded in the same way across Europe which makes comparison difficult.

However if we look at reported actual violent crimes per capita which is easier to compare then the list goes:

Marseille
Naples
Birmingham
Manchester
Bradford
Liege
Montpellier
Stockholm
Gothenburg
Glasgow

And Coventry drops out of the list.

For the UK its
Manchester
Liverpool
Blackpool
Middlesborough
Newcastle
Birmingham
Bristol
Leeds
Sheffield
London

So London is a lot safer than 9 other cities in the UK! Yes there are more crimes reported, for example in the press, but that's because there are more people there!

https://www.ukcrimecheck.com/statistics

It's fine. A close relative worked there for years. Her mum was really worried when she found out that one morning, my relative was waiting for a bus very late at night. My friend assured her mum that she was surrounded by people at the bus stop and all around on the streets, despite the very late hour. She pointed out to her mum that in fact she would have been more vulnerable waiting for a bus in her home town (rural country village).

I go to London a lot, took my children in to London to visit the museums etc. a lot when they were young and never felt unsafe.

I do have a few tips. We used to call these our 'London rules' and as soon as we arrived at the train station in London we would make it clear to the kids that we were on 'London rules' now:

Board the trains together (overground and tube). I did once become separated from my friend when the doors closed and left me on the train and her on the platform.

Don't carry a bag on your back or if you do, lock it. I had my rucksack zip opened once.

Stick together but agree on a meeting place everywhere you visit as a contingency for if you do get separated.

Make sure your son knows what to do if you do get separated.

Does he have a mobile? Either way, write your mobile number down and give it to him to keep in a safe place so that he can contact you if you get separated. Even if he has a mobile (it could have a flay battery, no use).

Download the underground app it you plan to travel that way (would be a great experince for your son). It's a brilliant app, so useful. I think I used this one https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/tube-map-london-underground/id320969612

These are no to scare you, they are to reassure you.

Have a great time!

Incredibly safe. Assuming you drive wherever you do live, that is far more statistically dangerous than being in London.

I’m sorry but it isn’t bollocks. Putting your head in the sand pretending everything is rosy and blaming it on the “far right” is the reason why this disgusting grooming case in the uk has been investigated. People ignoring it due to political correctness. As for mostly women on these pages, you should be ashamed of yourselves completely dismissing it when sexually motivated crimes have risen across the capital the last 10 years. It’s not “far right agenda”, it’s facts. This lady will be fine with her kid and i have been to London with mine recently, but to completely dismiss it as some safe haven because you blame “far right”is a disgrace. There are issues in London and sexual related crimes have risen. Do some research.

I live here. Most of it feels very safe and the bits that don't aren't likely to be on your itinerary.

Your biggest threat in central is probably phone snatching/ pick pocketing but you can easily take precautions against that.

Whenever we leave London my children are sad to see the England flags tied to lampposts in small towns. Of course London isn't perfect but a huge number of very diverse people mostly live together peacefully and get along well with each other. I wish that was celebrated by the media.

Went with kids recently and it was so much nicer than when I lived there 20 years ago. Streets are cleaner, air is much clearer, and just felt better looked after. I'd definitely go again.

Top humble brag <bumps fists>

I'd say the London Eye is overpriced and only interesting if you or your son are specifically badly wanting to do it, rather than being a nice thing for any tourist to do, IYSWIM. Also the immediate area around it isn't the nicest part of the South Bank and it's always busy.
Westminster: I've never done sightseeing there, so can't say much about that, but if you go to the riverbank around Lambeth Palace (just west of the Eye) you get a beautiful view across the Thames to the Houses of Parliament. There's a cute little coffee kiosk right in that spot too; only for nice weather, as there's only seating outside, but on a sunny day it's wonderful. And there are benches along the river there too.
Hyde Park is nice but personally I think Regent's Park is the loveliest park in central London.
Agree with pps, Harrods/Hamleys, again unless you're particularly wanting to see them, are not that great and will be busy, as will the areas immediately around them.
IMO you don't need to fork out for an open-top bus or river cruise; you can get a normal bus or water bus much more cheaply. Just look into some places you'd like to see or pass through, then get on the TFL website and work out some routes.
The Science Museum is amazing, for adults as well as kids. Also Young V&A (formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood). There's an Aardman exhibition on there at the moment.

Yep, I had multiple people try to pickpocket me in Barcelona. Was catcalled mercilessly in Rome, and (male) DP and I were mocked when people saw or heard that we were British.
We've lived in London 25 years with just one incident between us (DP intervened in a phone-snatching). In our neighbourhood (Zone 2 and generally safe/villagey) not the centre.

Is that you, Nigel? RTFT. It's not working.

Of course. All you got in reply. How typical.

In short, yes it is as safe as any big city in the UK.

We’ve taken our 5 and 8 year old twice. They love it. We’re going back again soon. We’ve stayed in Bermondsey and Docklands with no issues, we just don’t wear anything expensive or go waving our phones around. Went on the tubes etc - all good. We only went out at once at night though and drove.