Central London on foot in the evening

I have roamed most of central London at night, with no concerns. I do recall parts of SoHo being a bit seedy, approached by touts for strip clubs and whatever, but all that cleaned up years ago. You may find the financial area very central London to be a bit deserted in later evening, with more activity in SoHo and West End.

I agree with the above, but for a fun evening, you might want to consider some London Walks. This group has been going strong for decades, and does some wonderful evening walks. Their guides are knowledgeable and interesting. I'm taking a few of the pub walks when I'm there in March--the Hidden Pubs of Olde London Town, which I took back in the mid-90s and loved. Also the Along the Thames Pub Walk. There are many more walks all days and evenings, and I really recommend them.

OP what are you defining as Central London.

Have explored London and adjacent neighborhoods for decades after sunset. IMHO exploring London on foot is the best way to see it.

Never a concern. Better London than downtown LA.

The only safety concern would be looking the wrong way (left) when stepping off a curb. Look to the right! Often you'll be reminded by a sign on the street surface, but not always.

I can't think of anywhere I'd class as risky after dark, certainly not in central London. You will see lots of commuters, tourists and others out and about. I am out quite late most evenings when in London and have never had cause for concern.

"Better London than downtown LA." Ain't that the truth ! The contrast is like night and day the way LA currently is.

I know nobody seems to think London is dangerous, but it pays to have your wits about you. Theft is the biggest issue. These are my personal experiences:

They might not carry guns, but there are nefarious people out there, especially after the pubs close. I have walked all over Central London, at all hours (even spent the night in the Victoria Bus Station, after missing the last tube/bus). It can be darker than we in North America are used to, because they have a lot less street lighting. I have seen single people followed by gangs of drunks, and threatened, and also had the police/army point infrared guns at me, when unbeknownst to me, I was walking near some "sensitive areas", where some "important people" lived, I found out later. So safe, yes, but not more so than any other big city, in my opinion. 999 is their emergency number.

Do not hesitate to ask at your hotel, what they think of the situation at any given time. They will know.

How interesting.

Where was it that the "police / army" pointed "infra-red guns" at you? It would be a pretty big deal in this country for anyone, including the police or army, to raise and point a gun at you, whether it shoots "infra-red" or actual bullets.

I don't wish to take this thread off topic, but this piqued my curiosity.

I’m pretty sure that it would have been headline news if there had been army soldiers pointing any sort of weapon on the streets anywhere in the UK.

unless there are secret weapons being kept under the counter, I have never heard of the Met police armed response units having any infrared guns. The army does not patrol the streets of London, and they haven't ever spoken of infrared guns.

But perhaps something else happened.

I take it the chap means infrared sights on a rifle Nigel. I was just being a little facetious.

Even so, for a Met Police armed response officer to have a weapon raised and a member of the public sighted for no reason other than being there seems quite unlikely to me. Not saying it didn't happen but... you know...

ETA: I swore I wouldn't get into critiquing that post above so I shall say no more on it. I'd just end up bumping up against community guidelines. I will however post a little about safety that touches on the OP's original question and brings it back on topic later.

I'd say that my perspective of where is safe and where isn't is skewed by being local to London (Hackney) for the last 16 years.

Walking in central London is pretty safe after dark. You do need to be sensible about it, as you would in other cities in Europe, but it's safe overall.

My feeling is that you do need to be really careful with your phone in central London right now. From what I can gather, instances of mobile phone theft are up. It's hard to say by how much exactly, because journalists highlight things to make news stories of course, but it is being reported that phone theft is up. If you need to use your phone on the street, keep an eye out for who's around, step away from the road, maybe next to a building, wall or doorway and just be a bit cautious. That said, walk around London for 30 minutes and you'll have to step out of the way of around 20 people walking around with their phone almost at arm's length, glued to it. Go figure.

The fast e-bike seems to have largely replaced the moped as the nefarious transport of choice, but London is also filled with folk doing food delivery on same. I still keep an eye on folks I see riding pillion on mopeds. The reason people are doing that is often that they're up to no good.

It's my experience that the entrances to tube stations or railway stations is somewhere you might want to watch out. It's often a magnet for dodgy folk in London.

There's a ton of anti-pickpocket information on this site from cities all around Europe. It applies in London. I'd be watching out around Leicester Square, Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge. Some of the tube stations, especially in high summer when it's packed, I'd be watching out around might include Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Oxford Circus. Tourists are being actively targeted by gangs of professionals, the same people who work in all the big European capitals. Westminster Bridge is an absolute shambles, with the shell game people. Those folks are the same folks who largely run the pickpocket game in London. If you're on Westminster Bridge be very aware of your surroundings. Don't buy nuts from the street sellers. They may well be affiliated in many cases.

To me, the boroughs outside of Westminster feel safer in some ways. People are largely getting on with their lives. It's my impression that rich and poor and all colours and creeds live much closer together in London than you might find in North American cities. Once you get over that and learn that for the most part people are just getting on with things and aren't interested in pickpocketing or mugging you, the boroughs outside of the tourist areas seem a bit safer. Places like Hackney, Peckham or Brixton might have a reputation, even among Londoners, but generally are really quite safe, unless you're up to no good yourself. It's more the young folk that are in danger from their peers sadly.

I feel that women's safety in London is a big issue but I can't speak to it personally. It's something I'm conscious of and it's been in the news in recent years. Lots of single women do travel at night no problem, but you'd have to ask their viewpoints on it. I think it's a global thing rather than a London thing really.

A lot of this has strayed into daytime territory; that's when you're at biggest risk from the pickpockets at busy places in peak season in central London. OP, you will be fine. Take everything with as big a pinch of salt as you need to, it's quite subjective. Hope it's interesting to read for others.

Some good points there Gerry. I'd just add that I normally stay in St James', and feel perfectly safe. I do keep a close eye on my wallet and phone walking down Piccadilly if it's very crowded - as you have correctly pointed out, pickpockets operate in crowded areas. And yes, I've had people attempt it once or twice over the past couple of years, none of them successful. But in terms of personal safety, no issues- I often have meetings in Westminster and walk back by St James' Park in the dark, and feel safe.

Re the previous post, I've no idea how brightly lit US streets are, but London street lighting is good, and certainly the same as I'm used to at home.

thanks for bringing these things up, GerryM. I tried to raise the issue of phones on tables a few years ago and was told I was imagining it. Crooks on souped up e-bikes are a real thing, and phones can be swiped, even on the pavement, in a flash. Some of those e-bikes have been modified to do 60 mph.

Phone and fancy watch theft is a real thing. There was even a person killed recently for a replica that the crooks thought was a real fancy watch.

I won't make a big thing of it, but that's the sort of thing that can really deflate a holiday.

Keep your phone out of sight, Keep your wallet in a safe place - you'll be using contactless anyway.

I'd agree that the busy streets, Oxford Street included, and squares like Trafalgar and Leicester full of unsuspecting people are perfect hunting grounds, especially in Westminster. I agree that the outer boroughs have less.

Be aware. Be safe.

I will say that in all my years of going in and out of London with a wallet and a phone (at one point a few years ago I had to carry 3 including 2 for work) I have never lost either. But I always have my antennas twitching, and that's what inside pockets are for.

Leaving your phone on a table is a big no-no. Especially if your table is on the pavement [sidewalk]. Not something I would do in a central London Starbucks or McDonalds either. Maybe that's just common sense. I'm not sure.

The watch theft thing is a whole other step up in seriousness I think. I can imagine what's involved in that is a lot more scary than having a phone snatched. It's been going on for years in Mayfair but it got a big splash in the media fairly recently. I wasn't aware someone had died because of it. Mayfair and expensive watches are far removed from my sphere of experience, but I think those that may find themselves in that area should be cautious. I'd imagine evening is the most risky when people are dressed up. I have walked around Mayfair late at night and I doubt the casual walker would be at risk. I'd surmise that people will know well in advance of approaching you in the street if you're wearing a nice watch or not if you're around bars and restaurants in Mayfair.

All this said, I have no fear walking around London at night at all really. I keep an eye on things and I like to think I'm pretty savvy about people. Soho is absolutely no problem these days. Exploring on foot at night is in some ways safer as you're not coming up against these pinch points where you're at risk from the pickpockets when it's really busy. Mugging with threats is virtually unheard of. I take buses and walk all over at night and I never have a problem. I'm a tall, bald, middle aged guy though. The only concession I've ever made to security was to start carrying my wallet in my front pocket rather than my back pocket, as I did when I lived in Scotland.

My perception may differ from that of a visitor. When I first started visiting London as an adult in the 90's it was absolutely wild compared to how it is now. I could go on at length about how it was back then, but out here in Hackney seemed completely lawless and every tube train was covered top to bottom in graffiti. You'd never see that now.

Some great perspective in here, and of course keep your wits about you no matter where you end up!

One thing I feel should be underscored is that central London (ie. The City of London itself), and where many tourists stay, is quite quiet at night after the business crowds clear out. The further away from the center you go, the more chance that you may feel a bit uneasy but that also depends on in which direction: go straight west for example and I doubt you'll ever feel the need to check over your shoulder.

central London (ie. The City of London itself)

Just to clarify, central London isn't the City of London. "The City" is further to the east than what is commonly known as central London. Central London would include all your major tourist spots. It's correct that The City of London can be quiet after business hours. Bishopsgate and Aldgate stay busy until late, but many other parts are deserted. None of the hazards around pickpockets and the like exist in The City, to the best of my knowledge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London

I'd also throw "the west end" as another geographically descriptive term in. That to my mind covers places like Soho, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Mayfair, Oxford Street and Regents Street. I might think of Whitehall, Parliament Square, etc. as "Westminster" as that's how the seat of government is referred to in the media.

It's true that you'll not have any problem as you go immediately west of central London. Those boroughs are some of the most expensive places in the world to buy property. Even "normal" working professionals are far wealthier than the average person in the UK. You wouldn't expect much antisocial behaviour when the income demographic skews so much in these areas.

I really need to get out in west London more. I've maintained a certain cynicism which has maybe held me back from taking the time to go out and see more. My feeling is that places like Richmond and Chiswick don't represent "my London" but I need to shake that off and experience them a bit more for myself.

GerryM …. Most definitely visit Richmond… a favorite neighborhood …. Friend was renting there. Loved that i could walk out the front door and if I turned left I could walk into Richmond….if I turned right I could walk into North Sheen

In Richmond loved the Anchor and the Crown, Alligators Mouth children bookstore, Butter Beans for coffee and The Dragon Inn.

In North Sheen loved the chicken wraps at the Kurk Grill, coffee at Kozy and fish and chips at the Sheen Fish Bar.

London is 100% maybe even 1000% safer than Chicago. Have a good time and don’t panic.

Most definitely visit Richmond

Yes. I will make a point of going out that way soon. All the talk of Kew on here too, I haven't been there in over a decade.

The furthest west I've really gone regularly is Notting Hill for Carnival. I haven't done that post-Covid either. Carnival is a whole 'nother conversation in terms of personal safety, there's some trouble every year, but, again, I've never had a problem.

I will not comment further, other than saying it did in fact happen to me, and there absolutely are army people in London. It was the time of the IRA, and the whole city must have been on high alert. It was certainly not expected, and took my wife a long time to want to go back to the UK! Unusual - maybe - I have no idea - but sometimes things happen, and the general public never knows.

other than saying it did in fact happen to me, and there absolutely are army people in London. It was the time of the IRA

Ah! It puts it in context a little more when you tell us that it was in fact maybe 30 or 40 years ago. Things may well have been a bit different then, both in the standard operating procedures of Police and other security forces, and the state of alert. I know I'd be pretty upset these days if a police officer pointed a weapon at me in central London, assuming I wasn't climbing the gates at Buckingham Palace at the time. Still, yes, things go on in the big city that we're not all party to.

The IRA bombing campaign of the 80's and 90's is why one must carry one's empty Starbucks cup around for half a mile after finishing one's coffee in The City of London. There's no bins, [trashcans] to prevent the IRA of 30 years ago from putting bombs in them.

phoffen2001's story reminds me...Our family traveled through London en route to Ukraine in 1997, the year before the "Good Friday Accord" (Belfast Agreement). While at Gatwick, my husband's senior cousin was videotaping in the airport as part of our trip story. Soldiers with automatic weapons quickly came over to tell him to put the camera away---at least they weren't aiming at him!

I had no idea you were speaking about a generation ago