London - how safe is it for tourists?

[laurawaterford]

With all the terrible news about stabbings in london just recently my children are wondering where I'm bringing them. Of course I know we will be fine. It's probably like any city with good and bad places. Do Londoners agree - any tips please about where to avoid would be really appreciated. And I'm sorry if Iv'e put anyone's backs up after all the great tips Iv'e received on my London challenge thread

does your DH have a particularly big bum that is easily reached - or is it just that it is pretty?

Is your DH Brad Pitt?

You are 10 times more likely to get mugged in London than in New York.

it seems to attract other men alot

ive never had anything nicked when ive been in london or anywhere else but my kids have

so tghnere are issues anywhere of how careful you are and if you are a young lad you are farf more likely to get stuff nicked/mugged but also to be more careless

a nice walk on the south bank to the tower is interesting, stick to the central bit

I have gone to London every working day for the last 22 years - I have never been mugged, stabbed, felt up or beaten up either on the commuter links, staggering home from the City pubs and getting the last train or wandering the West End in my mis-spent youth when I didn't know my name, let alone know where my purse was!

London is fine, use your brain and don't leave your purse/camera where someone could nick it there are thieving bastards in every town right?

dd1 had her wallet nicked by a guy on the metro in madrid..he took it and got off..she demanded he gave it back (in spanish)..and he gave it back

she is a fgorce to be reckoned with when she is angry

Me too - lived in and around London all my life (and not in the 'nice bits' either) and have never had any trouble.

One tip though - NO BUM BAGS. They scream 'Dozy tourist here, look at all my money, why not help yourself?'

and dont keep your massive camera on a cord around your neck

Snaf - you mean I WON'T be meeting Oliver twist? (although the ruffian's description is uncannily like one of my DS)

It's all about attitude. Look purposeful, don't flash a lot of jewellery/gadgets. Ignore beggars/street hawkers. I've never had a problem in London; I've seen worse in other towns and cities to be frank.

if you are around the theatre district stay away from centre point and denman st(tin pan alley] its full of crack dealers.charing cross rd around china town can be a bit dangerous.
anywhere else is fine, on the whole if you arnt a young black male who deals drugs you are fine.
islington late fri/sat, i mean 2am forward isnt safe.

on oxford st and surrounding areas young eastern europeans are still operating, bag and phone snatching. they look about 6yrs plus, have started to carry huge ruck sacks and wear football shirts to look like tourists themselves.
plan where you are going, if anyone tries to stop you keep walking whilst shouting "i dont know"
i feel safe as i live here but now how you feel as a tourist, enjoy its a fab placel.

Just watch out for pickpockets is my advice.

its safe in good areas whatever time. but not safe in certain areas in thr evening, such as brixton, peckham.

stay in covent garden, leceister square,chelsea, picadilly circus, oxford st, knightsbridge,victoria.

Everywhere you are likely to visit as a tourist is safe... unless you are planning to see the "alternative" sights of London.

I've lived in Hackney nigh on 10 years and the only prob I have had is having my purse nicked. Once. On the 253 (anyone who lives nearby will be nodding at this).

Keep your bag and purse safe, esp in crowded areas, and you'll be fine

[nods]
my phone was nicked on the 253
m own fault for having it in a handy velcro phone pocket on the outside of my bag [d'oh]

53, 253...what is it about those iniquitous bus routes...
Have also worked in central London and lived in SE London for over 20 years and managed to avoid major personal trauma
You see worse swearing and aggression on Mumsnet some days laura, I'd log off immediately if I were you

so avoid the 253
and the 149
in fact any bus going through Hackney or Dalston and you'll be fine

New Cross also a good place not to hang around gormlessly with a sunhat on
Also do not linger on the main steps into Cannon St between 5 and 6pm
Never mind knife-wielding teens, you are likely to get trodden into the dust by the stampeding home-bound burghers of SE London and NW Kent

lol at iniquitous bus routes.

another Londoner here who's never been a victim of crime, despite living in much-maligned part of the city.

biggest risk for tourists is being relieved of your valuables, one way or another.

so keep your purse buried deep in your bag, your bag zipped up, and wear it across your body if possible.

and don't leave your bag for a second in a bar/museum/restaurant - a few friends have had their stuff stolen when nipping to the lo somewhere.

This is advice which applies to ANY big city with lots of tourists, so isn't London-specific .. but:

I live in an area where there are masses of middling-quality tourist hotels, and the rate of bag-snatching etc. suffered by locals is very low - specifically because all those tourists make for such easy pickings.

Be vigilant re your wallets/cameras/phones, and be quite wary of people around cash-points (a favourite is someone "by accident" sploshing you with their takeaway coffee, & helping you clean up while their accomplice whisks your cash).

Don't faff around on street corners all poring over a single little map (lovely opportunity for a pickpocket) - work out your bearings at the start and Walk Decisively.

Another favourite is someone dropping a newspaper or similar on your table in a coffeeshop and then (apologetically) picking it up - together with your phone/cash/whatever you'd had on the table.

Most of the stabbings involve kids, gangs and/or drugs. I live within a minutes walk of a couple of the most publicised ones, the Dcs school is a stones throw from one of the more recent ones and yet I still don't think it is unsafe (unless you're young, involved in a gang or with drugs)

Tourists - no problems apart from the usual bag snatching/pick pocketing stuff that all tourists everywhere get hit with, and to add my experiences to the rest in 37 years I've never been mugged, stabbed or pick pocketed (despite living in south London )

I will accept that I'm more likely to get mugged in London than in New York. Given that I live in London and have no intention of going to New York in the foreseeable future, getting mugged in New York would be quite an achievement .

But I've lived in London for 15 years and have had, in total, one bag stolen (from a shoe shop while I was trying on shoes, not a mugging), one phone stolen (from a bag while I was in a bar) and one bike stolen (from the garage). I contrive to walk the streets without fear...